Rocket Cursor Component

rocket-cursor-component is a React cursor library with two layers:

• RocketCursor: the built-in animated rocket.
• CursorFollower: the generic motion engine for your own SVG, HTML, or CSS cursor.

If you only want the packaged rocket, use the default export. If you want to build your own cursor, you do not need to fork this library. Use CursorFollower and render your own component inside it.

Installation

npm install rocket-cursor-component

Requirements

• React 18 or React 19
• React DOM 18 or React DOM 19
• Node.js 20.19+ or 22.12+ for local development in this repository

The published package already ships ESM, CommonJS, and type definitions.

Quick Start

Use the built-in rocket

import RocketCursor from "rocket-cursor-component";

export default function App() {
  return (
    <>
      <RocketCursor />
      <main>Your app content</main>
    </>
  );
}

Tune the rocket

import RocketCursor from "rocket-cursor-component";

export default function App() {
  return (
    <RocketCursor
      size={60}
      threshold={12}
      flameHideTimeout={250}
      followSpeed={0.35}
      hideCursor={false}
      excludeSelector=".no-rocket-cursor, [data-hide-rocket]"
      zIndex={1200}
    />
  );
}

Build Your Own Cursor

Use CursorFollower when you want custom visuals and keep the same motion system.

import { CursorFollower } from "rocket-cursor-component";

function StarCursor({ isMoving }: { isMoving: boolean }) {
  return (
    <svg viewBox="0 0 220 180" width="100%" height="100%" aria-hidden="true">
      <defs>
        <radialGradient id="star-glow" cx="50%" cy="50%" r="70%">
          <stop offset="0" stopColor="#fff7d6" stopOpacity="0.92" />
          <stop offset="0.55" stopColor="#7ee2ff" stopOpacity="0.32" />
          <stop offset="1" stopColor="#7ee2ff" stopOpacity="0" />
        </radialGradient>
        <linearGradient id="star-fill" x1="62" y1="36" x2="154" y2="142" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse">
          <stop offset="0" stopColor="#fffdf3" />
          <stop offset="0.46" stopColor="#ffd874" />
          <stop offset="1" stopColor="#ff9e47" />
        </linearGradient>
      </defs>

      <g
        style={{
          opacity: isMoving ? 1 : 0.28,
          transform: `scaleX(${isMoving ? 1 : 0.84})`,
          transformOrigin: "88px 90px",
          transition: "opacity 140ms ease, transform 140ms ease",
        }}
      >
        <path
          d="M8 90C18 77 33 70 58 72L82 78L82 102L58 108C33 110 18 103 8 90Z"
          fill="rgba(146, 234, 255, 0.2)"
        />
      </g>

      <circle cx="102" cy="90" r="58" fill="url(#star-glow)" />
      <path
        d="M102 31L117 65L155 69L127 92L134 129L102 110L70 129L77 92L49 69L87 65Z"
        fill="url(#star-fill)"
        stroke="#fff7de"
        strokeLinejoin="round"
        strokeWidth="3"
      />
    </svg>
  );
}

export default function App() {
  return (
    <CursorFollower
      width={96}
      height={78}
      anchorOffset={{ x: 26, y: 0 }}
      followSpeed={0.22}
      movingTimeout={260}
      threshold={10}
    >
      {({ isMoving }) => <StarCursor isMoving={isMoving} />}
    </CursorFollower>
  );
}

How To Add Another SVG Cursor

This is the intended extension path for users of the package.

1. Create a React component that renders your SVG

Your component can be as simple or as detailed as you want. If you use gradients, filters, masks, or clip paths, prefer useId() so multiple cursors do not collide.

import { useId } from "react";

function MyShip({ isMoving }: { isMoving: boolean }) {
  const gradientId = useId();

  return (
    <svg viewBox="0 0 120 80" width="100%" height="100%" aria-hidden="true">
      <defs>
        <linearGradient id={gradientId} x1="0" y1="0" x2="120" y2="80">
          <stop offset="0" stopColor="#fff" />
          <stop offset="1" stopColor="#8ad5ff" />
        </linearGradient>
      </defs>

      <g style={{ opacity: isMoving ? 1 : 0.72, transition: "opacity 120ms ease" }}>
        <path d="M15 40L60 15L105 40L60 65Z" fill={`url(#${gradientId})`} />
      </g>
    </svg>
  );
}

2. Render it inside CursorFollower

import { CursorFollower } from "rocket-cursor-component";

<CursorFollower width={72} height={48}>
  {({ isMoving }) => <MyShip isMoving={isMoving} />}
</CursorFollower>;

3. Tune the alignment

The most important prop for custom SVGs is anchorOffset.

• anchorOffset.x: how far the cursor anchor should move horizontally inside your artwork
• anchorOffset.y: how far the cursor anchor should move vertically inside your artwork

Examples:

• front-pointing ship: use a positive x
• centered icon like a star: use a smaller x, often close to half the width or less
• artwork with a nose above the centerline: use a negative y

<CursorFollower
  width={96}
  height={78}
  anchorOffset={{ x: 26, y: 0 }}
>
  {({ isMoving }) => <MyShip isMoving={isMoving} />}
</CursorFollower>

4. Tune rotation

If your SVG points to the right by default, you usually want:

rotateWithMovement={true}
rotationOffset={0}

If your SVG points up, left, or diagonally in its default drawing direction, adjust rotationOffset.

