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Hero shader

A full-height hero over a slow monochrome light field drawn in WebGL.

npx shadcn@latest add https://ui.goodtabs.co/r/hero-shader.json

With the @goodtabs namespace in components.json: npx shadcn@latest add @goodtabs/hero-shader

Eyebrow, title, one line and two actions over the light field, full height.

Usage

import { HeroShader } from "@/components/hero-shader"
import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"

<HeroShader
  className="h-dvh min-h-96"
  title="Quiet interfaces, built carefully"
  actions={<Button>Get started</Button>}
/>

Props

PropTypeDefaultDescription
eyebrowstringSmall uppercase line above the title.
titleReactNodeThe headline.
descriptionReactNodeOne or two sentences under the title.
actionsReactNodeButtons and links.

Source

hero-shader/hero-shader.tsx
import * as React from "react";

import { ShaderCanvas } from "@/components/ui/shader-canvas";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

const FRAGMENT = `precision mediump float;
uniform float uTime;
uniform vec2 uResolution;
uniform vec3 uInk;
uniform float uScale;

float hash(vec2 p) {
  return fract(sin(dot(p, vec2(12.9898, 78.233))) * 43758.5453);
}

void main() {
  vec2 uv = gl_FragCoord.xy / uResolution;
  float aspect = uResolution.x / uResolution.y;
  vec2 p = vec2(uv.x * aspect, uv.y);

  // Three slow sines at unrelated angles drift into soft drifting light, never a repeating stripe.
  float t = uTime * 0.12;
  float a = sin(p.x * 2.1 + p.y * 1.3 + t);
  float b = sin(p.x * -1.4 + p.y * 2.6 - t * 1.3);
  float c = sin(length(p - vec2(aspect * 0.5, 0.0)) * 3.2 - t * 1.7);
  float field = 0.5 + 0.1667 * (a + b + c);

  // Light gathers at the bottom and thins to nothing at the top, under the headline.
  float rise = pow(1.0 - uv.y, 1.6);
  float alpha = (0.03 + 0.2 * field * field) * rise;

  // A pixel of noise at 1 / 255 breaks up banding in the gradient.
  alpha += (hash(gl_FragCoord.xy / uScale) - 0.5) / 255.0;
  alpha = clamp(alpha, 0.0, 1.0);
  gl_FragColor = vec4(uInk * alpha, alpha);
}`;

const TOKENS = { uInk: "--foreground" };

type HeroShaderProps = Omit<React.ComponentProps<"section">, "title"> & {
  /** Small uppercase line above the title. */
  eyebrow?: string;
  /** The headline. Pass a string or your own element. */
  title: React.ReactNode;
  /** One or two sentences under the title. */
  description?: React.ReactNode;
  /** Buttons and links. */
  actions?: React.ReactNode;
};

/**
 * A full-bleed hero over a slow, monochrome light field drawn in WebGL.
 * The section fills its box, so give it a height. Without WebGL or under reduced motion it shows one still frame or a gradient.
 */
function HeroShader({ eyebrow, title, description, actions, className, ...props }: HeroShaderProps) {
  return (
    <section
      data-slot="hero-shader"
      className={cn("relative isolate flex items-center justify-center overflow-hidden bg-background px-6", className)}
      {...props}
    >
      <ShaderCanvas fragment={FRAGMENT} tokens={TOKENS} className="-z-10">
        <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-[linear-gradient(to_top,var(--border),transparent_60%)]" />
      </ShaderCanvas>
      <div className="flex max-w-3xl flex-col items-center gap-5 text-center">
        {eyebrow && <p className="m-0 font-mono text-xs tracking-wide text-muted-foreground uppercase">{eyebrow}</p>}
        <h1 className="m-0 text-4xl leading-none font-medium tracking-tight text-balance sm:text-6xl lg:text-7xl">
          {title}
        </h1>
        {description && <p className="m-0 max-w-xl text-base text-muted-foreground sm:text-lg">{description}</p>}
        {actions && <div className="flex flex-wrap justify-center gap-2">{actions}</div>}
      </div>
    </section>
  );
}

export { HeroShader };
components/ui/shader-canvas.tsx
"use client";

import * as React from "react";

import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

type UniformValue = number | readonly number[];

