diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e50fcd529..d856ff54e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Fix parsing selectors like `[data-foo]div` as one selector instead of two ([#20303](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20303))
 - Fix stale `@tailwindcss/postcss` output when changed input CSS is passed from a preprocessor like Sass without updating the input file on disk ([#20310](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20310))
 - Ensure CSS nesting is handled even when Lightning CSS isn't run, like in `@tailwindcss/browser` and Tailwind Play ([#20124](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20124))
-- Prevent achromatic theme colors from shifting hue in `color-mix(…)` with polar color spaces like `oklch` ([#19830](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/issues/19830))
+- Prevent achromatic theme colors from shifting hue in `color-mix(…)` with polar color spaces like `oklch` ([#20314](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/issues/20314))
 - Ensure `--spacing(0)` is optimized to `0px` instead of `0` so it remains a `<length>` when used in `calc(…)` ([#20319](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20319))
+- Lazily load `@parcel/watcher` when using the `--watch` flag in `@tailwindcss/cli`, so one-off builds and `--watch --poll` work when `@parcel/watcher` can't be loaded ([#20325](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/issues/20325))
 
 ## [4.3.2] - 2026-06-26
 
diff --git a/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts b/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts
index c06d02c50..c85eda28c 100644
--- a/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts
+++ b/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import watcher from '@parcel/watcher'
 import {
   compile,
   env,
@@ -21,6 +20,7 @@ import {
   highlight,
   println,
   relative,
+  wordWrap,
 } from '../../utils/renderer'
 import { drainStdin, outputFile } from './utils'
 
@@ -80,17 +80,44 @@ export function options() {
   } satisfies Arg
 }
 
+function formatError(error: unknown): string {
+  let seen = new Set() // Track seen errors to prevent circular errors
+  function render(err: unknown, depth: number): string[] {
+    let indent = '  '.repeat(depth)
+    let width = (process.stderr.columns ?? Infinity) - 2 * (depth + 1)
+
+    let output = [
+      `${indent}${red(depth === 0 ? 'Error:' : 'Caused by:')}`,
+      `${indent}${dim('\u250C')}`,
+    ]
+
+    for (let line of `${err}`.split('\n')) {
+      let wrapped = wordWrap(line, width)
+      if (wrapped.length === 0) wrapped = ['']
+      for (let chunk of wrapped) {
+        output.push(`${indent}${dim('\u2502')} ${chunk}`)
+      }
+    }
+
+    output.push(`${indent}${dim('\u2514')}`)
+
+    if (typeof err === 'object' && err !== null && 'cause' in err && err.cause != null) {
+      if (!seen.add(err).has(err.cause)) {
+        output.push(...render(err.cause, depth + 1))
+      }
+    }
+
+    return output
+  }
+
+  return render(error, 0).join('\n')
+}
+
 async function handleError<T>(fn: () => T): Promise<T> {
   try {
     return await fn()
   } catch (err) {
-    eprintln(
-      [red('Error:'), dim('\u250C')]
-        .concat(`${err}`.split('\n').map((line) => `${dim('\u2502')} ${line}`))
-        .concat(dim('\u2514'))
-        .join('\n'),
-    )
-
+    eprintln(formatError(err))
     process.exit(1)
   }
 }
@@ -302,6 +329,10 @@ export async function handle(args: Result<ReturnType<typeof options>>) {
 
   // Watch for changes
   if (args['--watch'] && pollInterval === false) {
+    // Ensure the file watcher can be loaded before setting up any watchers,
+    // such that we can present a helpful error message if needed.
+    await handleError(() => loadWatcher())
+
     cleanupWatchers.push(
       await createWatchers(await watchDirectories(scanner), async function handle(files) {
         try {
@@ -445,12 +476,7 @@ export async function handle(args: Result<ReturnType<typeof options>>) {
 
           // Catch any errors and print them to stderr, but don't exit the process
           // and keep watching.
-          eprintln(
-            [red('Error:'), dim('\u250C')]
-              .concat(`${err}`.split('\n').map((line) => `${dim('\u2502')} ${line}`))
-              .concat(dim('\u2514'))
-              .join('\n'),
-          )
+          eprintln(formatError(err))
 
           let end = process.hrtime.bigint()
           if (!args['--silent']) eprintln(`Done in ${formatDuration(end - start)}`)
@@ -599,12 +625,7 @@ export async function handle(args: Result<ReturnType<typeof options>>) {
           } catch (err) {
             fullRebuildPaths = backupRebuildPaths
 
-            let message = [red('Error:'), dim('\u250C')]
-              .concat(`${err}`.split('\n').map((line) => `${dim('\u2502')} ${line}`))
-              .concat(dim('\u2514'))
-              .join('\n')
-
-            logPollingMessage(message)
+            logPollingMessage(formatError(err))
           }
 
           if (!args['--silent']) {
@@ -658,7 +679,23 @@ export async function handle(args: Result<ReturnType<typeof options>>) {
   }
 }
 
+// Load `@parcel/watcher` lazily so a missing or broken native binding only
+// affects `--watch` (without `--poll`), instead of crashing one-off builds and
+// polling mode as well.
+async function loadWatcher(): Promise<typeof import('@parcel/watcher')> {
+  try {
+    return (await import('@parcel/watcher')).default
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Failed to load the file watcher. Your platform may not be supported by \`@parcel/watcher\`. As a workaround, you can use polling instead by passing the \`--watch --poll\` flags.`,
+      { cause: err },
+    )
+  }
+}
+
 async function createWatchers(dirs: string[], cb: (files: string[]) => void) {
+  let watcher = await loadWatcher()
+
   // Remove any directories that are children of an already watched directory.
   // If we don't we may not get notified of certain filesystem events regardless
   // of whether or not they are for the directory that is duplicated.
diff --git a/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/utils/renderer.ts b/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/utils/renderer.ts
index 6b0098586..da817dda7 100644
--- a/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/utils/renderer.ts
+++ b/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/utils/renderer.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ export function wordWrap(text: string, width: number) {
   for (let word of words) {
     let wordLength = stripVTControlCharacters(word).length
 
-    if (lineLength + wordLength + 1 > width) {
+    // A word longer than `width` is kept on its own line rather than
+    // introducing an empty line before it.
+    if (lineLength > 0 && lineLength + wordLength + 1 > width) {
       lines.push(line)
       line = ''
       lineLength = 0