Bars Loader
Five vertical bars stretch and shrink like an audio equalizer. Great for media players, voice input, and anything that is 'processing' rather than 'fetching'.
HTML
<div class="ldr-bars" role="status" aria-label="Loading"> <span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span> </div>
CSS
.ldr-bars {
--s: var(--ldr-size, 48px);
--c: var(--ldr-color, #3b82f6);
display: flex;
align-items: center;
gap: calc(var(--s) / 12);
height: var(--s);
}
.ldr-bars span {
width: calc(var(--s) / 8);
height: 100%;
border-radius: calc(var(--s) / 24);
background: var(--c);
animation: ldr-bars-stretch 1.2s ease-in-out infinite;
}
.ldr-bars span:nth-child(2) { animation-delay: -1.1s; }
.ldr-bars span:nth-child(3) { animation-delay: -1.0s; }
.ldr-bars span:nth-child(4) { animation-delay: -0.9s; }
.ldr-bars span:nth-child(5) { animation-delay: -0.8s; }
@keyframes ldr-bars-stretch {
0%, 40%, 100% { transform: scaleY(0.4); }
20% { transform: scaleY(1); }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.ldr-bars, .ldr-bars *, .ldr-bars::before, .ldr-bars::after, .ldr-bars *::before, .ldr-bars *::after {
animation-duration: 3s;
}
}Customizing this loader
- Color: set
--ldr-coloron the element or a parent. Currently previewing#3b82f6. - Size: set
--ldr-size. Every dimension in the snippet is derived from it. Currently previewing64px. - Speed: change the duration on the
animationshorthand. Delays on the children are relative, so they keep their rhythm. - Accessibility: the root carries
role="status"and anaria-labelso screen readers announce the wait. The reduced-motion rule at the end slows the animation for users who asked for less motion.