Preview Rail
Codex app-inspired navigation rail with compact ticks that form a hover pyramid and reveal a floating destination preview.
Preview
TSXcomponents/previews/motion/preview-rail.preview.tsx
"use client";
import { PreviewRail } from "@/components/motion/preview-rail";
export const previewRailItems = [
{
id: "dashboard",
label: "Dashboard",
description: "Return to your workspace overview and recent activity.",
href: "#dashboard",
},
{
id: "components",
label: "Components",
description: "Browse motion primitives for React and Next.js.",
href: "#components",
},
{
id: "blocks",
label: "Blocks",
description: "Explore composed, product-ready interface blocks.",
href: "#blocks",
},
{
id: "playground",
label: "Playground",
description: "Tune motion values and preview behavior live.",
href: "#playground",
},
{
id: "docs",
label: "Documentation",
description: "Read installation, usage, and API reference notes.",
href: "#docs",
},
{
id: "changelog",
label: "Changelog",
description: "Review newly launched components and improvements.",
href: "#changelog",
},
{
id: "sponsors",
label: "Sponsors",
description: "Support continued development of the open-source library.",
href: "#sponsors",
},
{
id: "pro",
label: "beUI Pro",
description: "Get premium components and lifetime access.",
href: "#pro",
},
{
id: "examples",
label: "Examples",
description: "See components composed in practical interface patterns.",
href: "#examples",
},
{
id: "templates",
label: "Templates",
description: "Start from polished layouts built with beUI components.",
href: "#templates",
},
{
id: "guides",
label: "Guides",
description: "Learn how to combine motion primitives effectively.",
href: "#guides",
},
{
id: "community",
label: "Community",
description: "Discover what other builders are creating with beUI.",
href: "#community",
},
{
id: "github",
label: "GitHub",
description: "View the source, report issues, and contribute improvements.",
href: "#github",
},
{
id: "about",
label: "About",
description: "Learn more about the ideas and people behind beUI.",
href: "#about",
},
];
export function PreviewRailPreview() {
return (
<div className="flex w-full flex-col gap-8">
<PreviewRail
items={previewRailItems}
defaultActiveId="docs"
className="mx-auto h-[360px] w-full max-w-2xl"
/>
<PreviewRail
items={previewRailItems}
orientation="horizontal"
defaultActiveId="docs"
className="mx-auto h-[280px] w-full max-w-2xl"
/>
</div>
);
}
TSXcomponents/motion/preview-rail.tsx
"use client";
// beui.dev/components/motion/preview-rail
import { AnimatePresence, motion, useReducedMotion } from "motion/react";
import {
type MouseEvent,
type PointerEvent,
type ReactNode,
useCallback,
useId,
useRef,
useState,
} from "react";
import { EASE_OUT, SPRING_LAYOUT } from "@/lib/ease";
import { useDismiss } from "@/lib/hooks/use-dismiss";
import { useHoverGesture } from "@/lib/hooks/use-hover-gesture";
import { useTapGesture } from "@/lib/hooks/use-tap-gesture";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
export interface PreviewRailItem {
id: string;
label: string;
ariaLabel?: string;
description?: ReactNode;
href?: string;
target?: "_blank" | "_self" | "_parent" | "_top";
rel?: string;
}
export interface PreviewRailProps {
items: PreviewRailItem[];
label?: string;
orientation?: "vertical" | "horizontal";
activeId?: string;
defaultActiveId?: string;
onActiveChange?: (id: string) => void;
onItemSelect?: (item: PreviewRailItem) => void;
renderPreview?: (item: PreviewRailItem) => ReactNode;
showPreview?: boolean;
previewSide?: "before" | "after";
highlightActive?: boolean;
itemSize?: number;
children?: ReactNode;
className?: string;
railClassName?: string;
previewContainerClassName?: string;
previewClassName?: string;
}
function DefaultPreview({ item }: { item: PreviewRailItem }) {
return (
<div
data-slot="preview-rail-card"
className="rounded-2xl border border-border bg-card p-4 shadow-sm"
>
<p
data-slot="preview-rail-title"
className="font-medium text-card-foreground"
>
{item.label}
</p>
{item.description ? (
<div
data-slot="preview-rail-description"
className="mt-1 text-sm leading-6 text-muted-foreground"
>
{item.description}
</div>
) : null}
</div>
);
}
export function PreviewRail({
items,
label = "Section navigation",
orientation = "vertical",
activeId,
defaultActiveId,
onActiveChange,
onItemSelect,
renderPreview,
showPreview = true,
previewSide = "after",
highlightActive = false,
itemSize = 24,
children,
className,
railClassName,
previewContainerClassName,
previewClassName,
}: PreviewRailProps) {
const uid = useId();
const reduce = useReducedMotion();
const rootRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
const [internalActiveId, setInternalActiveId] = useState(
defaultActiveId ?? items[0]?.id ?? "",
);
const [hoveredId, setHoveredId] = useState<string | null>(null);
// A finger cannot hover, so a tap lights the tick instead. Kept apart from
// the hovered one: they end in different ways, and a stray mouse move must
// not clear a tick the keyboard or a tap chose.
