Spotlight Reveal
The pointer cuts a soft circle through the top layer to show the content beneath.
- Category: Cursor
- Licence: Charcoal UI Pro
- Built with: React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, Motion
- Dependencies: motion, clsx, tailwind-merge
Examples
Spotlight Reveal
API reference
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
children | ReactNode | — | Always visible. |
reveal | ReactNode | — | Shown inside the spotlight. |
radius | number | 140 |
About Spotlight Reveal
Spotlight Reveal lets the pointer cut a soft circle through a top layer to show the content beneath, like a torch on a hidden image.
Spotlight Reveal is a cursor 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 Spotlight Reveal
- Before and after reveals.
- Mysterious product teasers.
- Interactive art and photography.
- Easter eggs.
How it works
A radial mask follows the pointer through CSS variables. It only reacts to a mouse, keeps the real cursor visible unless you choose otherwise, and does nothing on touch screens or under reduced motion.
It only reacts to a mouse, never hides the real cursor unless you ask it to, and does nothing on touch screens. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.
Customizing Spotlight Reveal
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.
- reveal (ReactNode): Shown inside the spotlight.
- radius (number, default 140).
Goes well with Spotlight Reveal
These cursor pieces share its tokens and motion language, so they sit together on one page without clashing.
- Cursor Trail: A React cursor trail: sparks fly off the pointer, drift down and cool
- Blob Cursor: A React blob cursor that trails the pointer and swells over links
- Image Trail: A React image trail: photos drop along the pointer path and fade
- Cursor Label: A React cursor label: a pill that follows the pointer and says View or Play
- Glow Cursor: A React glow cursor: a soft light follows the pointer and flares over links
Install Spotlight Reveal
npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/spotlight-revealSpotlight Reveal 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 spotlight-reveal.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 Spotlight Reveal?
- Spotlight Reveal is part of Charcoal UI Pro. Add the @charcoal registry to components.json with your access token, then run npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/spotlight-reveal. It copies spotlight-reveal.tsx into components/ui and installs motion, clsx, tailwind-merge.
- Is Spotlight Reveal free for commercial use?
- Spotlight Reveal 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 Spotlight Reveal 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 Spotlight Reveal?
- Yes. Connect the Charcoal UI MCP server (https://charcoalui.com/mcp) to Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client; get_component returns Spotlight Reveal's props and get_install_command returns the exact command.