How do I install Glass Surface?

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

Is Glass Surface free for commercial use?

Glass Surface 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 Glass Surface 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 Glass Surface?

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

Glass Surface

A liquid-glass surface: backdrop blur and tint, a refractive rim from an SVG displacement filter applied only at the edge, a specular top highlight and a thin chromatic fringe.

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

Examples

Glass Surface

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`blur`	`number`	`12`	Backdrop blur in px.
`opacity`	`number`	`0.12`	Tint opacity.
`radius`	`number`	`24`
`distortion`	`number`	`0.5`	Edge refraction strength.
`tint`	`string`	`"var(--foreground)"`
`...props`	`ComponentProps<"div">`	—

About Glass Surface

Glass Surface is a liquid-glass panel: backdrop blur and tint, a refractive rim from an SVG displacement filter applied only at the edge, a specular top highlight and a thin chromatic fringe.

Glass Surface is a display 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 Glass Surface

Cards over photos and video.
Navigation bars.
Modal and popover surfaces.
Music and media players.

How it works

The rim is a second blurred layer masked to a ring and displaced. blur, opacity, radius and distortion are props, all CSS and SVG with no canvas.

Interactive parts are buttons or links with accessible names, decorative layers are hidden from assistive tech, and everything is reachable by keyboard. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.

Customizing Glass Surface

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 blur, opacity, radius, distortion live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

blur (number, default 12): Backdrop blur in px.
opacity (number, default 0.12): Tint opacity.
radius (number, default 24).
distortion (number, default 0.5): Edge refraction strength.
tint (string, default "var(--foreground)").

Goes well with Glass Surface

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

Tilt Card: A 3D tilt card for React that leans toward the pointer with a moving glare
Spotlight Card: A React spotlight card: an accent glow follows the pointer across card and border
Sortable List: A drag-to-reorder React list with lifted shadows and keyboard sorting
Card Stack: A swipeable React card stack where the next card rises to meet you
Image Compare: A React before and after image comparison slider you can drag anywhere

Install Glass Surface

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/glass-surface

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

Glass Surface as Markdown · llms.txt