Pixel Grid
Square cells light up ember under the pointer and fade out slowly behind it.
- Category: Interactive
- Licence: Charcoal UI Pro
- Built with: React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, Motion
- Dependencies: motion, clsx, tailwind-merge
Examples
Pixel Grid
API reference
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
cell | number | 28 | |
children | ReactNode | — |
About Pixel Grid
Pixel Grid lights square cells in the accent colour under the pointer and fades them out slowly behind it.
Pixel Grid is an interactive 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 Pixel Grid
- Tech and gaming heroes.
- Interactive backgrounds.
- Developer portfolios.
- Retro styles.
How it works
Cells are drawn on a canvas with per-cell decay.
Pointer effects have a keyboard or static equivalent, and nothing that matters depends on hover alone. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.
Customizing Pixel Grid
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, text live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.
- cell (number, default 28).
Goes well with Pixel Grid
These interactive pieces share its tokens and motion language, so they sit together on one page without clashing.
- Hover Reveal List: A React hover reveal list: hovering a row floats its image beside the pointer
- Draggable Cards: React draggable cards: polaroids scattered on a table you can pick up
- Image Accordion: A React image accordion: the hovered panel expands to reveal its caption
- Velocity Marquee: A React velocity marquee: big text that speeds up and flips with scroll
- Stack Cards: React stack cards: cards pin as you scroll and stack on each other
Install Pixel Grid
npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/pixel-gridPixel Grid 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-grid.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
- Can I change the pixel colour and size?
- Yes. The cells use your accent colour by default and the grid size is a prop. Because it draws on a canvas and fades cells over time, even dense grids stay smooth.
- How do I install Pixel Grid?
- Pixel Grid 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-grid. It copies pixel-grid.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.
- Is Pixel Grid free for commercial use?
- Pixel Grid 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 Grid 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 Grid?
- Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Pixel Grid's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.