const [pinnedId, setPinnedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
const [focusedId, setFocusedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
// A click carries no pointerType, so the pointerdown before it is what says
// whether the activation was a tap. Keyboard activation has none at all.
const tap = useTapGesture<boolean>();
const hover = useHoverGesture();
const clearPinned = useCallback(() => setPinnedId(null), []);
// The next tap outside the rail stands in for the pointer leaving it. The
// card is a preview, so that tap passes through to whatever it landed on.
useDismiss(pinnedId !== null, clearPinned, rootRef);
const requestedActiveId = activeId ?? internalActiveId;
const selectedId = items.some((item) => item.id === requestedActiveId)
? requestedActiveId
: (items[0]?.id ?? "");
const displayedId = hoveredId ?? pinnedId ?? focusedId ?? "";
const highlightedId = displayedId || (highlightActive ? selectedId : "");
const displayedIndex = items.findIndex((item) => item.id === highlightedId);
const rowTemplate = items.length
? `repeat(${items.length}, ${itemSize}px)`
: undefined;
const isHorizontal = orientation === "horizontal";
const selectItem = (id: string) => {
if (activeId === undefined) setInternalActiveId(id);
onActiveChange?.(id);
};
return (
<motion.div
layoutRoot
ref={rootRef}
onBlur={(event) => {
// Both tick sources leave with the focus: a tap does not always land
// focus, but when it does, tabbing away must not strand the card.
if (!event.currentTarget.contains(event.relatedTarget)) {
setFocusedId(null);
setPinnedId(null);
}
}}
className={cn(
"isolate relative flex w-full overflow-visible",
isHorizontal
? "min-h-64 flex-col items-center justify-center"
: "min-h-80",
className,
)}
>
<nav
aria-label={label}
onPointerLeave={(event) => {
// A touch pointer leaves on lift, which would clear the tick the tap
// just chose — that one is cleared by the outside tap instead.
if (hover.leave(event)) setHoveredId(null);
}}
style={
isHorizontal
? { gridTemplateColumns: rowTemplate }
: { gridTemplateRows: rowTemplate }
}
className={cn(
"relative z-10 grid shrink-0",
isHorizontal
? "h-12 w-fit max-w-full self-center justify-center"
: "w-12 content-center",
railClassName,
)}
>
{items.map((item, index) => {
const selected = item.id === selectedId;
const highlighted = item.id === highlightedId;
const distance =
displayedIndex < 0 ? Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY : Math.abs(index - displayedIndex);
const scale = highlighted
? 1
: distance === 1
? 0.68
: distance === 2
? 0.44
: 0.25;
const itemContent = (
<>
<motion.span
data-slot="preview-rail-tick"
aria-hidden="true"
animate={isHorizontal ? { scaleY: scale } : { scaleX: scale }}
transition={reduce ? { duration: 0 } : SPRING_LAYOUT}
className={cn(
"block bg-current",
isHorizontal
? "h-12 w-0.5 origin-bottom"
: "h-0.5 w-12 origin-left",
highlighted ? "text-foreground" : undefined,
)}
/>
</>
);
const sharedClassName = cn(
"relative flex text-muted-foreground focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-ring focus-visible:ring-offset-2 focus-visible:ring-offset-background",
isHorizontal
? "h-12 w-6 items-end justify-center"
: "h-6 w-12 items-center",
);
const sharedStyle = isHorizontal
? { width: itemSize }
: { height: itemSize };
const handlePointerEnter = (event: PointerEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
if (hover.enter(event)) setHoveredId(item.id);
};
const handlePointerDown = (event: PointerEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
tap.start(event, pinnedId === item.id);
setFocusedId(null);
};
// A gesture the platform takes away sends no click, and a key press
// starts an activation that never had a pointer behind it: either
// one leaves a record the next click would read as a tap of its own.
const dropGesture = () => tap.drop();
const handleFocus = (currentTarget: HTMLElement) => {
if (currentTarget.matches(":focus-visible")) {
setFocusedId(item.id);
}
};
const handleSelect = (event: MouseEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
const gesture = tap.take();
const tapped =
gesture !== null && gesture.pointerType !== "mouse";
if (tapped) {
// A link would otherwise show its preview and leave the page in
// the same tap, so the card is never read: the first tap lights
// the tick, the second follows the link.
if (item.href && !gesture.state) {
event.preventDefault();
setPinnedId(item.id);
return;
}
setPinnedId(item.id);
}
selectItem(item.id);
onItemSelect?.(item);
};
return item.href ? (
<a
key={item.id}
data-slot="preview-rail-item"
href={item.href}
target={item.target}
rel={
item.rel ??
