Shimmer
A band of light sweeping across a shape: a skeleton shimmer while content loads, or a sheen across text that is still thinking. Under reduced motion the surface breathes instead.
Thinking…
<Fx effect="shimmer" preset="Skeleton" />Features
- A sweeping band with a pause between sweeps.
- Over a shape (skeleton) or through a text mask (sheen).
Use it for
- Skeletons while content loads.
- Text that is still thinking or in progress.
On this site
- Research: papers in preparationUnfinished thinking shimmers like content still loading.
Installation
- Get runets.
git clone https://github.com/ziyam-khan/runets - Copy these files into your project, keeping their folders.
- Install what they use.
pnpm add react
Usage
import { Fx } from 'runets'
<div className="card"> {/* position: relative */}
<Fx effect="shimmer" />
</div>API
| Prop | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
effect | string | The effect’s id, as in the address of this page. |
preset | string | One of the presets above; the first by default. |
params | Params | Any parameter from the table, over the preset. |
place | 'under' | 'over' | Under the parent’s content (fills, halos) or over it (sparkles, glass). Default under. |
radius | number | Corner radius in points; the parent’s own border radius by default. |
backdrop | string | Paint | What glass and distortion read: an image URL, or a function that paints a canvas the size of the parent. |
mask | Paint | An alpha mask for mask glow and text sheen. |
hot | boolean | Drives heat: the layer lights in 60 ms and cools over half a second instead of cutting off. |
trigger | number | Change it to fire a one-shot now (ping, ripple, burst, shockwave, zap). |
wake | number | Change it to redraw for a second when something the layer reads, such as its occluders, moves on its own. |
shape | (time, w, h) => Rect | The effect’s shape inside the parent, per frame: a lens that drifts. |
Parameters
| Name | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|
color Sheen | color | 0xffffff |
base Base | color | 0x1c1f26 |
baseAlpha Base alpha | 0 to 1 | 0 |
period Period | 0.4 to 6 | 1.8 |
band Band | 4 to 120 | 28 |
angle Angle | -1.2 to 1.2 | 0.35 |
intensity Intensity | 0 to 1.5 | 0.16 |
pause Pause | 0 to 0.9 | 0.3 |
feather Feather | 0 to 12 | 0 |
Accessibility
- The canvas is aria-hidden and never takes the pointer; the parent keeps its semantics and focus.
- Under prefers-reduced-motion every loop settles on one calm pose; one-shots fade in place instead of travelling.
- Off screen, in a hidden tab or once settled, the layer draws nothing.
- data-motion="off" on the root element is a pause switch for the whole page: every layer rests on that calm pose until it is removed.
Source
The code is in src/fx/glsl/emit.ts in runets, MIT licensed.