How do I install Morphing Search?

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

Is Morphing Search free for commercial use?

Morphing Search 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 Morphing Search 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 Morphing Search?

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

Morphing Search

A search icon that grows into a full field on click, with results dropping in beneath as you type and arrow keys to pick one; Escape shrinks it back to the icon.

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

Examples

Morphing Search

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`placeholder`	`string`	`"Search…"`
`onSearch`	`(query: string) => void`	—
`results`	`{ id: string; label: string; hint?: string }[]`	—
`onSelect`	`(result) => void`	—
`expandTo`	`number`	`320`	Open width in px.
`className`	`string`	—

About Morphing Search

Morphing Search is an icon that grows into a full search field on click, with results dropping in below as you type and arrow keys to pick one. Escape shrinks it back to the icon.

Morphing Search is an input 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 Morphing Search

Headers that need search without the space.
Command palettes that start from a single icon.
Docs and help centres.
Mobile-first navigation.

How it works

The pill animates its width from the icon to expandTo, and focus moves into the input as it opens. Results follow the combobox pattern with aria-activedescendant, so keyboard and screen-reader users get the same list.

It is a real form control: it has an accessible name, works with the keyboard alone, shows a visible focus ring and announces its state to screen readers. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.

Customizing Morphing Search

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 placeholder, expandTo live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

placeholder (string, default "Search…").
results.
expandTo (number, default 320): Open width in px.

Goes well with Morphing Search

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

Magnetic: Make any React element lean toward the pointer and spring home: a magnetic hover in one wrapper
Color Picker: An animated React swatch colour picker with a ring that glides to the selection
Rating: An animated React star rating with hover preview and a ripple of popping stars
File Dropzone: An animated React file dropzone that lifts on hover and lists uploads with progress
Like Button: An animated React like button: the heart pops, sparks burst and the count rolls

Install Morphing Search

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/morphing-search

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

Morphing Search as Markdown · llms.txt