(item.target === "_blank" ? "noreferrer noopener" : undefined)
}
aria-label={item.ariaLabel ?? item.label}
aria-current={selected ? "page" : undefined}
onPointerEnter={handlePointerEnter}
onPointerDown={handlePointerDown}
onPointerCancel={dropGesture}
onKeyDown={dropGesture}
onFocus={(event) => handleFocus(event.currentTarget)}
onClick={handleSelect}
style={sharedStyle}
className={sharedClassName}
>
{itemContent}
</a>
) : (
<button
key={item.id}
data-slot="preview-rail-item"
type="button"
aria-label={item.ariaLabel ?? item.label}
aria-current={selected ? "location" : undefined}
onPointerEnter={handlePointerEnter}
onPointerDown={handlePointerDown}
onPointerCancel={dropGesture}
onKeyDown={dropGesture}
onFocus={(event) => handleFocus(event.currentTarget)}
onClick={handleSelect}
style={sharedStyle}
className={sharedClassName}
>
{itemContent}
</button>
);
})}
</nav>
{showPreview ? (
<div
aria-hidden="true"
style={
isHorizontal
? { gridTemplateColumns: rowTemplate }
: { gridTemplateRows: rowTemplate }
}
className={cn(
"pointer-events-none absolute z-50 grid",
isHorizontal
? "top-1/2 left-1/2 h-5 w-fit max-w-full -translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 justify-center"
: previewSide === "before"
? "inset-y-0 right-16 left-4 content-center"
: "inset-y-0 right-4 left-16 content-center",
previewContainerClassName,
)}
>
{items.map((item) => (
<div
key={item.id}
style={
isHorizontal ? { width: itemSize } : { height: itemSize }
}
className={cn(
"relative flex items-center",
isHorizontal ? "justify-center" : undefined,
)}
>
{item.id === displayedId ? (
<div
className={cn(
isHorizontal
? "absolute bottom-12 left-1/2 w-72 -translate-x-1/2"
: cn(
"w-full max-w-sm",
previewSide === "before" && "ml-auto",
),
previewClassName,
)}
>
<motion.div
layoutId={`preview-rail-card-${uid}`}
transition={reduce ? { duration: 0 } : SPRING_LAYOUT}
>
<AnimatePresence mode="wait" initial={false}>
<motion.div
key={item.id}
initial={
reduce
? { opacity: 0 }
: { opacity: 0, y: 4, filter: "blur(6px)" }
}
animate={
reduce
? { opacity: 1 }
: { opacity: 1, y: 0, filter: "blur(0px)" }
}
exit={
reduce
? { opacity: 0 }
: {
opacity: 0,
y: -2,
filter: "blur(4px)",
transition: {
duration: 0.12,
ease: EASE_OUT,
},
}
}
transition={{
duration: reduce ? 0 : 0.18,
ease: EASE_OUT,
}}
>
{renderPreview ? (
renderPreview(item)
) : (
<DefaultPreview item={item} />
)}
</motion.div>
</AnimatePresence>
</motion.div>
</div>
) : null}
</div>
))}
</div>
) : null}
{children ? (
<div className="min-h-0 min-w-0 flex-1">{children}</div>
) : null}
</motion.div>
);
}
Install
Add it with the shadcn CLI, or copy the source manually.
$ bunx --bun shadcn add @beui/preview-rail
Needs the theme tokens once. Already ran
shadcn init? You are set. Theme setupInstall dependencies
npm i clsx motion tailwind-mergeAdd util files
TSXlib/ease.ts
// Shared motion tokens. Easing curves mirror the CSS custom properties in
// globals.css; springs are the canonical physics used across components.
// Strong custom variants — defaults like `ease-in`/`ease-out` feel weak.
export const EASE_OUT = [0.16, 1, 0.3, 1] as const;
export const EASE_IN_OUT = [0.77, 0, 0.175, 1] as const;
export const EASE_DRAWER = [0.32, 0.72, 0, 1] as const;
/** CSS string form of EASE_OUT for inline style transitions. */
export const EASE_OUT_CSS = "cubic-bezier(0.16, 1, 0.3, 1)";
/** Press feedback on buttons and other tappable surfaces. */
export const SPRING_PRESS = {
type: "spring",
stiffness: 500,
damping: 30,
mass: 0.6,
} as const;
/** Content swaps — label/icon slots trading places inside a control. */
export const SPRING_SWAP = {
type: "spring",
stiffness: 460,
damping: 30,
mass: 0.55,
} as const;
/** Overlay panel entrances — modals and sheets summoned by pointer. */
export const SPRING_PANEL = {
type: "spring",
stiffness: 420,
damping: 40,
mass: 0.5,
} as const;
/** Shared-layout glides — pills, indicators and panels morphing between positions. */
export const SPRING_LAYOUT = {
type: "spring",
stiffness: 360,
damping: 32,
mass: 0.6,
} as const;
/** Cursor-follow physics for decorative mouse tracking (magnetic, tilt, dock). */
export const SPRING_MOUSE = {
stiffness: 200,
damping: 15,
mass: 0.3,
} as const;
/** Dragged handles and fills (sliders) — critically damped `useSpring` config,
* so the value follows the pointer butterily and never rebounds off an end. */
export const SPRING_GLIDE = {
stiffness: 700,
damping: 50,
mass: 0.5,
} as const;
TSXlib/hooks/use-dismiss.ts
"use client";
import { type RefObject, useEffect } from "react";
/**
* What the dismissing gesture does to the control it landed on.
