aceternity-ui

What this skill does

# Aceternity UI Skill

## Overview

Aceternity UI is a premium, production-ready React component library designed for Next.js applications. It provides 100+ beautifully animated and interactive components built with Tailwind CSS and Framer Motion. Components are installed via the shadcn CLI and can be customized directly in your codebase.

**Key Features:**
- 100+ animated, production-ready components
- Built for Next.js 13+ with App Router support
- Full TypeScript support
- Tailwind CSS v3+ styling
- Framer Motion animations
- Dark mode support
- Copy-paste friendly (not an npm package)
- Full source code access for customization

**Prerequisites:**
- Next.js 13+ (App Router recommended)
- React 16.8+
- Tailwind CSS v3+
- TypeScript (recommended)
- Node.js 18+ with bun, npm, or pnpm

## Installation

### Initial Setup

**For New Projects:**

```bash
# Create Next.js project (bun preferred)
bunx create-next-app@latest my-app
# or: npx create-next-app@latest my-app
# or: pnpm create next-app@latest my-app

cd my-app

# Select these options:
# - TypeScript: Yes
# - ESLint: Yes
# - Tailwind CSS: Yes
# - src/ directory: Optional
# - App Router: Yes (recommended)
# - Import alias: @/* (default)
```

**Initialize Aceternity UI via shadcn CLI:**

```bash
# Using bun (preferred)
bunx --bun shadcn@latest init

# Using npm
npx shadcn@latest init

# Using pnpm
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest init

# During setup:
# - Style: New York (recommended)
# - Color: Zinc (or your preference)
# - CSS variables: Yes (recommended)
```

**Configure Registry:**

After initialization, update `components.json` to add Aceternity registry:

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema.json",
  "style": "new-york",
  "rsc": true,
  "tsx": true,
  "tailwind": {
    "config": "tailwind.config.ts",
    "css": "app/globals.css",
    "baseColor": "zinc",
    "cssVariables": true
  },
  "aliases": {
    "components": "@/components",
    "utils": "@/lib/utils"
  },
  "registries": {
    "@aceternity": "https://ui.aceternity.com/registry/{name}.json"
  }
}
```

### Installing Components

**Using shadcn CLI 3.0+ (Namespaced Registry):**

```bash
# Install specific component
bunx shadcn@latest add @aceternity/background-beams
# or: npx shadcn@latest add @aceternity/background-beams
# or: pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add @aceternity/background-beams

# Component will be added to: components/ui/background-beams.tsx
```

**Manual Installation:**

If the registry method doesn't work, install manually:

1. Install required dependencies:
```bash
bun add motion clsx tailwind-merge
# or: npm install motion clsx tailwind-merge
```

2. Add utility function to `lib/utils.ts`:
```typescript
import { clsx, type ClassValue } from "clsx"
import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge"

export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
  return twMerge(clsx(inputs))
}
```

3. Copy component code from [ui.aceternity.com](https://ui.aceternity.com) to your project

## Secure Installation

This setup runs multiple remote code executions (`create-next-app`, `shadcn init`, `shadcn add`). Before installing, follow supply chain security best practices:

- **Block post-install scripts** — `npm config set ignore-scripts true` (or Bun: disabled by default)
- **Cooldown period** — Wait 7 days for new package versions to be vetted by the community
- **Audit before installing** — Run `socket package score npm <pkg>` or use `socket npm install <pkg>` to check packages

Load the `dependency-upgrade` skill for full security configuration including Socket CLI integration, cooldown setup, lockfile validation, and CI enforcement.

## Component Categories

### 1. Backgrounds & Effects (28 components)

Create stunning animated backgrounds and visual effects for hero sections and full-page layouts.

**Key Components:**

- **Background Beams** - Animated glowing beams following SVG paths
- **Background Gradient** - Smooth gradient backgrounds with transitions
- **Wavy Background** - Animated wave patterns
- **Aurora Background** - Northern lights inspired animated gradients
- **Sparkles** - Particle sparkle effects
- **Meteors** - Falling meteor animations
- **Spotlight** - Dynamic spotlight effects
- **Grid and Dot Backgrounds** - Subtle grid/dot patterns
- **Vortex** - Swirling vortex animations
- **Canvas Reveal Effect** - Revealing content with canvas animations

**Usage Example:**

