Spectral Sweep Text
A narrow band of spectrum light passes through otherwise plain text, then the line rests. One oklch gradient clipped to the text, with currentColor at both ends so it suits light and dark pages.
Also known as: rainbow text css, subtle rainbow text animation, prism light text effect.
Made of light
HTML
<div class="txt-spectral-sweep-text">Made of light</div>
CSS
.txt-spectral-sweep-text {
--c: var(--txt-color, #3b82f6);
font-size: calc(var(--txt-size, 32px) * 1.7);
font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
font-weight: 800;
line-height: 1.2;
display: inline-block;
letter-spacing: -0.02em;
white-space: nowrap;
/* the fill is transparent but color stays, so currentColor still means the page's text color */
background: linear-gradient(100deg,
currentColor 40%,
oklch(0.66 0.2 25) 44%,
oklch(0.78 0.16 75) 47.5%,
oklch(0.72 0.18 150) 51%,
oklch(0.68 0.15 225) 54.5%,
oklch(0.6 0.21 290) 58%,
currentColor 62%) 100% 0 / 400% 100%;
-webkit-background-clip: text;
background-clip: text;
-webkit-text-fill-color: transparent;
animation: txt-spectral-sweep-text-pass 6s cubic-bezier(0.45, 0, 0.3, 1) infinite;}
@keyframes txt-spectral-sweep-text-pass {
0% { background-position: 100% 0; }
72%, 100% { background-position: 0% 0; }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.txt-spectral-sweep-text { animation: none; background-position: 50% 0; }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.txt-spectral-sweep-text, .txt-spectral-sweep-text *, .txt-spectral-sweep-text::before, .txt-spectral-sweep-text::after, .txt-spectral-sweep-text *::before, .txt-spectral-sweep-text *::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.