Are the cubes clickable?

Yes. Every cube is a button, and clicking one sends a ripple outward from it. Keyboard users can tab to a cube and press Enter to ripple too.

How do I install Cubes?

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

Is Cubes free for commercial use?

Cubes 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 Cubes 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 Cubes?

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

Cubes

A grid of CSS 3D cubes that tip toward the pointer and ripple outward from wherever you click. Every cube is a button, so the ripple works from the keyboard too.

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

Examples

Cubes

Move across the grid, then click a cube. Leave the pointer away and it ripples on its own.

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`size`	`number`	`48`	Cube edge in px.
`gap`	`number`	`10`	Space between cubes in px.
`rows`	`number`	`4`
`cols`	`number`	`6`
`tilt`	`number`	`40`	Maximum tip toward the pointer, in degrees.
`autoRipple`	`boolean`	`true`	Fire a ripple from a random cube every few seconds while the pointer is away.
`className`	`string`	—

About Cubes

Cubes is a grid of CSS 3D cubes that tip toward the pointer and ripple outward from wherever you click. Every cube is a button, so the ripple works from the keyboard.

Cubes is an interactive 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 Cubes

Tech and gaming heroes.
Interactive art.
Product playgrounds.
Developer portfolios.

How it works

Each cube's tilt is a spring from pointer distance, and ripples are delayed by grid distance.

Pointer effects have a keyboard or static equivalent, and nothing that matters depends on hover alone. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.

Customizing Cubes

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 size, gap, tilt, autoRipple live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

size (number, default 48): Cube edge in px.
gap (number, default 10): Space between cubes in px.
rows (number, default 4).
cols (number, default 6).
tilt (number, default 40): Maximum tip toward the pointer, in degrees.
autoRipple (boolean, default true): Fire a ripple from a random cube every few seconds while the pointer is away.

The example on this page

Cubes: Move across the grid, then click a cube. Leave the pointer away and it ripples on its own.

Goes well with Cubes

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

Hover Reveal List: A React hover reveal list: hovering a row floats its image beside the pointer
Pixel Grid: A React pixel grid: cells light up under the pointer and fade slowly
Draggable Cards: React draggable cards: polaroids scattered on a table you can pick up
Image Accordion: A React image accordion: the hovered panel expands to reveal its caption
Velocity Marquee: A React velocity marquee: big text that speeds up and flips with scroll

Install Cubes

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/cubes

Cubes 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 cubes.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

Are the cubes clickable?: Yes. Every cube is a button, and clicking one sends a ripple outward from it. Keyboard users can tab to a cube and press Enter to ripple too.
How do I install Cubes?: Cubes is part of Charcoal UI Pro. Add the @charcoal registry to components.json with your access token, then run npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/cubes. It copies cubes.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.
Is Cubes free for commercial use?: Cubes 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 Cubes 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 Cubes?: Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Cubes's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.

Cubes as Markdown · llms.txt