use-attract

use-attract

Magnetic attraction effects for React, made simple.

A lightweight, configurable React hook for creating smooth, interactive "magnetic" UI elements that respond to cursor movement. Transform ordinary components into engaging, interactive experiences with just a few lines of code.

🎯 Perfect for: Interactive buttons, floating cards, animated icons, and any UI element that needs that extra touch of magic.

✨ Why use-attract?

• 🧲 Smooth attraction effects — Elements gracefully follow your cursor
• ⚙️ Highly configurable — Control strength, field radius, and easing
• 📱 Mobile-aware — Built-in responsive behavior with useMobile helper
• 🔧 SSR-ready — Works seamlessly with Next.js and other SSR frameworks
• 🪶 Lightweight — Zero dependencies, tiny bundle size
• 🎨 Framework agnostic — Works anywhere React hooks work

🚀 Quick Demo

'use client';

import { useAttract } from 'use-attract';

function MagneticButton() {
  const { ref, style } = useAttract();

  return (
    <button
      ref={ref}
      style={{
        ...style,
        padding: '12px 24px',
        background: 'linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea 0%, #764ba2 100%)',
        color: 'white',
        border: 'none',
        borderRadius: '8px',
        cursor: 'pointer',
      }}
    >
      Hover me! 🧲
    </button>
  );
}

📦 Installation

npm install use-attract

yarn add use-attract

pnpm add use-attract

🎯 Usage

Basic Example

'use client'; // Next.js App Router

import { useAttract, useMobile } from 'use-attract';

export default function AttractDemo() {
  const { ref, style } = useAttract({
    strength: 50,      // How strong the magnetic pull is
    magneticField: 32, // Distance in pixels where the effect activates
    lerpFactor: 0.2,   // Smoothness of the animation (0-1)
  });

  const isMobile = useMobile(1280); // Detect mobile screens

  return (
    <div className="demo-container">
      <div
        ref={ref}
        style={{
          ...style,
          width: '120px',
          height: '120px',
          background: 'linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea 0%, #764ba2 100%)',
          color: 'white',
          display: 'flex',
          alignItems: 'center',
          justifyContent: 'center',
          borderRadius: '12px',
          cursor: 'pointer',
          transition: 'box-shadow 0.3s ease',
        }}
        onMouseEnter={(e) => e.target.style.boxShadow = '0 20px 40px rgba(0,0,0,0.2)'}
        onMouseLeave={(e) => e.target.style.boxShadow = 'none'}
      >
        🧲 Magnetic
      </div>
      
      {isMobile !== undefined && (
        <p>Mobile detected: {isMobile ? 'Yes' : 'No'}</p>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Advanced Configuration

const { ref, style, position } = useAttract({
  enabled: true,        // Enable/disable the effect
  strength: 75,         // Pull strength (0-100+)
  magneticField: 50,    // Activation radius in pixels
  lerpFactor: 0.15,     // Animation smoothness (lower = smoother)
});

// Access raw position data if needed
console.log(position); // { x: number, y: number }

📋 API Reference

useAttract(options)

Creates a magnetic hover effect for an element.

Parameters

Option	Type	Default	Description
enabled	boolean	true	Enable or disable the magnetic effect
strength	number	50	Strength of the magnetic pull (0-100+)
magneticField	number	32	Distance in pixels where the effect activates
lerpFactor	number	0.2	Smoothness of the animation (0-1, lower = smoother)

Returns

Property	Type	Description
ref	RefObject	Attach this to your target element
style	CSSProperties	Spread this onto your element's style
position	{x: number, y: number}	Raw transform values (optional)

useMobile(breakpoint)

A responsive helper that detects mobile screens.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
breakpoint	number	768	Screen width threshold in pixels

Returns

Type	Description
boolean | undefined	true if screen ≤ breakpoint, undefined during SSR

🎨 Use Cases & Examples

Interactive Buttons

function MagneticCTA() {
  const { ref, style } = useAttract({ strength: 60 });
  
  return (
    <button
      ref={ref}
      style={{
        ...style,
        padding: '16px 32px',
        fontSize: '18px',
        fontWeight: 'bold',
        background: 'linear-gradient(45deg, #f09433 0%, #e6683c 25%, #dc2743 50%, #cc2366 75%, #bc1888 100%)',
        color: 'white',
        border: 'none',
        borderRadius: '50px',
        cursor: 'pointer',
      }}
    >
      Get Started 🚀
    </button>
  );
}

Product Cards

function ProductCard({ product }) {
  const { ref, style } = useAttract({ 
    strength: 30, 
    magneticField: 40 
  });
  
  return (
    <div
      ref={ref}
      style={{
        ...style,
        width: '300px',
        padding: '20px',
        background: 'white',
        borderRadius: '12px',
        boxShadow: '0 4px 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)',
        cursor: 'pointer',
      }}
    >
      <h3>{product.name}</h3>
      <p>${product.price}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Floating Icons

function FloatingIcon({ icon, label }) {
  const { ref, style } = useAttract({ 
    strength: 25, 
    lerpFactor: 0.1 
  });
  
  return (
    <div
      ref={ref}
      style={{
        ...style,
        width: '80px',
        height: '80px',
        background: 'rgba(255,255,255,0.1)',
        borderRadius: '50%',
        display: 'flex',
        alignItems: 'center',
        justifyContent: 'center',
        fontSize: '32px',
        cursor: 'pointer',
        backdropFilter: 'blur(10px)',
      }}
      title={label}
    >
      {icon}
    </div>
  );
}

🔧 Framework Compatibility

Framework	Support	Notes
React	✅ 18.x, 19.x+	Full support
Next.js	✅ 14+	Use 'use client' directive
Vite	✅ All versions	Works out of the box
Create React App	✅ All versions	Works out of the box
Remix	✅ All versions	Client-side only
Gatsby	✅ All versions	Client-side only

🎯 Performance Tips

• Use enabled: false to disable the effect on mobile devices
• Adjust lerpFactor for smoother animations (lower values = smoother)
• Consider using useMobile() to conditionally apply effects
• The hook automatically cleans up event listeners on unmount

const isMobile = useMobile(768);
const { ref, style } = useAttract({ 
  enabled: !isMobile,  // Disable on mobile
  strength: isMobile ? 0 : 50 
});

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

• Fork the repository
• Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
• Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
• Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
• Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/use-attract.git
cd use-attract
npm install
npm run dev

📄 License

MIT © Kevin Davis

🌟 Show Your Support

If this library helped you build something awesome, please consider:

• ⭐ Star this repository
• 🐛 Report issues you encounter
• 💡 Suggest new features
• 📢 Share it with your developer friends

Made with ❤️ by developers, for developers.

Transform your React components from ordinary to extraordinary with just a few lines of code.