*
* `"pass-through"` is the platform norm (native popover light-dismiss): the
* tap closes the overlay *and* activates whatever was under it. Use
* `"consume"` where the open overlay sits over or beside controls that would
* be costly to trigger by accident — the dismissal then swallows the
* activation too, so the gesture only closes.
*/
export type DismissBehavior = "pass-through" | "consume";
export interface DismissOptions {
/** Default `"pass-through"`. */
behavior?: DismissBehavior;
/** Dismiss on Escape as well. Default true. */
escape?: boolean;
/** Return true for an outside target that should *not* dismiss. Must be stable. */
ignore?: (target: Element) => boolean;
}
/**
* What every currently open dismiss scope counts as inside itself. A consumed
* dismissal reads this to tell a stray gesture from one that belongs to an
* overlay in front of it: overlays have no shared z-order to consult, but the
* one the gesture landed in has said as much by registering it.
*/
const openScopes = new Set<(target: Element) => boolean>();
function claimedByAnotherScope(
self: (target: Element) => boolean,
target: Element,
) {
for (const scope of openScopes) {
if (scope !== self && scope(target)) return true;
}
return false;
}
// preventDefault on pointerdown does not suppress the click that follows, so
// consuming a gesture means swallowing that click itself. The swallower
// deliberately outlives the effect that installed it — the dismissal it
// belongs to has already unmounted or re-rendered by the time the click lands.
// It releases on that click, or on the next gesture if the pointer is dragged
// away and no click ever arrives, so it can never eat a later one. A keydown
// releases it too: a gesture that ends with neither a click nor a cancel would
// otherwise leave it armed, and the click Enter synthesizes on some focused
// control is not the one this dismissal was owed.
function consumeActivation(source: Event) {
const swallow = (event: MouseEvent) => {
event.preventDefault();
event.stopPropagation();
release();
};
const restart = (event: Event) => {
if (event !== source) release();
};
const release = () => {
window.removeEventListener("click", swallow, true);
window.removeEventListener("pointerdown", restart, true);
window.removeEventListener("pointercancel", restart, true);
window.removeEventListener("keydown", release, true);
};
window.addEventListener("click", swallow, true);
window.addEventListener("pointerdown", restart, true);
window.addEventListener("pointercancel", restart, true);
window.addEventListener("keydown", release, true);
}
/**
* Close an open overlay on Escape or a pointerdown outside `ref`. Pass `null`
* for `ref` when what counts as inside isn't one element, and say so with
* `ignore` instead.
*
* The pointerdown listener is capture-phase: a bubble-phase one is blinded by
* any handler in between that stops propagation, and an overlay cannot know
* what it is layered over. `onDismiss` and `ignore` must be stable (wrap in
* useCallback) so the listeners aren't re-bound every render while open.
*/
export function useDismiss(
open: boolean,
onDismiss: () => void,
ref: RefObject<HTMLElement | null> | null,
{
behavior = "pass-through",
escape: dismissOnEscape = true,
ignore,
}: DismissOptions = {},
) {
useEffect(() => {
if (!open) return;
const inside = (target: Element) =>
Boolean(ref?.current?.contains(target)) || Boolean(ignore?.(target));
const onKey = (event: KeyboardEvent) => {
if (dismissOnEscape && event.key === "Escape") onDismiss();
};
const onPointer = (event: PointerEvent) => {
const target = event.target as Element | null;
if (!target || inside(target)) return;
// Outside this overlay, but inside one that is also open: the gesture is
// that overlay's to answer, and swallowing its click from behind would
// cost the user the control they actually aimed at.
if (behavior === "consume" && !claimedByAnotherScope(inside, target)) {
consumeActivation(event);
}
onDismiss();
};
openScopes.add(inside);
window.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
window.addEventListener("pointerdown", onPointer, true);
return () => {
openScopes.delete(inside);
window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
window.removeEventListener("pointerdown", onPointer, true);
};
}, [open, onDismiss, ref, behavior, dismissOnEscape, ignore]);
}
TSXlib/hooks/use-hover-gesture.ts
"use client";
import { useMemo, useRef } from "react";
import { isHoveringPointer } from "@/lib/touch";
interface BoundaryEvent {
pointerId: number;
pointerType: string;
buttons: number;
}
export interface HoverGesture {
/** True when this enter starts a hover: the pointer arrived resting, not pressing. */
enter: (event: BoundaryEvent) => boolean;
/** True when this leave ends a hover that entered as one. */
leave: (event: BoundaryEvent) => boolean;
}
/**
* Pairs a surface's enter with its leave, per pointer.
