Typewriter Tooltip Hover Effect: CSS Hover Effect

Typewriter Tooltip Hover Effect

A terminal button whose tooltip types its command out one character at a time behind a blinking block cursor. A steps() animation on a ch-based width does the typing.

Also known as: typing tooltip css, terminal tooltip on hover, typewriter hover text.

Color Base size 16px Dark background Hold hover state

HTML

<button class="hfx-tooltip-typewriter" aria-label="Open terminal">
  <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><rect x="3" y="4" width="18" height="16" rx="2.5"/><path d="m7.5 9.5 3 2.5-3 2.5M12.5 15h4"/></svg>
  <span class="hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip"><span>npm run dev</span></span>
</button>

CSS

.hfx-tooltip-typewriter {
  --c: var(--hfx-color, #3b82f6);
  font-size: var(--hfx-size, 16px);
  position: relative;
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
  width: 2.75em;
  height: 2.75em;
  padding: 0;
  border: 0;
  border-radius: 0.65em;
  background: var(--c);
  color: #fff;
  cursor: pointer;
}
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter > svg { width: 1.35em; height: 1.35em; }
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip {
  position: absolute;
  bottom: calc(100% + 0.7em);
  left: 50%;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  box-sizing: content-box;
  width: 14ch;
  padding: 0.5em 0.8em;
  border-radius: 0.5em;
  background: #0f172a;
  box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 40%, transparent), 0 0.5em 1.2em -0.4em rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);
  color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 45%, #fff);
  font-family: ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, Menlo, Consolas, monospace;
  font-size: 0.8em;
  font-weight: 600;
  line-height: 1.3;
  white-space: nowrap;
  opacity: 0;
  pointer-events: none;
  transform: translate(-50%, 0.4em) scale(0.92);
  transform-origin: 50% 100%;
  transition: opacity 0.15s ease, transform 0.25s cubic-bezier(0.3, 0.7, 0.4, 1);
}
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip::before {
  content: "$";
  margin-right: 1ch;
  opacity: 0.5;
}
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip span {
  width: 0;
  overflow: hidden;
}
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip::after {
  content: "";
  width: 0.6ch;
  height: 1.15em;
  margin-left: 0.1ch;
  background: currentColor;
}
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter:is(:hover, :focus-visible) .hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip {
  opacity: 1;
  transform: translate(-50%, 0) scale(1);
}
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter:is(:hover, :focus-visible) .hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip span {
  animation: hfx-tooltip-typewriter-type 0.8s steps(11) 0.2s both;
}
.hfx-tooltip-typewriter:is(:hover, :focus-visible) .hfx-tooltip-typewriter-tip::after {
  animation: hfx-tooltip-typewriter-blink 0.9s steps(1) 1s infinite;
}
@keyframes hfx-tooltip-typewriter-type {
  from { width: 0; }
  to { width: 11ch; }
}
@keyframes hfx-tooltip-typewriter-blink {
  50% { opacity: 0; }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .hfx-tooltip-typewriter, .hfx-tooltip-typewriter *, .hfx-tooltip-typewriter::before, .hfx-tooltip-typewriter::after, .hfx-tooltip-typewriter *::before, .hfx-tooltip-typewriter *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
  }
}

Customizing this snippet

Color: set --hfx-color on the element or a parent. Currently previewing #3b82f6.
Base size: set --hfx-size. Every other dimension is in em, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing 16px.
Speed: change the duration on the transition or animation shorthand. Staggered delays are relative, so they keep their rhythm.
Reduced motion: the rule at the end of the CSS turns the motion off for people who asked their OS for less of it. Keep it.

Typewriter Tooltip Hover Effect

HTML

CSS

Customizing this snippet

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