How do I install Bubble Menu?

Bubble Menu is part of Charcoal UI Pro. Add the @charcoal registry to components.json with your access token, then run npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/bubble-menu. It copies bubble-menu.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.

Is Bubble Menu free for commercial use?

Bubble Menu needs a Charcoal UI Pro seat, monthly or a one-time lifetime price. A seat covers unlimited personal and commercial projects, including client work, and every future Pro component.

Does Bubble Menu work with Next.js?

Yes. It is a client component for React 19 styled with Tailwind CSS 4, so it works in the Next.js App Router and Pages Router, Vite, Remix and Astro.

Can an AI coding agent install Bubble Menu?

Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Bubble Menu's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.

Bubble Menu

A round trigger that bursts into a column, fan or row of bubble links on staggered springs and gathers them back on close. Arrow keys move between bubbles, Escape closes.

Category: Navigation
Licence: Charcoal UI Pro
Built with: React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, Motion
Dependencies: motion, clsx, tailwind-merge

Examples

Bubble Menu

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`items`	`{ label: string; icon: ReactNode; href: string }[]`	—
`direction`	`"up" \| "radial" \| "right"`	`"radial"`
`stagger`	`number`	`0.045`	Seconds between each bubble's spring.
`distance`	`number`	`56`	From the trigger centre to the first bubble, in px.
`size`	`number`	—	Trigger diameter in px.
`open`	`boolean`	—
`onOpenChange`	`(open: boolean) => void`	—
`onNavigate`	`(item, event) => void`	—
`className`	`string`	—

About Bubble Menu

Bubble Menu is a round trigger that bursts into a column, a fan or a row of bubble links on staggered springs, and gathers them back when it closes. It is playful navigation for creative sites.

Bubble Menu is a navigation component for React 19, styled with Tailwind CSS 4 and animated with Motion. It drops into Next.js, Vite, Remix or Astro through the shadcn CLI as a single file you own.

When to use Bubble Menu

Floating action menus on mobile.
Portfolio and agency navigation.
Share menus.
Quick actions in creative tools.

How it works

Bubbles are positioned by direction and distance and spring out with a stagger. Arrow keys move between them, Escape closes and returns focus, and each bubble is a labelled link.

Links and buttons keep their roles, arrow keys move where a group is expected, the current item is marked with aria-current, and focus is always visible. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.

Customizing Bubble Menu

Every prop is documented in the API reference above with its type and default. The ones you will reach for first are listed here.

The Customize panel next to the preview lets you change direction, stagger, distance live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

items.
direction ("up" | "radial" | "right", default "radial").
stagger (number, default 0.045): Seconds between each bubble's spring.
distance (number, default 56): From the trigger centre to the first bubble, in px.
size (number): Trigger diameter in px.
open (boolean).

Goes well with Bubble Menu

These navigation pieces share its tokens and motion language, so they sit together on one page without clashing.

Dock: A macOS-style React dock whose icons swell with pointer distance and show labels
Expandable Tabs: Compact React icon tabs where the active tab expands to reveal its label
Floating Nav: A floating React pill nav that hides on scroll down and returns on scroll up
Context Menu: A React right-click context menu that opens at the pointer and stays on screen
Bottom Nav: An animated React mobile tab bar with a sliding pill, hopping icons and badges

Install Bubble Menu

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/bubble-menu

Bubble Menu is part of Charcoal UI Pro. One seat unlocks all 300 Pro components, 107 landing-page sections and 100 full templates, for every personal and client project, with updates included. Add the @charcoal registry once with your access token, then the command above copies bubble-menu.tsx into components/ui and installs clsx, tailwind-merge.

You own the file you install: no runtime package, no lock-in, nothing to keep in sync. Change it however your product needs.

See Charcoal UI Pro pricing · Pro setup

Frequently asked questions

How do I install Bubble Menu?: Bubble Menu is part of Charcoal UI Pro. Add the @charcoal registry to components.json with your access token, then run npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/bubble-menu. It copies bubble-menu.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.
Is Bubble Menu free for commercial use?: Bubble Menu needs a Charcoal UI Pro seat, monthly or a one-time lifetime price. A seat covers unlimited personal and commercial projects, including client work, and every future Pro component.
Does Bubble Menu work with Next.js?: Yes. It is a client component for React 19 styled with Tailwind CSS 4, so it works in the Next.js App Router and Pages Router, Vite, Remix and Astro.
Can an AI coding agent install Bubble Menu?: Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Bubble Menu's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.

Bubble Menu as Markdown · llms.txt