*
* `isHoveringPointer` answers the question the *enter* asks — is this pointer
* resting on the surface or pressing it — and both boundary cases go wrong if
* the leave is asked the same question again:
*
* - A pen with no hover never rests. It arrives in contact, taps, and the spec
* then requires its boundary events after `pointerup`, so the leave carries
* `buttons: 0` and reads as a mouse gliding off. Hover teardown then undid
* the tap — the panel the pen had just opened closed under it.
* - A mouse pressed on the surface and dragged off leaves with `buttons: 1`.
* Skipping teardown there strands the surface open: the release happens
* outside, and no second leave ever comes.
*
* So the state a hover holds is released by the pointer that took it, whatever
* the buttons say at the boundary, and a pointer that arrived in contact never
* took it in the first place. Contact is the exception tracked here, not
* hover: a leave from a pointer this surface never saw enter — mounted under
* the cursor, say — still counts, since the alternative is state with no way
* out.
*/
export function useHoverGesture(): HoverGesture {
const contact = useRef(new Set<number>());
return useMemo(
() => ({
enter: (event) => {
if (isHoveringPointer(event)) {
contact.current.delete(event.pointerId);
return true;
}
contact.current.add(event.pointerId);
return false;
},
leave: (event) => {
const arrivedInContact = contact.current.delete(event.pointerId);
return !arrivedInContact && event.pointerType !== "touch";
},
}),
[],
);
}
TSXlib/hooks/use-tap-gesture.ts
"use client";
import { useMemo, useRef } from "react";
/** What a pointerdown recorded, read back by the click that ends its gesture. */
export interface TapRecord<S> {
/** Which input started the gesture. */
pointerType: string;
/** What the surface was showing when it started. */
state: S;
}
export interface TapGesture<S> {
/** Record the gesture a pointerdown starts, with the state it starts in. */
start: (event: { pointerType: string }, state: S) => void;
/** Read the record and clear it. `null` when no pointer is behind this click. */
take: () => TapRecord<S> | null;
/** Drop the record: this gesture will never spend it on a click. */
drop: () => void;
}
/**
* The pointer gesture behind a click, recorded where the click cannot report
* it. A `click` carries no `pointerType` in the engines that matter, so the
* `pointerdown` before it is the only thing that says which input activated
* the control — and whether one did at all, since keyboard activation
* synthesizes a click with no pointer behind it.
*
* State goes in with the record because a click reports that no better: a
* browser that focuses a control on contact can open the very panel the tap
* was meant to open, and reading "is it open" at click time then undoes it.
* What the gesture started against is what it acts on.
*
* The record is spent by one click and dropped by everything else, because a
* record that outlives its gesture is worse than none:
*
* - A scroll or an OS gesture takes the touch away — `pointercancel`, no click
* ever — and the finger would sit in the record until some later click.
* - That later click is often `Enter` on a keyboard, which arrives with no
* pointerdown of its own and would inherit the abandoned finger. A keydown
* is the start of a keyboard activation and never part of a tap, so it drops
* the record too.
*
* Both ends have to be wired by the surface: `drop` on `onPointerCancel` and
* on `onKeyDown`.
*/
export function useTapGesture<S>(): TapGesture<S> {
const record = useRef<TapRecord<S> | null>(null);
return useMemo(
() => ({
start: (event, state) => {
record.current = { pointerType: event.pointerType, state };
},
take: () => {
const spent = record.current;
record.current = null;
return spent;
},
drop: () => {
record.current = null;
},
}),
[],
);
}
TSXlib/utils.ts
import { clsx, type ClassValue } from "clsx"
import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge"
export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
return twMerge(clsx(inputs))
}
TSXlib/touch.ts
// Shared touch primitives. iOS and iPadOS run their own gestures on top of the
// page — the long-press selection callout and the selection it drags in with
// it — and they win: once the platform claims a touch it cancels ours
// mid-gesture, so a press-and-hold or a drag simply dies. Surfaces that own
// their gesture have to opt out.
//
// What the two classes below cover, precisely:
// - `-webkit-touch-callout: none` stops iOS's long-press callout. WebKit-only:
// it is not a property other engines have, so it is inert everywhere else.
// - `user-select: none` stops the long-press selection on every engine,
// Android included, and stops a drag from painting a selection under the
// cursor. It is inherited, so it reaches every descendant — which is why the
// two classes differ only in whether they apply it unconditionally.
// What neither covers:
// - Chrome for Android's long-press menu on a link or an image. No CSS
// suppresses it; a gesture surface that wraps one needs its own
// `onContextMenu` with `preventDefault()`.
// - The native drag of an `<img>` or `<a>` descendant. `-webkit-user-drag` is
// not inherited and plain divs and buttons are not drag sources, so setting
// it on the surface does nothing — the child itself needs `draggable={false}`.
/**
* Classes for a surface that *is* the control: a thumb, a drum, a stage, a
* handle, a hold button. Selection is suppressed on every input, because a
* drag that highlights the control's own label is wrong on a mouse too.