Examples:

• points up: rotationOffset={-90}
• points down: rotationOffset={90}
• points diagonally: use the angle that matches your artwork

5. Use the motion state

CursorFollower can pass a render function and gives you:

• isMoving: useful for flame, glow, wake, streaks, or scaling
• visible: useful if you want to pause expensive effects when hidden

<CursorFollower movingTimeout={220}>
  {({ isMoving, visible }) => (
    <MyShip isMoving={isMoving} data-visible={visible} />
  )}
</CursorFollower>

6. Add “speed” without smoke

If you want motion to feel fast without using flame or smoke, the simplest patterns are:

• air streaks behind the object
• a soft glow envelope around the object
• slight width stretch while moving
• subtle opacity changes on secondary details

That is exactly the kind of effect used in the local demo star example.

API

RocketCursor props

Prop	Type	Default	Description
className	string	undefined	Optional class passed to the wrapper.
disabled	boolean	false	Disables the custom cursor entirely.
disableOnCoarsePointer	boolean	true	Disables the cursor on touch/coarse pointers.
excludeSelector	string	".no-rocket-cursor"	Selector for regions where the custom cursor should hide.
respectReducedMotion	boolean	true	Disables the cursor when the user prefers reduced motion.
size	number	50	Rocket size in pixels.
threshold	number	10	Minimum movement distance before rotation updates.
isVisible	boolean	true	Controls whether the custom cursor should render.
flameHideTimeout	number	300	Delay before the flame hides after movement stops.
hideCursor	boolean	false	Hides the native cursor when enabled.
followSpeed	number	0.18	Follow smoothing from 0 to 1. Higher is snappier.
zIndex	number	9999	Wrapper stacking order.

CursorFollower props

CursorFollower includes the shared base props from RocketCursor:

• className
• disabled
• disableOnCoarsePointer
• excludeSelector
• followSpeed
• hideCursor
• isVisible
• respectReducedMotion
• threshold
• zIndex

Additional props:

Prop	Type	Default	Description
anchorOffset	{ x: number; y: number }	{ x: 0, y: 0 }	Moves the cursor anchor inside the artwork.
children	ReactNode | (state) => ReactNode	required	Static node or render function that receives { isMoving, visible }.
movingTimeout	number	300	Delay before isMoving flips back to false.
rotateWithMovement	boolean	true	Rotates the content to match movement direction.
rotationOffset	number	0	Fixed angle offset for artwork with a different default direction.
width	number	48	Wrapper width in pixels.
height	number	48	Wrapper height in pixels.
wrapperProps	HTMLAttributes<HTMLDivElement>	undefined	Extra wrapper attributes, including data-* hooks.

Feature Summary

• Built-in rocket cursor
• Generic cursor engine for custom SVG or HTML
• Motion-based rotation
• Optional native cursor hiding
• Reduced-motion and coarse-pointer safe defaults
• Exclusion zones via CSS selector
• TypeScript exports for both built-in and custom usage
• ESM and CommonJS builds

Development

nvm use
npm install
npm run demo

Useful commands:

npm run typecheck
npm run test
npm run test:package
npm run build
npm run check
npm run version:status
npm run version:check
npm run check:published

npm install also installs a local pre-push hook. When you push to main or master, the hook checks the latest npm version and blocks the push if publish-relevant files changed but package.json was not bumped ahead of what is already published.

Demo

Local demo:

npm install
npm run demo

Then open the Vite URL printed in the terminal.

Release

Update the package version, then merge the change into main or master.

The release workflow runs only on pushes to main and master, plus manual dispatches from those branches. It publishes only when package.json is ahead of the current npm version, so routine merges without a version bump are skipped cleanly.

Publishing uses npm trusted publishing via GitHub Actions OIDC. Configure the package on npm with:

• publisher: GitHub Actions
• organization or user: No898
• repository: RocketCursor
• workflow filename: ci.yml
• environment name: leave empty unless you use a protected GitHub Actions environment

Recommended flow:

• run npm run version:patch, npm run version:minor, or npm run version:major
• commit the version bump
• merge the branch into main or master
• let GitHub Actions publish automatically, or trigger the release workflow manually from main/master

After trusted publishing is configured, you do not need an NPM_TOKEN secret for releases.

If you want to verify the version manually before tagging, run:

npm run version:status
npm run version:check
npm run check:published

For a dry run without changing package.json, you can preview the next version:

node ./scripts/bump-version.mjs patch --dry-run

Changelog

Unreleased

• No unreleased changes yet.

2.2.0

• Added CursorFollower as a public API for custom cursors
• Added custom cursor docs, examples, and the local demo star variant
• Expanded package coverage with component tests and tarball smoke checks
• Added release guards and version helper scripts for npm publishing
• Improved runtime controls for reduced motion, coarse pointers, visibility, and custom cursor options
• Modernized the package build, exports, and published type output
• Merged validation and publish into a single GitHub Actions workflow
• Made package smoke parsing tolerant to lifecycle logs in CI
• Added the demo GIF and refreshed the release notes in the README

2.1.1

• Fixed flame visibility updates

2.1.0

• Added followSpeed
• Changed rocket alignment to use the nose position
• Updated the demo to match the new API

2.0.0

• Added useId() for SVG gradient safety
• Added hideCursor
• Improved SSR safety
• Cleaned up types and removed dead props

License

MIT. See LICENSE.