diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c6be95ffc9a1..07d67c8c0825 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Fixed
 
 - Don’t crash when scanning a candidate equal to the configured prefix ([#14588](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/14588))
+- _Experimental_: Ensure CSS before a layer stays unlayered when running codemods ([#14596](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/14596))
 
 ## [4.0.0-alpha.26] - 2024-10-03
 
diff --git a/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.test.ts b/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.test.ts
index 055a25269175..7dec9bcda29e 100644
--- a/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.test.ts
+++ b/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.test.ts
@@ -165,3 +165,29 @@ it('should migrate rules between tailwind directives', async () => {
     }"
   `)
 })
+
+it('should keep CSS above a layer unlayered', async () => {
+  expect(
+    await migrate(css`
+      .foo {
+        color: red;
+      }
+
+      @layer components {
+        .bar {
+          color: blue;
+        }
+      }
+    `),
+  ).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+    ".foo {
+      color: red;
+    }
+
+    @layer components {
+      .bar {
+        color: blue;
+      }
+    }"
+  `)
+})
diff --git a/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.ts b/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.ts
index 4ccfe9b96e25..c32c609063db 100644
--- a/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.ts
+++ b/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/codemods/migrate-missing-layers.ts
@@ -97,6 +97,11 @@ export function migrateMissingLayers(): Plugin {
 
     // Wrap each bucket in an `@layer` at-rule
     for (let [layerName, nodes] of buckets) {
+      let targetLayerName = layerName || firstLayerName || ''
+      if (targetLayerName === '') {
+        continue
+      }
+
       // Do not wrap comments in a layer, if they are the only nodes.
       if (nodes.every((node) => node.type === 'comment')) {
         continue
diff --git a/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/index.test.ts b/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/index.test.ts
index 8c84bc76e9cb..4dbfaf46f412 100644
--- a/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/index.test.ts
+++ b/packages/@tailwindcss-upgrade/src/index.test.ts
@@ -154,3 +154,30 @@ it('should migrate a stylesheet (with preceding rules that should be wrapped in
     }"
   `)
 })
+
+it('should keep CSS as-is before existing `@layer` at-rules', async () => {
+  expect(
+    await migrateContents(
+      css`
+        .foo {
+          color: blue;
+        }
+
+        @layer components {
+          .bar {
+            color: red;
+          }
+        }
+      `,
+      {},
+    ),
+  ).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+    ".foo {
+      color: blue;
+    }
+
+    @utility bar {
+      color: red;
+    }"
+  `)
+})