| name | add-gestures |
| description | Handle EMG pinch (tap-to-activate) and opt into continuous pinch-and-drag in a Meta Display Glasses webapp. Use when the user wants sliders, drawing, maps, drag interactions, or game-style continuous input. |
| argument-hint | [interaction: tap|drag] |
Required reading
Before generating or modifying any code, read both:
../../references/display-guidelines.md../../references/performance-guidelines.md
These define the non-negotiable display physics, input model, and performance budgets for Meta Display Glasses webapps. Do not skip — generated UI that ignores these will fail on-device.
If these reference files are unavailable in an isolated eval, do not search /, home directories, or unrelated workspaces. Apply the requirements already present in this skill and continue.
Add Pinch + Drag Gestures to Meta Display Glasses WebApp
The EMG wrist band gives the wearer two interactions: a pinch (discrete select) and a drag (continuous motion). Pinch works everywhere with no code. Drag is opt-in at the page level and is for things that need smooth, continuous control — sliders, maps, drawing, simple games.
Prerequisites
- Existing webapp created via
/create-webapp
Pinch = Activate (always on)
A pinch fires Enter / click on the focused element — it works like pressing Enter on the highlighted item. It is not a positioned click; it targets document.activeElement. So you don't write pinch code — you build focusable, keyboard-activatable UI and the pinch activates whatever has focus.
- Use real interactive elements:
<button>, <a href>, or [tabindex="0"] with a key/click handler.
- The D-pad moves focus; the pinch activates the focused element.
- A tap on a focused text input opens the on-glasses composer instead of reaching the page — see
/add-text-input.
Build these focusable elements (e.g. a <button class="focusable" data-action="confirm">) with /add-ui. That's all pinch needs — the rest of this skill is about drag.
Drag = Opt In (page-level)
Continuous drag is off by default. Without opting in, there is no free cursor and no drag — EMG is D-pad focus + pinch only. To receive the sliding motion, set touch-action: none on the <body> in your initial stylesheet, then listen to Pointer events.
⚠️ Caveats (must-include)
touch-action is read on <body> only, once at page load. Per-element values and post-load JS changes to it are not honored. Put it in the initial CSS that ships with the page.- Turn drag on for the whole page, not per element.
- Pointer Lock is not supported — do not call
requestPointerLock.
- The exact drag event fields (e.g.
movementX/movementY) are device-side. Verify on-device by logging pointermove before relying on specific fields; prefer clientX/clientY deltas you compute yourself.
- A pinch on a focused text input opens the composer (see
/add-text-input) rather than producing a drag.
Steps
1. Enable Drag in the Initial CSS
In styles.css (shipped with the page — not injected later):
body { touch-action: none; }
2. Handle the Pointer Stream
var slider = document.getElementById('slider');
var dragging = false;
slider.addEventListener('pointerdown', function (e) {
dragging = true;
slider.setPointerCapture(e.pointerId);
});
slider.addEventListener('pointermove', function (e) {
if (!dragging) return;
update(e.clientX, e.clientY);
});
slider.addEventListener('pointerup', function () {
dragging = false;
});
3. Keep Pinch Activation Working
Even with drag enabled, keep your focusable elements intact so pinch-to-activate still works for buttons and links. Drag is additive, not a replacement for focus navigation.
Patterns
Slider
function update(x) {
var rect = slider.getBoundingClientRect();
var pct = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, (x - rect.left) / rect.width));
setValue(pct);
}
Pan / Draw
var last = null;
canvas.addEventListener('pointerdown', function (e) { last = { x: e.clientX, y: e.clientY }; });
canvas.addEventListener('pointermove', function (e) {
if (!last) return;
drawLine(last.x, last.y, e.clientX, e.clientY);
last = { x: e.clientX, y: e.clientY };
});
canvas.addEventListener('pointerup', function () { last = null; });
Verify
Related Skills
/add-ui — Build the focusable elements pinch activates/add-text-input — Why a tap on a focused field opens the composer instead of dragging
