How do I install Ghost Cursor?

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

Is Ghost Cursor free for commercial use?

Ghost Cursor 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 Ghost Cursor 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 Ghost Cursor?

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

Ghost Cursor

A dot follows the pointer and drags a streak of fading, shrinking copies behind it, each chasing the one ahead. Fast moves smear into a motion-blur tail; the chain stops animating once it has caught up.

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

Examples

Ghost Cursor

Raise the lag for a long comet tail, or lower it for a tight shadow.

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`children`	`ReactNode`	—
`copies`	`number`	`10`	Copies in the streak, including the lead dot.
`size`	`number`	`16`	Diameter of the lead dot in px.
`color`	`string`	`"var(--ember)"`
`lag`	`number`	`0.55`	Fraction of its gap each copy keeps per frame; higher is a longer streak.
`className`	`string`	—

About Ghost Cursor

Ghost Cursor follows the pointer with a dot that drags a streak of fading, shrinking copies behind it, each chasing the one ahead, so fast moves smear into motion blur.

Ghost Cursor 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 Ghost Cursor

Creative portfolios.
Music and nightlife.
Futuristic product pages.
Interactive heroes.

How it works

Each copy lerps toward the one ahead at a frame-rate-independent rate. 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 Ghost Cursor

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 copies, size, lag, color live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

copies (number, default 10): Copies in the streak, including the lead dot.
size (number, default 16): Diameter of the lead dot in px.
color (string, default "var(--ember)").
lag (number, default 0.55): Fraction of its gap each copy keeps per frame; higher is a longer streak.

The example on this page

Ghost Cursor: Raise the lag for a long comet tail, or lower it for a tight shadow.

Goes well with Ghost Cursor

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 Ghost Cursor

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/ghost-cursor

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

Ghost Cursor as Markdown · llms.txt