hover-ui

Balloon

A balloon on a string, tugging up and swaying as you move. Puffs up over controls; a click pops it.

npx shadcn@latest add https://hoverui.fun/r/balloon.json

Adds components/cursors/balloon.tsx. The CLI also installs the useCursor hook it runs on, once, into your hooks folder. The files are yours from there.

Move through the preview, then hover the controls and press.

Kind
Toys
Dependencies
None
License
MIT

How it behaves

A balloon on a string, tugging up from the pointer and swaying as you move; it puffs up over anything clickable, and a click pops it (it comes back).

Usage

Any element
import { BalloonCursor } from "@/components/cursors/balloon";

export function Section() {
  return (
    <section>
      <BalloonCursor />
      {/* this section now wears Balloon */}
    </section>
  );
}

Put it inside <body> in your root layout to wear it on every page. Nested cursors take over inside their own element.

Props

className
Extra classes for the cursor's root. It draws in its own colors, set in the file; any outline or pointer dot it has follows currentColor, e.g. text-pink-500. Leave mix-blend-difference off: it would turn those colors to negatives.
Hover targets
a, button, input, select, textarea, label, [role=button], [data-cursor-label]

Source

balloon.tsx
"use client";

import { useRef } from "react";
import { cursorRoot, useCursor } from "@/hooks/use-cursor";

/** The balloon, knot at the bottom centre; exported so a page can draw it at rest. */
export function BalloonArt({ className = "" }: { className?: string }) {
  return (
    <svg viewBox="0 0 24 28" className={className} aria-hidden>
      <path d="M12 1c6.6 0 10 5.2 10 11 0 6.5-5.5 12-10 13C7.5 24 2 18.5 2 12 2 6.2 5.4 1 12 1Z" fill="#ff4d5e" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="1.2" />
      <path d="M10.5 25h3l-.7 2h-1.6Z" fill="#ff4d5e" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="1" strokeLinejoin="round" />
      <ellipse cx="8" cy="8" rx="2" ry="3.5" fill="#fff" opacity="0.55" transform="rotate(-20 8 8)" />
    </svg>
  );
}

const LENGTH = 64;

/** A balloon on a string, tugging up from the pointer and swaying as you move; it puffs up over anything clickable, and a click pops it (it comes back). */
export function BalloonCursor({ className = "" }: { className?: string }) {
  const s = useRef({ x: 0, y: 0, vx: 0, vy: 0, size: 1, popped: 0, wasDown: false });
  const ref = useCursor((p, el) => {
    const st = s.current;
    if (!p.dt || p.reduced) [st.x, st.y, st.vx, st.vy] = [p.x + 8, p.y - LENGTH, 0, 0];
    else {
      // Buoyancy up, air drag, and a string it cannot stretch.
      st.vy -= 900 * p.dt;
      st.vx *= 1 - Math.min(p.dt * 3, 1);
      st.vy *= 1 - Math.min(p.dt * 3, 1);
      st.x += st.vx * p.dt;
      st.y += st.vy * p.dt;
      const [dx, dy] = [st.x - p.x, st.y - p.y];
      const d = Math.hypot(dx, dy) || 1;
      if (d > LENGTH) {
        const [nx, ny] = [dx / d, dy / d];
        [st.x, st.y] = [p.x + nx * LENGTH, p.y + ny * LENGTH];
        const out = st.vx * nx + st.vy * ny;
        if (out > 0) [st.vx, st.vy] = [st.vx - out * nx, st.vy - out * ny];
      }
    }
    // A click pops it; it regrows half a second after you let go.
    if (p.down && !st.wasDown && !st.popped) [st.popped, st.size] = [0.001, 0];
    st.wasDown = p.down;
    if (st.popped) st.popped += p.dt;
    if (st.popped > 0.5 && !p.down) st.popped = 0;
    if (!st.popped) st.size += ((p.hover ? 1.25 : 1) - st.size) * p.ease(st.size < 0.9 ? 6 : 12);
    const [string, balloon, burst] = el.children as HTMLCollectionOf<HTMLElement>;
    const tilt = Math.atan2(st.x - p.x, p.y - st.y);
    string.style.opacity = st.size < 0.05 ? "0" : "1";
    string.firstElementChild!.setAttribute("d", `M${p.x} ${p.y}Q${(p.x + st.x) / 2 - st.vx * 0.04} ${(p.y + st.y) / 2} ${st.x} ${st.y}`);
    balloon.style.transform = `translate(${st.x}px, ${st.y}px) rotate(${tilt}rad) scale(${st.size})`;
    const age = st.popped ? st.popped / 0.25 : 1;
    burst.style.transform = `translate(${st.x}px, ${st.y - 18}px) scale(${0.5 + age})`;
    burst.style.opacity = String(Math.max(0, 1 - age));
  });

  return (
    <div ref={ref} aria-hidden className={`${cursorRoot} ${className}`}>
      <svg className="absolute top-0 left-0 size-px overflow-visible">
        <path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="1" />
      </svg>
      {/* Zero-size wrapper on the knot: the balloon tilts and swells around it. */}
      <div className="absolute top-0 left-0">
        <BalloonArt className="absolute top-[-34px] left-[-15px] h-[35px] w-[30px]" />
      </div>
      <svg viewBox="-12 -12 24 24" className="absolute size-12 -translate-1/2 opacity-0" stroke="#ff4d5e" strokeWidth="1.5" strokeLinecap="round">
        {Array.from({ length: 8 }, (_, i) => (
          <path key={i} d="M0-7v-4" transform={`rotate(${i * 45})`} />
        ))}
      </svg>
    </div>
  );
}

It runs on the useCursor hook, which has its own source and API.

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