Smooth Caret Typing Effect
Letters appear per keystroke while the caret glides to its new spot instead of jumping, then blinks with a soft fade, like a code editor with smooth caret on. Two animations make the glide.
Also known as: smooth cursor animation css, gliding text cursor, editor smooth caret.
Type smoothly
HTML
<div class="txt-smooth-caret-typing"><span class="txt-smooth-caret-typing-t">Type smoothly</span><span class="txt-smooth-caret-typing-caret" aria-hidden="true"></span></div>
CSS
.txt-smooth-caret-typing {
--c: var(--txt-color, #3b82f6);
font-size: var(--txt-size, 32px);
font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 1.2;
position: relative;
display: inline-block;
width: calc(13ch + 0.2em);
font-family: ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, Menlo, Consolas, monospace;
font-weight: 600;
text-align: left;
white-space: pre;}
.txt-smooth-caret-typing-t {
display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top;
overflow: hidden;
width: 0;
/* 13 characters, one every 100ms */
animation: txt-smooth-caret-typing-type 1.3s steps(13, jump-start) 0.4s forwards;
}
.txt-smooth-caret-typing-caret {
position: absolute;
top: 0.1em;
left: 0;
width: 0.08em;
height: 1em;
border-radius: 0.04em;
background: var(--c);
/* translate jumps one ch per key; transform starts each jump 1ch behind and eases it in */
animation:
txt-smooth-caret-typing-step 1.3s steps(13, jump-start) 0.4s forwards,
txt-smooth-caret-typing-glide 0.1s cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.7, 0.3, 1) 0.4s 13 forwards,
txt-smooth-caret-typing-fade 0.5s ease-in-out 1.9s infinite alternate;
}
@keyframes txt-smooth-caret-typing-type {
to { width: 13ch; }
}
@keyframes txt-smooth-caret-typing-step {
to { translate: 13ch; }
}
@keyframes txt-smooth-caret-typing-glide {
from { transform: translateX(-1ch); }
to { transform: translateX(0); }
}
@keyframes txt-smooth-caret-typing-fade {
0%, 40% { opacity: 1; }
100% { opacity: 0.05; }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.txt-smooth-caret-typing, .txt-smooth-caret-typing *, .txt-smooth-caret-typing::before, .txt-smooth-caret-typing::after, .txt-smooth-caret-typing *::before, .txt-smooth-caret-typing *::after {
animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
}
}Customizing this snippet
- Color: set
--txt-coloron the element or a parent. Currently previewing#3b82f6. - Font size: set
--txt-size. Every other dimension is inem, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing40px. - Speed: change the duration on the
transitionoranimationshorthand. 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.