tw-shimmer
Tailwind CSS v4 plugin for shimmer effects. Zero-dependency, CSS-only, with sine-eased gradients for buttery-smooth highlights and OKLCH color space for perceptually uniform color mixing. Provides text-shimmer and skeleton/background-shimmer variants with customizable speed, spread, angle, and colors.
Installation
npm install tw-shimmer/* app/globals.css */
@import "tailwindcss";
@import "tw-shimmer";Usage
The text shimmer uses background-clip: text, so set a text color (typically with low opacity) on the base element:
<span class="shimmer text-foreground/40">Loading...</span>
<div class="shimmer-container space-y-2">
<div class="shimmer-bg h-4 w-full rounded"></div>
<div class="shimmer-bg h-4 w-3/4 rounded"></div>
</div>Inside a shimmer-container, the plugin derives speed and width from the container size automatically.
Utilities
| Utility | Effect |
|---|---|
shimmer |
Base text shimmer. Pair with a low-opacity text color. |
shimmer-bg |
Background shimmer (skeleton placeholders). |
shimmer-container |
Parent container that auto-derives speed and width for children. |
shimmer-speed-{value} |
Animation speed in px per second (text: 150, background: 1000 by default). |
shimmer-width-{value} |
Animation track width in px (text: 200, background: 800 by default). |
shimmer-spread-{value} |
Highlight thickness. |
shimmer-angle-{value} |
Highlight angle in degrees. |
shimmer-color-{color} |
Highlight color from your Tailwind palette. |
Variables are inheritable; set them on any ancestor element and descendants pick them up unless they override.
Documentation
Full utility reference, accessibility notes, and the technical details of the sine-eased gradient pipeline at assistant-ui.com/tw-shimmer.