How do I install Thinking Orb?

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

Is Thinking Orb free for commercial use?

Thinking Orb 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 Thinking Orb 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 Thinking Orb?

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

Thinking Orb

A sphere of dots that shows an AI is busy, with nine motions for nine kinds of busy: working, searching, solving, listening, connecting, composing, breathing, weaving and shaping. States morph into each other; dots can lean towards the cursor.

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

Examples

All states

In a chat

The state follows the agent's step, morphing between shapes.

Playground

API reference

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`state`	`OrbState`	`"searching"`	working, searching, solving, listening, connecting, composing, breathing, weaving, shaping.
`size`	`number`	`64`	Diameter in px.
`dots`	`number`	—	Defaults to a count that suits the size.
`dotSize`	`number`	`1`
`speed`	`number`	`1`
`color`	`string`	—	Any CSS colour. Defaults to the text colour.
`gravity`	`boolean`	`false`	Dots lean towards a nearby pointer.
`label`	`string`	—	Announced to screen readers.

About Thinking Orb

Thinking Orb is a sphere of dots that shows an AI is working, with nine distinct motions, working, searching, solving, listening, connecting, composing, breathing, weaving and shaping, that morph into each other.

Thinking Orb is a feedback 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 Thinking Orb

AI assistants and copilots.
Voice interfaces.
Generative tools.
Agent dashboards.

How it works

Dots are positioned on a sphere and moved by a per-state field; states blend over time so changes never snap. Dots can lean toward the cursor, and the canvas pauses off screen.

State changes are announced through live regions or the right ARIA roles, so screen-reader users hear what sighted users see. With prefers-reduced-motion on, it holds still or settles instantly instead of animating.

Customizing Thinking Orb

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 size, dotSize, speed, gravity live, and the Code tab updates to match, so the snippet you copy already carries your values.

state (OrbState, default "searching"): working, searching, solving, listening, connecting, composing, breathing, weaving, shaping.
size (number, default 64): Diameter in px.
dots (number): Defaults to a count that suits the size.
dotSize (number, default 1).
speed (number, default 1).
color (string): Any CSS colour. Defaults to the text colour.

3 examples on this page

All states.
In a chat: The state follows the agent's step, morphing between shapes.
Playground.

Goes well with Thinking Orb

Thinking Orb is already composed into a ready-made section, so you can see it in context or install the whole block.

Hero Landscape: Hero section
Typing Indicator: A React typing indicator: a bubble with rippling dots that tells screen readers who is typing
Countdown: An animated React countdown timer whose digits roll as they tick
Confetti: React confetti that bursts from any point on a throwaway canvas
Ripple: A React press ripple that spreads from the exact point you pressed
Success Check: A React spinner that resolves into a drawn check or a shaking cross

Install Thinking Orb

npx shadcn@latest add @charcoal/thinking-orb

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

Thinking Orb as Markdown · llms.txt