How do I install Pixel Blast?

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

Is Pixel Blast free for commercial use?

Pixel Blast 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 Pixel Blast 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 Pixel Blast?

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

Pixel Blast

Rings of grid-snapped pixels burst out of random points and fade, with cells dropping out as each ring ages. Clicking fires one where you clicked.

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

Examples

Pixel Blast

Click anywhere in the box.

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`cell`	`number`	`14`	Grid cell size in px.
`rate`	`number`	`1`	Random bursts per second; clicks add more.
`color`	`string`	`var(--ember)`	Any CSS colour, including var(--token).
`shape`	`"square" \| "circle" \| "diamond"`	`"square"`
`className`	`string`	—

About Pixel Blast

Pixel Blast bursts rings of grid-snapped pixels out of random points and fades them, with cells dropping out as each ring ages. Clicking fires one where you clicked.

Pixel Blast 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 Pixel Blast

Gaming and retro brands.
Celebration moments.
Interactive heroes.
Event pages.

How it works

Bursts are rings snapped to a pixel grid with per-cell decay. 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 Pixel Blast

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 cell, rate, color, shape live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

cell (number, default 14): Grid cell size in px.
rate (number, default 1): Random bursts per second; clicks add more.
color (string, default var(--ember)): Any CSS colour, including var(--token).
shape ("square" | "circle" | "diamond", default "square").

The example on this page

Pixel Blast: Click anywhere in the box.

Goes well with Pixel Blast

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 Pixel Blast

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/pixel-blast

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

Pixel Blast as Markdown · llms.txt