How do I install Crosshair?

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

Is Crosshair free for commercial use?

Crosshair 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 Crosshair 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 Crosshair?

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

Crosshair

A horizontal and a vertical line span the area and follow the pointer with an x, y readout. Over a link or button the pair splits into four and snaps to the element's edges, and the readout shows its size.

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

Examples

Crosshair

Hover the button and the link to measure them.

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`children`	`ReactNode`	—
`color`	`string`	`"var(--ember)"`	Line and readout colour.
`readout`	`boolean`	`true`	Show the coordinates (or w × h while snapped) beside the pointer.
`snap`	`boolean`	`true`	Snap to the edges of hovered links, buttons and [data-cursor] elements.
`className`	`string`	—

About Crosshair

Crosshair spans the area with a horizontal and a vertical line that follow the pointer with an x, y readout. Over a link or button the pair splits to frame it.

Crosshair is a cursor effect 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 Crosshair

Design and engineering tools.
Data visualisation.
Architecture and blueprint styles.
Technical portfolios.

How it works

Lines are transforms on springs and the readout is plain text. It only reacts to a mouse, keeps the real cursor visible unless you choose otherwise, and does nothing on touch screens or under reduced motion.

It only reacts to a mouse, never hides the real cursor unless you ask it to, and does nothing on touch screens. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.

Customizing Crosshair

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 readout, snap, color live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

color (string, default "var(--ember)"): Line and readout colour.
readout (boolean, default true): Show the coordinates (or w × h while snapped) beside the pointer.
snap (boolean, default true): Snap to the edges of hovered links, buttons and [data-cursor] elements.

The example on this page

Crosshair: Hover the button and the link to measure them.

Goes well with Crosshair

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

Cursor Trail: A React cursor trail: sparks fly off the pointer, drift down and cool
Blob Cursor: A React blob cursor that trails the pointer and swells over links
Spotlight Reveal: A React spotlight reveal: the pointer cuts a circle to show hidden content
Image Trail: A React image trail: photos drop along the pointer path and fade
Cursor Label: A React cursor label: a pill that follows the pointer and says View or Play

Install Crosshair

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/crosshair

Crosshair 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 crosshair.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 Crosshair?: Crosshair is part of Charcoal UI Pro. Add the @charcoal registry to components.json with your access token, then run npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/crosshair. It copies crosshair.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.
Is Crosshair free for commercial use?: Crosshair 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 Crosshair 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 Crosshair?: Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Crosshair's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.

Crosshair as Markdown · llms.txt