aceternity-ui

name	aceternity-ui
description	Add premium animated UI components built with Framer Motion and Tailwind CSS using Aceternity UI. Use when: adding animated effects (3D cards, glowing backgrounds, spotlight effects, moving borders), building visually stunning UIs, creating impressive hero sections and feature showcases in React/Next.js.
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	Requires React 18+, Tailwind CSS 3+, Framer Motion 10+
metadata	{"author":"terminal-skills","version":"1.0.0","category":"design","tags":["aceternity-ui","react","framer-motion","animations","tailwind"],"use-cases":["Create a 3D tilt card effect for a product or pricing showcase","Add a spotlight effect that follows the cursor on a hero section","Build an animated background with moving beams or grid patterns","Add a glowing moving border to highlight key elements","Create a wavy animated background for section dividers"],"agents":["claude-code","openai-codex","gemini-cli","cursor"]}

Aceternity UI

Overview

Aceternity UI is a copy-paste component library — not an npm package. You copy the component code directly into your project, giving you full ownership and customization power. Components are built with Framer Motion and Tailwind CSS.

Key traits:

• Copy-paste approach (no runtime dependency)
• Framer Motion for physics-based animations
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Next.js / React compatible
• TypeScript source included

Setup

Install dependencies

npm install framer-motion clsx tailwind-merge

Add the cn utility

// lib/utils.ts
import { type ClassValue, clsx } from "clsx";
import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge";

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

Configure Tailwind

// tailwind.config.ts — add animations
module.exports = {
  content: ["./src/**/*.{ts,tsx}"],
  theme: {
    extend: {
      animation: {
        spotlight: "spotlight 2s ease .75s 1 forwards",
        shimmer: "shimmer 2s linear infinite",
        "move-to-right": "move-to-right 2s linear infinite",
      },
      keyframes: {
        spotlight: {
          "0%": { opacity: "0", transform: "translate(-72%, -62%) scale(0.5)" },
          "100%": { opacity: "1", transform: "translate(-50%, -40%) scale(1)" },
        },
        shimmer: {
          from: { backgroundPosition: "0 0" },
          to: { backgroundPosition: "-200% 0" },
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Top 5 Components with Code

1. 3D Card Effect — tilt on hover

// components/ui/3d-card.tsx
"use client";
import { useRef, useState } from "react";
import { motion } from "framer-motion";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

export const CardContainer = ({ children, className }: { children: React.ReactNode; className?: string }) => {
  const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
  const [rotateX, setRotateX] = useState(0);
  const [rotateY, setRotateY] = useState(0);

  const handleMouseMove = (e: React.MouseEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
    if (!containerRef.current) return;
    const { left, top, width, height } = containerRef.current.getBoundingClientRect();
    const x = (e.clientX - left - width / 2) / 25;
    const y = (e.clientY - top - height / 2) / 25;
    setRotateX(-y);
    setRotateY(x);
  };

  return (
    <div
      ref={containerRef}
      onMouseMove={handleMouseMove}
      onMouseLeave={() => { setRotateX(0); setRotateY(0); }}
      className={cn("group/card perspective-1000", className)}
      style={{ perspective: "1000px" }}
    >
      <motion.div
        animate={{ rotateX, rotateY }}
        transition={{ type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 30 }}
        style={{ transformStyle: "preserve-3d" }}
      >
        {children}
      </motion.div>
    </div>
  );
};

export const CardBody = ({ children, className }: { children: React.ReactNode; className?: string }) => (
  <div className={cn("h-96 w-96 rounded-xl border border-white/10 bg-gray-900 p-6", className)}>
    {children}
  </div>
);

// Usage
export function PricingCard() {
  return (
    <CardContainer>
      <CardBody className="flex flex-col justify-between p-8">
        <h3 className="text-2xl font-bold text-white">Pro Plan</h3>
        <p className="text-4xl font-bold text-white">$29<span className="text-lg text-gray-400">/mo</span></p>
        <button className="rounded-lg bg-white px-6 py-3 font-semibold text-black">Get Started</button>
      </CardBody>
    </CardContainer>
  );
}

