spotlight-card

spotlight-card

A radial spotlight that follows the cursor across a card. Part of motion-anything; obeys MOTION-SPEC.md. Technique popularized by Aceternity UI, reimplemented dependency-free.

When to use it

• Feature cards, pricing tiles, or a card grid where one should light up under the pointer.

When NOT to use it (restraint)

• Text-dense reading surfaces — the glow distracts. Keep it low-contrast and subtle.
• Touch-only contexts — there is no cursor; it falls back to a static border automatically.

How to apply

1. Copy spotlight-card.css and spotlight-card.js into the project, and link them.
2. Mark the card:

   <div class="spotlight"> … </div>
   

3. Auto-attaches to .spotlight. JS writes --mx/--my; the CSS paints the glow there.

Accessibility & performance

• Disabled under prefers-reduced-motion and on (hover: none) touch devices (static border stays).
• Paints a radial-gradient only — no layout thrash.

Framework notes

• React: call attachSpotlight(ref.current) in useEffect, guarded by the same checks.