Dock
macOS-style dock. Icons swell with pointer distance and show a label on hover.
- Category: Navigation
- Licence: Charcoal UI Pro
- Built with: React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, Motion
- Dependencies: motion, clsx, tailwind-merge
Examples
Dock
API reference
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
magnification | number | 64 | Icon size at the pointer, in px. |
distance | number | 140 | Pointer range that affects icon size. |
children | DockItem[] | — |
About Dock
Dock is the macOS dock for the web: icons swell smoothly as the pointer nears and settle as it leaves, with a label on hover. It is a striking way to present apps, tools or social links.
Dock 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 Dock
- App launchers and desktop-style portfolios.
- Tool switchers in creative apps.
- Social and contact links on personal sites.
- Floating quick actions in dashboards.
How it works
Each icon's size is a spring driven by its distance from the pointer, so neighbours grow together in a smooth bell curve. magnification, distance and base size are props, and every item is a labelled link or button.
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 Dock
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 magnification, distance, base live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.
- magnification (number, default 64): Icon size at the pointer, in px.
- distance (number, default 140): Pointer range that affects icon size.
Goes well with Dock
These navigation pieces share its tokens and motion language, so they sit together on one page without clashing.
- 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
- Scroll Progress: A glowing React scroll progress bar for the page or any scroll container
Install Dock
npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/dockDock 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 dock.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 Dock?
- Dock is part of Charcoal UI Pro. Add the @charcoal registry to components.json with your access token, then run npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/dock. It copies dock.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.
- Is Dock free for commercial use?
- Dock 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 Dock 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 Dock?
- Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Dock's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.