Image Trail
Images drop along the pointer's path, tilting slightly, then fade away.
- Category: Cursor
- Licence: Charcoal UI Pro
- Built with: React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, Motion
- Dependencies: motion, clsx, tailwind-merge
Examples
Image Trail
API reference
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
images | string[] | — | |
threshold | number | 80 | |
size | number | 160 |
About Image Trail
Image Trail drops images along the pointer's path, each tilting slightly before it fades, the portfolio hero effect for photographers and studios.
Image Trail 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 Image Trail
- Photography portfolios.
- Agency homepages.
- Fashion lookbooks.
- Event recaps.
How it works
Images cycle from your list every set distance and fade on a timer. 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 Image Trail
Every prop is documented in the API reference above with its type and default. The ones you will reach for first are listed here.
Style it with className like any other element. It only uses your theme's tokens, so it follows light and dark mode without extra work.
- images (string[]).
- threshold (number, default 80).
- size (number, default 160).
Goes well with Image Trail
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
- Cursor Label: A React cursor label: a pill that follows the pointer and says View or Play
- Glow Cursor: A React glow cursor: a soft light follows the pointer and flares over links
Install Image Trail
npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/image-trailImage Trail 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 image-trail.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 often do images appear?
- Each new image drops after the pointer travels a set distance, so slow moves leave few and fast sweeps leave a stream.
- How do I install Image Trail?
- Image Trail is part of Charcoal UI Pro. Add the @charcoal registry to components.json with your access token, then run npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/image-trail. It copies image-trail.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.
- Is Image Trail free for commercial use?
- Image Trail 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 Image Trail 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 Image Trail?
- Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Image Trail's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.