2. Background Beams — animated gradient beams

// components/ui/background-beams.tsx
"use client";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

export function BackgroundBeams({ className }: { className?: string }) {
  return (
    <div className={cn("absolute inset-0 overflow-hidden", className)}>
      <svg
        className="absolute h-full w-full"
        xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
      >
        <defs>
          <radialGradient id="beam1" cx="50%" cy="0%" r="50%">
            <stop offset="0%" stopColor="#6366f1" stopOpacity="0.3" />
            <stop offset="100%" stopColor="transparent" stopOpacity="0" />
          </radialGradient>
          <radialGradient id="beam2" cx="20%" cy="50%" r="40%">
            <stop offset="0%" stopColor="#8b5cf6" stopOpacity="0.2" />
            <stop offset="100%" stopColor="transparent" stopOpacity="0" />
          </radialGradient>
        </defs>
        <rect width="100%" height="100%" fill="url(#beam1)" />
        <rect width="100%" height="100%" fill="url(#beam2)" />
        {/* Animated lines */}
        {[...Array(6)].map((_, i) => (
          <line
            key={i}
            x1={`${(i + 1) * 15}%`}
            y1="0%"
            x2={`${(i + 1) * 15 + 10}%`}
            y2="100%"
            stroke={`hsl(${240 + i * 20}, 70%, 60%)`}
            strokeWidth="1"
            strokeOpacity="0.15"
          />
        ))}
      </svg>
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage
export function HeroSection() {
  return (
    <div className="relative flex h-screen flex-col items-center justify-center bg-black">
      <BackgroundBeams />
      <h1 className="relative z-10 text-6xl font-bold text-white">
        Build the Future
      </h1>
      <p className="relative z-10 mt-4 text-xl text-gray-400">
        The platform for modern teams
      </p>
    </div>
  );
}

3. Spotlight — cursor-following light effect

// components/ui/spotlight.tsx
"use client";
import { useRef, useState, useCallback } from "react";
import { motion } from "framer-motion";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

export function Spotlight({ className }: { className?: string }) {
  const divRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
  const [position, setPosition] = useState({ x: 0, y: 0 });
  const [opacity, setOpacity] = useState(0);

  const handleMouseMove = useCallback((e: React.MouseEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
    if (!divRef.current) return;
    const { left, top } = divRef.current.getBoundingClientRect();
    setPosition({ x: e.clientX - left, y: e.clientY - top });
  }, []);

  return (
    <div
      ref={divRef}
      onMouseMove={handleMouseMove}
      onMouseEnter={() => setOpacity(1)}
      onMouseLeave={() => setOpacity(0)}
      className={cn("relative overflow-hidden", className)}
    >
      <motion.div
        animate={{ opacity }}
        transition={{ duration: 0.3 }}
        className="pointer-events-none absolute -inset-px rounded-xl"
        style={{
          background: `radial-gradient(600px circle at ${position.x}px ${position.y}px, rgba(99, 102, 241, 0.15), transparent 40%)`,
        }}
      />
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage on a card
export function SpotlightCard({ title, desc }: { title: string; desc: string }) {
  return (
    <Spotlight className="rounded-xl border border-white/10 bg-gray-900 p-8">
      <h3 className="text-xl font-bold text-white">{title}</h3>
      <p className="mt-2 text-gray-400">{desc}</p>
    </Spotlight>
  );
}

4. Moving Border — animated gradient border

// components/ui/moving-border.tsx
"use client";
import { useRef } from "react";
import { motion, useAnimationFrame, useMotionTemplate, useMotionValue, useTransform } from "framer-motion";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

export function MovingBorder({
  children,
  duration = 2000,
  className,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode;
  duration?: number;
  className?: string;
}) {
  const pathRef = useRef<SVGRectElement>(null);
  const progress = useMotionValue(0);

  useAnimationFrame((time) => {
    const length = pathRef.current?.getTotalLength();
    if (length) {
      const pxPerMs = length / duration;
      progress.set((time * pxPerMs) % length);
    }
  });