type ShaderCanvasProps = React.ComponentProps<"div"> & {
  /** Fragment shader source. Receives uTime, uResolution (device px), uScale (device px per CSS px), uPointer and uLoaded, plus your uniforms and tokens. */
  fragment: string;
  /** Extra uniforms. Read every frame, so a tween can mutate this object in place. */
  uniforms?: Record<string, UniformValue>;
  /** Theme tokens passed as vec3 uniforms, for example { uInk: "--foreground" }. Re-read on theme change. */
  tokens?: Record<string, string>;
  /** Images passed as sampler2D uniforms, for example { uImage: "/photo.jpg" }. uImageSize-style sizes follow: uImage gets uImageSize. */
  textures?: Record<string, string>;
  /** Upper limit on device pixels per CSS pixel. */
  maxDpr?: number;
  /** The moment, in seconds, drawn as the still frame under reduced motion. */
  stillAt?: number;
  /** "demand" draws only when `invalidateRef` is called, for pieces that rest. The default never stops while visible. */
  frames?: "continuous" | "demand";
  /** Receives a function that draws one frame now. Pair it with frames="demand". */
  invalidateRef?: React.RefObject<(() => void) | null>;
  /** "track" feeds a smoothed pointer position to uPointer on devices with a mouse. */
  pointer?: "none" | "track";
};

const VERTEX = `attribute vec2 aPosition;
void main() { gl_Position = vec4(aPosition, 0.0, 1.0); }`;

/** Resolves a token through the cascade, so a scoped .light or .dark wrapper is respected. */
function readToken(host: HTMLElement, token: string): [number, number, number] {
  const probe = document.createElement("span");
  probe.style.color = `var(${token})`;
  probe.style.display = "none";
  host.appendChild(probe);
  const color = getComputedStyle(probe).color;
  probe.remove();
  const paint = document.createElement("canvas").getContext("2d", { willReadFrequently: true });
  if (!paint) return [0, 0, 0];
  paint.fillStyle = color;
  paint.fillRect(0, 0, 1, 1);
  const [r, g, b] = paint.getImageData(0, 0, 1, 1).data;
  return [r / 255, g / 255, b / 255];
}

function compile(gl: WebGLRenderingContext, type: number, source: string) {
  const shader = gl.createShader(type);
  if (!shader) return null;
  gl.shaderSource(shader, source);
  gl.compileShader(shader);
  if (gl.getShaderParameter(shader, gl.COMPILE_STATUS)) return shader;
  console.error(gl.getShaderInfoLog(shader));
  gl.deleteShader(shader);
  return null;
}

/**
 * A raw WebGL fragment shader on a full-bleed canvas. It pauses off screen, draws one still frame
 * under reduced motion, follows the theme, and leaves its children showing when WebGL is missing.
 * Children are the static fallback, so give it something that reads on its own.
 */
function ShaderCanvas({
  fragment,
  uniforms,
  tokens,
  textures,
  maxDpr = 1.5,
  stillAt = 2,
  frames = "continuous",
  invalidateRef,
  pointer = "none",
  className,
  children,
  ...props
}: ShaderCanvasProps) {
  const host = React.useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
  const canvas = React.useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null);
  const latest = React.useRef({ uniforms, tokens });
  const textureKey = JSON.stringify(textures ?? {});
  const redraw = React.useRef<() => void>(() => {});
  const [ready, setReady] = React.useState(false);
  // Bumped when a lost context comes back, which rebuilds everything from scratch.
  const [generation, setGeneration] = React.useState(0);

  React.useEffect(() => {
    latest.current = { uniforms, tokens };
    redraw.current();
  });

  React.useEffect(() => {
    const root = host.current;
    const el = canvas.current;
    if (!root || !el) return;
    // WebGL clears its buffer once a frame is presented. A canvas that draws rarely has to keep it,
    // or the picture is gone the next time the browser re-composites the page.
    const motion = window.matchMedia("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)");
    const gl = el.getContext("webgl", {
      preserveDrawingBuffer: motion.matches || frames === "demand",
      alpha: true,
      antialias: false,
      depth: false,
      stencil: false,
      premultipliedAlpha: true,
      powerPreference: "low-power",
    });
    if (!gl) return;

    const vertex = compile(gl, gl.VERTEX_SHADER, VERTEX);
    const frag = compile(gl, gl.FRAGMENT_SHADER, fragment);
    const program = gl.createProgram();
    if (!vertex || !frag || !program) return;
    gl.attachShader(program, vertex);
    gl.attachShader(program, frag);
    gl.linkProgram(program);
    if (!gl.getProgramParameter(program, gl.LINK_STATUS)) {
      console.error(gl.getProgramInfoLog(program));
      return;
    }
    gl.useProgram(program);