* Compose with `touch-none` when the surface also owns the scroll axis — leave
* it off when the page must still scroll from there.
*/
export const TOUCH_GESTURE_CLASS = "select-none [-webkit-touch-callout:none]";
/**
* The same opt-out for a gesture surface that wraps content the consumer owns:
* a scroller, a context-menu trigger, a sheet header, a list row. Selection is
* suppressed only where the platform runs its own press gestures — a coarse
* pointer — so a mouse user can still select and copy that content. If the
* gesture itself would paint a selection under the cursor, add `select-none`
* for the duration of the gesture rather than reaching for
* `TOUCH_GESTURE_CLASS`.
*
* `pointer: coarse` describes the *primary* pointer and nothing else, so a
* hybrid machine reads it wrong in both directions: a tablet with a mouse
* plugged in keeps touch as primary and loses mouse selection, and a laptop
* with a touchscreen keeps the mouse as primary and leaves selection live
* under a finger. No media query can answer per interaction — the query is
* about the device, and the question is about the gesture in progress. The
* default stays here because it is right on the machines that are one thing or
* the other, and losing a selection is a nuisance; where the miss costs a
* *gesture* instead, the surface pairs it with `holdSelection` on the press.
*/
export const TOUCH_GESTURE_CONTENT_CLASS =
"[-webkit-touch-callout:none] pointer-coarse:select-none";
/**
* Suppress selection on `element` for as long as a gesture is running on it,
* whatever the primary pointer of the machine happens to be. Returns the
* release. Inline, so it wins over the class above and is gone again the
* moment the gesture ends.
*
* For the press gestures a native selection would otherwise steal — a
* long-press that opens a menu. Elsewhere prefer the classes: a surface that
* takes selection away for the whole session is a surface whose text nobody
* can copy.
*/
export function holdSelection(element: HTMLElement) {
element.style.setProperty("user-select", "none");
element.style.setProperty("-webkit-user-select", "none");
return () => {
element.style.removeProperty("user-select");
element.style.removeProperty("-webkit-user-select");
};
}
/**
* Pointer capture, best effort. WebKit throws `NotFoundError` when the pointer
* is already gone by the time the handler runs — routine on iOS, where the
* system can claim the touch first — and an uncaught throw takes the rest of
* the handler, the gesture included, down with it. Touch pointers carry
* implicit capture anyway, so losing it is never fatal.
*/
export function capturePointer(element: Element, pointerId: number) {
try {
element.setPointerCapture(pointerId);
} catch {
// Pointer is no longer active — implicit capture still applies on touch.
}
}
/** Release a capture taken with `capturePointer`, ignoring a stale pointer. */
export function releasePointer(element: Element, pointerId: number) {
try {
if (element.hasPointerCapture(pointerId)) {
element.releasePointerCapture(pointerId);
}
} catch {
// Capture was already dropped by the browser.
}
}
/**
* Whether this event came from a pointer that is *hovering*: not a touch, and
* not currently pressed. Which input the user is holding right now is not
* something a device capability can answer — a touchscreen laptop hovers and
* taps, and iPadOS reports a fine hovering pointer for a finger — so both
* paths stay live and each handler branches on the event it was given.
*
* A pen resting on the glass is making contact, not hovering: `buttons` is the
* tell, and it sends a pen tap down the same route a finger takes.
*
* This answers what an *enter* asks. A leave is the other half of a pair and
* has to be read against the enter that started it — `useHoverGesture` in
* `lib/hooks/use-hover-gesture` does that, and hover surfaces should use it
* rather than asking this question twice.