  const x = useTransform(progress, (val) => pathRef.current?.getPointAtLength(val).x ?? 0);
  const y = useTransform(progress, (val) => pathRef.current?.getPointAtLength(val).y ?? 0);
  const transform = useMotionTemplate`translateX(${x}px) translateY(${y}px) translateX(-50%) translateY(-50%)`;

  return (
    <div className={cn("relative", className)}>
      <svg className="absolute inset-0 h-full w-full" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
        <rect
          fill="none"
          width="100%"
          height="100%"
          rx="16"
          ry="16"
          ref={pathRef as React.RefObject<SVGRectElement>}
        />
        <motion.circle cx="0" cy="0" r="6" fill="#6366f1" style={{ transform }} />
      </svg>
      <div className="relative rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-gray-900 p-px">
        <div className="rounded-2xl bg-gray-950 p-6">{children}</div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage
export function FeatureCard() {
  return (
    <MovingBorder duration={3000} className="w-72">
      <h3 className="text-xl font-bold text-white">Feature Name</h3>
      <p className="mt-2 text-gray-400">Description of the feature goes here.</p>
    </MovingBorder>
  );
}

5. Wavy Background — animated wave effect

// components/ui/wavy-background.tsx
"use client";
import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
import { createNoise3D } from "simplex-noise";

export function WavyBackground({
  children,
  className,
  backgroundFill = "#0f0f0f",
  colors = ["#38bdf8", "#818cf8", "#c084fc"],
  speed = 0.001,
}: {
  children?: React.ReactNode;
  className?: string;
  backgroundFill?: string;
  colors?: string[];
  speed?: number;
}) {
  const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null);
  const noise = createNoise3D();

  useEffect(() => {
    const canvas = canvasRef.current;
    if (!canvas) return;
    const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d")!;
    let frame = 0;

    const resize = () => {
      canvas.width = canvas.offsetWidth;
      canvas.height = canvas.offsetHeight;
    };
    resize();
    window.addEventListener("resize", resize);

    const draw = () => {
      ctx.fillStyle = backgroundFill;
      ctx.fillRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);

      colors.forEach((color, i) => {
        ctx.beginPath();
        ctx.lineWidth = 40;
        ctx.strokeStyle = color;
        for (let x = 0; x <= canvas.width; x += 5) {
          const y = noise(x / 800, i * 0.3, frame * speed) * 100 + canvas.height / 2;
          if (x === 0) ctx.moveTo(x, y);
          else ctx.lineTo(x, y);
        }
        ctx.stroke();
      });

      frame++;
      requestAnimationFrame(draw);
    };
    draw();

    return () => window.removeEventListener("resize", resize);
  }, []);

  return (
    <div className={cn("relative flex items-center justify-center", className)}>
      <canvas ref={canvasRef} className="absolute inset-0 h-full w-full" />
      <div className="relative z-10">{children}</div>
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage
export function WavyHero() {
  return (
    <WavyBackground className="h-screen" colors={["#6366f1", "#8b5cf6", "#ec4899"]}>
      <h1 className="text-6xl font-bold text-white text-center">
        Ship with Confidence
      </h1>
    </WavyBackground>
  );
}

Installation Helper

# Install all common deps at once
npm install framer-motion clsx tailwind-merge simplex-noise

# For TypeScript types
npm install -D @types/simplex-noise

Component Reference

Component	Effect	Use for
3D Card	Tilt on hover	Pricing, features
Background Beams	Gradient beam lines	Hero backgrounds
Spotlight	Cursor-following glow	Cards, panels
Moving Border	Animated border dot	CTAs, feature cards
Wavy Background	Canvas wave animation	Section backgrounds
Glowing Stars	Star particles	Dark hero sections
Evervault Card	Scrambling text on hover	Security/tech themes
Lamp	Cone of light from top	Hero sections
Macbook Scroll	Device reveal on scroll	Product showcases
Infinite Moving Cards	Scrolling testimonials	Social proof

Tips

• All components are dark-mode first — wrap in dark class or set darkMode: 'class' in Tailwind
• For performance, lazy-load canvas-heavy components with next/dynamic and ssr: false
• Framer Motion adds ~30KB to bundle — consider LazyMotion for code splitting
• Copy from ui.aceternity.com for the latest component versions