    // One oversized triangle covers the clip square with no diagonal seam.
    const buffer = gl.createBuffer();
    gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, buffer);
    gl.bufferData(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, new Float32Array([-1, -1, 3, -1, -1, 3]), gl.STATIC_DRAW);
    const position = gl.getAttribLocation(program, "aPosition");
    gl.enableVertexAttribArray(position);
    gl.vertexAttribPointer(position, 2, gl.FLOAT, false, 0, 0);
    gl.enable(gl.BLEND);
    gl.blendFunc(gl.ONE, gl.ONE_MINUS_SRC_ALPHA);

    const locations = new Map<string, WebGLUniformLocation | null>();
    const at = (name: string) => {
      if (!locations.has(name)) locations.set(name, gl.getUniformLocation(program, name));
      return locations.get(name) ?? null;
    };
    const set = (name: string, value: UniformValue) => {
      const loc = at(name);
      if (!loc) return;
      if (typeof value === "number") gl.uniform1f(loc, value);
      else if (value.length === 2) gl.uniform2f(loc, value[0], value[1]);
      else if (value.length === 3) gl.uniform3f(loc, value[0], value[1], value[2]);
      else if (value.length === 4) gl.uniform4f(loc, value[0], value[1], value[2], value[3]);
    };

    let colors: Record<string, [number, number, number]> = {};
    const readTheme = () => {
      colors = Object.fromEntries(
        Object.entries(latest.current.tokens ?? {}).map(([name, token]) => [name, readToken(root, token)]),
      );
    };
    readTheme();

    // Textures load after the first frame. A sampler with nothing bound reads as black, so shaders that
    // use one should fade in on uLoaded, which goes from 0 to 1 once every image has arrived.
    const sources = Object.entries(JSON.parse(textureKey) as Record<string, string>);
    const images: WebGLTexture[] = [];
    let loaded = sources.length === 0 ? 1 : 0;
    let disposed = false;
    let pending = sources.length;
    sources.forEach(([name, src], unit) => {
      const texture = gl.createTexture();
      if (!texture) return;
      images.push(texture);
      const image = new Image();
      image.crossOrigin = "anonymous";
      image.onload = () => {
        if (disposed) return;
        gl.activeTexture(gl.TEXTURE0 + unit);
        gl.bindTexture(gl.TEXTURE_2D, texture);
        gl.pixelStorei(gl.UNPACK_FLIP_Y_WEBGL, true);
        gl.texImage2D(gl.TEXTURE_2D, 0, gl.RGBA, gl.RGBA, gl.UNSIGNED_BYTE, image);
        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_MIN_FILTER, gl.LINEAR);
        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_MAG_FILTER, gl.LINEAR);
        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_WRAP_S, gl.CLAMP_TO_EDGE);
        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_WRAP_T, gl.CLAMP_TO_EDGE);
        const sampler = at(name);
        if (sampler) gl.uniform1i(sampler, unit);
        set(`${name}Size`, [image.naturalWidth, image.naturalHeight]);
        pending -= 1;
        if (pending === 0) loaded = 1;
        draw();
      };
      image.src = src;
    });

    const target = { x: 0.5, y: 0.5 };
    const eased = { x: 0.5, y: 0.5 };
    let time = stillAt;
    let visible = false;
    let frame = 0;
    let last = 0;

    const draw = () => {
      gl.viewport(0, 0, el.width, el.height);
      gl.clearColor(0, 0, 0, 0);
      gl.clear(gl.COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);
      set("uTime", time);
      set("uResolution", [el.width, el.height]);
      set("uScale", el.width / Math.max(el.clientWidth, 1));
      set("uPointer", [eased.x, eased.y]);
      set("uLoaded", loaded);
      for (const [name, value] of Object.entries(colors)) set(name, value);
      for (const [name, value] of Object.entries(latest.current.uniforms ?? {})) set(name, value);
      gl.drawArrays(gl.TRIANGLES, 0, 3);
    };
    redraw.current = () => {
      if (motion.matches) draw();
    };

    const loop = (now: number) => {
      frame = 0;
      const dt = last ? Math.min((now - last) / 1000, 0.05) : 0;
      last = now;
      time += dt;
      // Frame-rate independent smoothing: 1 - e^(-k dt).
      const k = 1 - Math.exp(-6 * dt);
      eased.x += (target.x - eased.x) * k;
      eased.y += (target.y - eased.y) * k;
      draw();
      schedule();
    };
    const schedule = () => {
      if (frames === "demand" || frame || !visible || motion.matches || document.hidden || gl.isContextLost()) return;
      frame = requestAnimationFrame(loop);
    };
    const stop = () => {
      if (frame) cancelAnimationFrame(frame);
      frame = 0;
      last = 0;
    };

    const resize = () => {
      const scale = Math.min(window.devicePixelRatio || 1, maxDpr);
      const width = Math.max(1, Math.round(el.clientWidth * scale));
      const height = Math.max(1, Math.round(el.clientHeight * scale));
      if (el.width !== width || el.height !== height) {
        el.width = width;
        el.height = height;
      }
      draw();
    };
    const resizer = new ResizeObserver(resize);
    resizer.observe(el);

    const viewport = new IntersectionObserver(([entry]) => {
      visible = entry.isIntersecting;
      if (!visible) return stop();
      draw();
      schedule();
    });
    viewport.observe(el);