*/
export const isHoveringPointer = (event: {
pointerType: string;
buttons: number;
}) => event.pointerType !== "touch" && event.buttons === 0;
Copy the source code
TSXcomponents/motion/preview-rail.tsx
"use client";
// beui.dev/components/motion/preview-rail
import { AnimatePresence, motion, useReducedMotion } from "motion/react";
import {
type MouseEvent,
type PointerEvent,
type ReactNode,
useCallback,
useId,
useRef,
useState,
} from "react";
import { EASE_OUT, SPRING_LAYOUT } from "@/lib/ease";
import { useDismiss } from "@/lib/hooks/use-dismiss";
import { useHoverGesture } from "@/lib/hooks/use-hover-gesture";
import { useTapGesture } from "@/lib/hooks/use-tap-gesture";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
export interface PreviewRailItem {
id: string;
label: string;
ariaLabel?: string;
description?: ReactNode;
href?: string;
target?: "_blank" | "_self" | "_parent" | "_top";
rel?: string;
}
export interface PreviewRailProps {
items: PreviewRailItem[];
label?: string;
orientation?: "vertical" | "horizontal";
activeId?: string;
defaultActiveId?: string;
onActiveChange?: (id: string) => void;
onItemSelect?: (item: PreviewRailItem) => void;
renderPreview?: (item: PreviewRailItem) => ReactNode;
showPreview?: boolean;
previewSide?: "before" | "after";
highlightActive?: boolean;
itemSize?: number;
children?: ReactNode;
className?: string;
railClassName?: string;
previewContainerClassName?: string;
previewClassName?: string;
}
function DefaultPreview({ item }: { item: PreviewRailItem }) {
return (
<div
data-slot="preview-rail-card"
className="rounded-2xl border border-border bg-card p-4 shadow-sm"
>
<p
data-slot="preview-rail-title"
className="font-medium text-card-foreground"
>
{item.label}
</p>
{item.description ? (
<div
data-slot="preview-rail-description"
className="mt-1 text-sm leading-6 text-muted-foreground"
>
{item.description}
</div>
) : null}
</div>
);
}
export function PreviewRail({
items,
label = "Section navigation",
orientation = "vertical",
activeId,
defaultActiveId,
onActiveChange,
onItemSelect,
renderPreview,
showPreview = true,
previewSide = "after",
highlightActive = false,
itemSize = 24,
children,
className,
railClassName,
previewContainerClassName,
previewClassName,
}: PreviewRailProps) {
const uid = useId();
const reduce = useReducedMotion();
const rootRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
const [internalActiveId, setInternalActiveId] = useState(
defaultActiveId ?? items[0]?.id ?? "",
);
const [hoveredId, setHoveredId] = useState<string | null>(null);
// A finger cannot hover, so a tap lights the tick instead. Kept apart from
// the hovered one: they end in different ways, and a stray mouse move must
// not clear a tick the keyboard or a tap chose.
const [pinnedId, setPinnedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
const [focusedId, setFocusedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
// A click carries no pointerType, so the pointerdown before it is what says
// whether the activation was a tap. Keyboard activation has none at all.
const tap = useTapGesture<boolean>();
const hover = useHoverGesture();
const clearPinned = useCallback(() => setPinnedId(null), []);
// The next tap outside the rail stands in for the pointer leaving it. The
// card is a preview, so that tap passes through to whatever it landed on.
useDismiss(pinnedId !== null, clearPinned, rootRef);
const requestedActiveId = activeId ?? internalActiveId;
const selectedId = items.some((item) => item.id === requestedActiveId)
? requestedActiveId
: (items[0]?.id ?? "");
const displayedId = hoveredId ?? pinnedId ?? focusedId ?? "";
const highlightedId = displayedId || (highlightActive ? selectedId : "");
const displayedIndex = items.findIndex((item) => item.id === highlightedId);
const rowTemplate = items.length
? `repeat(${items.length}, ${itemSize}px)`
: undefined;
const isHorizontal = orientation === "horizontal";
const selectItem = (id: string) => {
if (activeId === undefined) setInternalActiveId(id);
onActiveChange?.(id);
};
return (
<motion.div
layoutRoot
ref={rootRef}
onBlur={(event) => {
// Both tick sources leave with the focus: a tap does not always land
// focus, but when it does, tabbing away must not strand the card.
if (!event.currentTarget.contains(event.relatedTarget)) {
setFocusedId(null);
setPinnedId(null);
}
}}
className={cn(
"isolate relative flex w-full overflow-visible",
isHorizontal
? "min-h-64 flex-col items-center justify-center"
: "min-h-80",
className,
)}
>
<nav
aria-label={label}
onPointerLeave={(event) => {
// A touch pointer leaves on lift, which would clear the tick the tap
// just chose — that one is cleared by the outside tap instead.
if (hover.leave(event)) setHoveredId(null);
}}
style={
isHorizontal
? { gridTemplateColumns: rowTemplate }
: { gridTemplateRows: rowTemplate }
}
className={cn(
"relative z-10 grid shrink-0",
isHorizontal
? "h-12 w-fit max-w-full self-center justify-center"
: "w-12 content-center",
railClassName,
)}
>
{items.map((item, index) => {
const selected = item.id === selectedId;
const highlighted = item.id === highlightedId;
const distance =
displayedIndex < 0 ? Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY : Math.abs(index - displayedIndex);
const scale = highlighted
? 1
: distance === 1
? 0.68
: distance === 2
? 0.44
: 0.25;
const itemContent = (
<>
<motion.span
data-slot="preview-rail-tick"
aria-hidden="true"
animate={isHorizontal ? { scaleY: scale } : { scaleX: scale }}
transition={reduce ? { duration: 0 } : SPRING_LAYOUT}
className={cn(
"block bg-current",
isHorizontal
? "h-12 w-0.5 origin-bottom"
: "h-0.5 w-12 origin-left",
highlighted ? "text-foreground" : undefined,
)}
/>
</>
);
const sharedClassName = cn(
"relative flex text-muted-foreground focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-ring focus-visible:ring-offset-2 focus-visible:ring-offset-background",
isHorizontal
? "h-12 w-6 items-end justify-center"
: "h-6 w-12 items-center",
);
const sharedStyle = isHorizontal
? { width: itemSize }
: { height: itemSize };
const handlePointerEnter = (event: PointerEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
if (hover.enter(event)) setHoveredId(item.id);
};
const handlePointerDown = (event: PointerEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
tap.start(event, pinnedId === item.id);
setFocusedId(null);
};
// A gesture the platform takes away sends no click, and a key press
// starts an activation that never had a pointer behind it: either
// one leaves a record the next click would read as a tap of its own.