```tsx
"use client";
import { BackgroundBeams } from "@/components/ui/background-beams";

export default function HeroSection() {
  return (
    <div className="h-screen w-full relative">
      <div className="max-w-4xl mx-auto z-10 relative p-8">
        <h1 className="text-5xl font-bold">Welcome</h1>
        <p className="text-xl mt-4">Beautiful animated backgrounds</p>
      </div>
      <BackgroundBeams />
    </div>
  );
}
```

**When to Use:**
- Hero sections requiring visual impact
- Landing pages with animated backgrounds
- Full-screen sections needing depth
- Portfolio or agency websites
- Marketing pages with call-to-actions

### 2. Card Components (15 components)

Interactive cards with hover effects, animations, and 3D transformations.

**Key Components:**

- **3D Card Effect** - Cards with CSS perspective and 3D transforms
- **Card Hover Effect** - Smooth hover animations and transitions
- **Expandable Card** - Cards that expand to show more content
- **Focus Cards** - Cards that focus/highlight on hover
- **Card Spotlight** - Spotlight effect following mouse
- **Glare Card** - Holographic glare effect
- **Wobble Card** - Playful wobble animations
- **Infinite Moving Cards** - Auto-scrolling card carousel
- **Direction Aware Hover** - Hover effects based on cursor direction

**Usage Example:**

```tsx
"use client";
import { CardBody, CardContainer, CardItem } from "@/components/ui/3d-card";

export function ProductCard() {
  return (
    <CardContainer>
      <CardBody className="bg-gray-50 rounded-xl p-6">
        <CardItem translateZ="50" className="text-2xl font-bold">
          Product Title
        </CardItem>
        <CardItem translateZ="60" as="p" className="text-sm mt-2">
          Product description goes here
        </CardItem>
        <CardItem translateZ="100" className="w-full mt-4">
          <img src="/product.jpg" className="rounded-xl" alt="Product" />
        </CardItem>
      </CardBody>
    </CardContainer>
  );
}
```

**When to Use:**
- Product showcases
- Feature highlights
- Portfolio items
- Team member profiles
- Pricing tiers
- Blog post previews

### 3. Scroll & Parallax (5 components)

Create engaging scroll-based animations and parallax effects.

**Key Components:**

- **Parallax Scroll** - Images with parallax scrolling
- **Sticky Scroll Reveal** - Content reveals while scrolling
- **Container Scroll Animation** - Animated scroll containers
- **Hero Parallax** - Parallax hero sections
- **MacBook Scroll** - MacBook-style scroll interactions

**Usage Example:**

```tsx
import { StickyScroll } from "@/components/ui/sticky-scroll-reveal";

const content = [
  {
    title: "Feature One",
    description: "Description of feature one...",
    content: <div>Visual content here</div>
  },
  // More items...
];

export function Features() {
  return <StickyScroll content={content} />;
}
```

**When to Use:**
- Feature showcases with scroll interactions
- Storytelling layouts
- Product tours
- Long-form content with visual breaks
- Interactive timelines

### 4. Text Components (10 components)

Animated text effects for headings, titles, and interactive typography.

**Key Components:**

- **Text Generate Effect** - Text appearing character by character
- **Typewriter Effect** - Typing animation
- **Flip Words** - Word rotation animations
- **Text Hover Effect** - Interactive text on hover
- **Hero Highlight** - Gradient text highlights
- **Encrypted Text** - Matrix-style encrypted text effect
- **Colourful Text** - Gradient animated text

**Usage Example:**

```tsx
import { TypewriterEffect } from "@/components/ui/typewriter-