    // Smooth scrolling libraries flip classes on html while scrolling, so react only to the theme itself.
    const themeKey = () => {
      const html = document.documentElement;
      return `${html.classList.contains("dark")} ${html.classList.contains("light")} ${html.style.colorScheme}`;
    };
    let lastTheme = themeKey();
    const theme = new MutationObserver(() => {
      if (themeKey() === lastTheme) return;
      lastTheme = themeKey();
      readTheme();
      draw();
    });
    theme.observe(document.documentElement, { attributes: true, attributeFilter: ["class", "style"] });

    const onVisibility = () => (document.hidden ? stop() : schedule());
    const onMotion = () => {
      stop();
      if (motion.matches) {
        time = stillAt;
        draw();
      } else schedule();
    };
    const onPointer = (e: PointerEvent) => {
      const box = el.getBoundingClientRect();
      target.x = (e.clientX - box.left) / box.width;
      target.y = 1 - (e.clientY - box.top) / box.height;
    };
    const fine = window.matchMedia("(hover: hover) and (pointer: fine)").matches;
    const tracks = pointer === "track" && fine;
    document.addEventListener("visibilitychange", onVisibility);
    motion.addEventListener("change", onMotion);
    if (tracks) window.addEventListener("pointermove", onPointer, { passive: true });

    // preventDefault asks the browser to restore the context. Until then the static fallback shows.
    const onLost = (e: Event) => {
      e.preventDefault();
      stop();
      setReady(false);
    };
    const onRestored = () => setGeneration((n) => n + 1);
    el.addEventListener("webglcontextlost", onLost);
    el.addEventListener("webglcontextrestored", onRestored);

    if (invalidateRef) invalidateRef.current = draw;
    resize();
    setReady(true);
    return () => {
      disposed = true;
      if (invalidateRef) invalidateRef.current = null;
      stop();
      redraw.current = () => {};
      resizer.disconnect();
      viewport.disconnect();
      theme.disconnect();
      document.removeEventListener("visibilitychange", onVisibility);
      motion.removeEventListener("change", onMotion);
      if (tracks) window.removeEventListener("pointermove", onPointer);
      el.removeEventListener("webglcontextlost", onLost);
      el.removeEventListener("webglcontextrestored", onRestored);
      images.forEach((texture) => gl.deleteTexture(texture));
      gl.deleteBuffer(buffer);
      gl.deleteProgram(program);
      gl.deleteShader(vertex);
      gl.deleteShader(frag);
    };
  }, [fragment, frames, generation, invalidateRef, maxDpr, pointer, stillAt, textureKey]);

  return (
    <div
      ref={host}
      data-slot="shader-canvas"
      aria-hidden="true"
      className={cn("absolute inset-0", className)}
      {...props}
    >
      {ready ? null : children}
      <canvas ref={canvas} className="absolute inset-0 size-full" />
    </div>
  );
}

export { ShaderCanvas };

For AI agents

Hand your agent this page, the markdown at /components/hero-shader/prompt.md, or the Copy AI prompt button above.

When to use

  • The top of a landing page that should feel alive without any colour
  • A single short headline and one or two actions
  • When the first screen is the whole pitch

When not to use

  • Pages with more than one live canvas: browsers cap WebGL contexts near 16
  • Long intros or dense text, which compete with the moving light
  • Low-power or print-first contexts; use the plain hero

Agent notes

  • The section fills its box and sets no height; pass className such as h-dvh min-h-96
  • It installs components/ui/shader-canvas.tsx, which pauses off screen, follows the theme and handles reduced motion
  • Under reduced motion it draws one frame, and without WebGL a CSS gradient shows. No GSAP is involved
  • The canvas is aria-hidden and the text sits above it, so the light never carries information

The maths

  • The field is 0.5 + (a + b + c) / 6 where each term is a sine, so it stays inside 0 to 1 without clamping.
  • Opacity is (0.03 + 0.2 × field²) × (1 - y)^1.6, so light gathers low and is nearly gone by the headline.
  • Noise of ±0.5 / 255 is added before output, below one 8-bit step, which breaks banding in the gradient.