const dropGesture = () => tap.drop();
const handleFocus = (currentTarget: HTMLElement) => {
if (currentTarget.matches(":focus-visible")) {
setFocusedId(item.id);
}
};
const handleSelect = (event: MouseEvent<HTMLElement>) => {
const gesture = tap.take();
const tapped =
gesture !== null && gesture.pointerType !== "mouse";
if (tapped) {
// A link would otherwise show its preview and leave the page in
// the same tap, so the card is never read: the first tap lights
// the tick, the second follows the link.
if (item.href && !gesture.state) {
event.preventDefault();
setPinnedId(item.id);
return;
}
setPinnedId(item.id);
}
selectItem(item.id);
onItemSelect?.(item);
};
return item.href ? (
<a
key={item.id}
data-slot="preview-rail-item"
href={item.href}
target={item.target}
rel={
item.rel ??
(item.target === "_blank" ? "noreferrer noopener" : undefined)
}
aria-label={item.ariaLabel ?? item.label}
aria-current={selected ? "page" : undefined}
onPointerEnter={handlePointerEnter}
onPointerDown={handlePointerDown}
onPointerCancel={dropGesture}
onKeyDown={dropGesture}
onFocus={(event) => handleFocus(event.currentTarget)}
onClick={handleSelect}
style={sharedStyle}
className={sharedClassName}
>
{itemContent}
</a>
) : (
<button
key={item.id}
data-slot="preview-rail-item"
type="button"
aria-label={item.ariaLabel ?? item.label}
aria-current={selected ? "location" : undefined}
onPointerEnter={handlePointerEnter}
onPointerDown={handlePointerDown}
onPointerCancel={dropGesture}
onKeyDown={dropGesture}
onFocus={(event) => handleFocus(event.currentTarget)}
onClick={handleSelect}
style={sharedStyle}
className={sharedClassName}
>
{itemContent}
</button>
);
})}
</nav>
{showPreview ? (
<div
aria-hidden="true"
style={
isHorizontal
? { gridTemplateColumns: rowTemplate }
: { gridTemplateRows: rowTemplate }
}
className={cn(
"pointer-events-none absolute z-50 grid",
isHorizontal
? "top-1/2 left-1/2 h-5 w-fit max-w-full -translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 justify-center"
: previewSide === "before"
? "inset-y-0 right-16 left-4 content-center"
: "inset-y-0 right-4 left-16 content-center",
previewContainerClassName,
)}
>
{items.map((item) => (
<div
key={item.id}
style={
isHorizontal ? { width: itemSize } : { height: itemSize }
}
className={cn(
"relative flex items-center",
isHorizontal ? "justify-center" : undefined,
)}
>
{item.id === displayedId ? (
<div
className={cn(
isHorizontal
? "absolute bottom-12 left-1/2 w-72 -translate-x-1/2"
: cn(
"w-full max-w-sm",
previewSide === "before" && "ml-auto",
),
previewClassName,
)}
>
<motion.div
layoutId={`preview-rail-card-${uid}`}
transition={reduce ? { duration: 0 } : SPRING_LAYOUT}
>
<AnimatePresence mode="wait" initial={false}>
<motion.div
key={item.id}
initial={
reduce
? { opacity: 0 }
: { opacity: 0, y: 4, filter: "blur(6px)" }
}
animate={
reduce
? { opacity: 1 }
: { opacity: 1, y: 0, filter: "blur(0px)" }
}
exit={
reduce
? { opacity: 0 }
: {
opacity: 0,
y: -2,
filter: "blur(4px)",
transition: {
duration: 0.12,
ease: EASE_OUT,
},
}
}
transition={{
duration: reduce ? 0 : 0.18,
ease: EASE_OUT,
}}
>
{renderPreview ? (
renderPreview(item)
) : (
<DefaultPreview item={item} />
)}
</motion.div>
</AnimatePresence>
</motion.div>
</div>
) : null}
</div>
))}
</div>
) : null}
{children ? (
<div className="min-h-0 min-w-0 flex-1">{children}</div>
) : null}
</motion.div>
);
}
API Reference
items{}—label?stringSection navigationorientation?"vertical" | "horizontal"verticalactiveId?string—defaultActiveId?string—onActiveChange?((id: string) => void)—onItemSelect?((item: PreviewRailItem) => void)—renderPreview?((item: PreviewRailItem) => ReactNode)—showPreview?booleantruepreviewSide?"before" | "after"afterhighlightActive?booleanfalseitemSize?number24className?string—railClassName?string—previewContainerClassName?string—previewClassName?string—Updated