How do I install Particle Network?

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

Is Particle Network free for commercial use?

Particle Network 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 Particle Network 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 Particle Network?

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

Particle Network

Drifting nodes that link up when close and gather around the pointer, lines warming to ember nearby.

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

Examples

Particle Network

API reference

Prop	Type	Default
`density`	`number`	`1`
`linkDistance`	`number`	`120`
`interactive`	`boolean`	`true`

About Particle Network

Particle Network drifts nodes across a section that link up when close and gather around the pointer, with lines warming to the accent colour nearby. It says connected without saying a word.

Particle Network 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 Particle Network

Networking and infrastructure products.
AI and data platforms.
Blockchain and web3 sites.
Community pages.

How it works

Particle count scales with area, links are drawn under a distance threshold, and the pointer pulls nearby nodes. It runs on a canvas capped at 2x pixel density, pauses when scrolled off screen, and reads its colours from your theme tokens so it follows dark mode.

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 Particle Network

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.

density (number, default 1).
linkDistance (number, default 120).
interactive (boolean, default true).

Goes well with Particle Network

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 Particle Network

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/particle-network

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

Particle Network as Markdown · llms.txt