How do I install Liquid Chrome?

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

Is Liquid Chrome free for commercial use?

Liquid Chrome 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 Liquid Chrome 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 Liquid Chrome?

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

Liquid Chrome

A mirror-metal surface that folds slowly over itself, lit by a horizon band so it reads as chrome rather than noise. The pointer pushes rings into it.

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

Examples

Liquid Chrome

Move the pointer across the surface; raise amplitude to fold it harder.

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`speed`	`number`	`1`	Multiplier on the flow rate.
`amplitude`	`number`	`1`	How far the surface folds over itself, 0–2.
`frequency`	`number`	`1`	Ripple density; higher is tighter.
`tint`	`number`	`0.5`	How much ember colours the reflections, 0–1.
`interactive`	`boolean`	`true`	The pointer pushes rings into the surface.
`className`	`string`	—

About Liquid Chrome

Liquid Chrome is a mirror-metal surface that folds slowly over itself, lit by a horizon band so it reads as chrome rather than noise. The pointer pushes rings into it.

Liquid Chrome is an animated background 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 Liquid Chrome

Premium tech and hardware.
Fashion and luxury.
Music and album art.
Bold hero sections.

How it works

It is a WebGL fragment shader written in the file, with no three.js. Props are read each frame so tuning never rebuilds the context, it pauses off screen, and it falls back to a gradient without WebGL.

The whole layer is decorative and aria-hidden, sits behind your content without taking pointer events it does not need, and pauses when scrolled off screen. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.

Customizing Liquid Chrome

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 speed, amplitude, frequency, tint, interactive live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

speed (number, default 1): Multiplier on the flow rate.
amplitude (number, default 1): How far the surface folds over itself, 0–2.
frequency (number, default 1): Ripple density; higher is tighter.
tint (number, default 0.5): How much ember colours the reflections, 0–1.
interactive (boolean, default true): The pointer pushes rings into the surface.

The example on this page

Liquid Chrome: Move the pointer across the surface; raise amplitude to fold it harder.

Goes well with Liquid Chrome

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

Ember Field: An animated React ember background: glowing embers drift up and flicker as they cool
Smoke: A slow React smoke background: blurred plumes drifting over dark sections, CSS only
Aurora: An animated React aurora background: soft light bands drifting across a section
Grid Beams: A React grid background with beams of light running along its lines
Meteors: A React meteor shower background: streaks falling diagonally, CSS only

Install Liquid Chrome

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/liquid-chrome

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

Liquid Chrome as Markdown · llms.txt