Cradle

No dependencies
Code format
React + Tailwind
const css = `
  .toggle-cradle { position: relative; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 12px; color: light-dark(#42454c, #e5e6e9); font-size: 14px; cursor: pointer; user-select: none; }
  .toggle-cradle__input { position: absolute; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: 0; opacity: 0; }
  .toggle-cradle__track { position: relative; width: 100px; height: 50px; border-radius: 6px; }
  .toggle-cradle__input:focus-visible + .toggle-cradle__track { outline: 2px solid light-dark(#5f626a, #a7abb2); outline-offset: 3px; }
  .toggle-cradle__bar { position: absolute; left: 18px; right: 18px; top: 0; height: 3px; border-radius: 2px; background: light-dark(#6d7179, #7d8087); }
  .toggle-cradle__bob { position: absolute; top: 2px; width: 12px; height: 44px; transform-origin: 50% 0; }
  .toggle-cradle__bob::before { content: ''; position: absolute; left: 5.5px; top: 0; width: 1px; height: 33px; background: light-dark(#6d7179, #7d8087); }
  .toggle-cradle__bob::after {
    content: '';
    position: absolute;
    left: 0;
    bottom: 0;
    width: 12px;
    height: 12px;
    border-radius: 50%;
    background: radial-gradient(circle at 35% 30%, light-dark(#42454c, #e5e6e9), light-dark(#6d7179, #7d8087) 75%);
  }
  .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(2) { left: 26px; }
  .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(3) { left: 38px; }
  .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(4) { left: 50px; }
  .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(5) { left: 62px; }
  /* Off: the left ball is raised. Turning off swings the right ball down first, then the left one up. */
  .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(2) { transform: rotate(38deg); transition: transform 0.4s cubic-bezier(0, 0, 0.4, 1) 0.28s; }
  .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(5) { transform: rotate(0deg); transition: transform 0.28s cubic-bezier(0.5, 0, 1, 1); }
  .toggle-cradle__input:checked + .toggle-cradle__track .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(2) { transform: rotate(0deg); transition: transform 0.28s cubic-bezier(0.5, 0, 1, 1); }
  .toggle-cradle__input:checked + .toggle-cradle__track .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(5) { transform: rotate(-38deg); transition: transform 0.4s cubic-bezier(0, 0, 0.4, 1) 0.28s; }
  .toggle-cradle__input:checked + .toggle-cradle__track .toggle-cradle__bob:nth-child(5)::after { background: radial-gradient(circle at 35% 30%, light-dark(#373a40, #f1f2f3), light-dark(#50535b, #c6c8cd) 75%); }
  @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
    .toggle-cradle__track .toggle-cradle__bob { transition-duration: 0.01s !important; transition-delay: 0s !important; }
  }
`;

export function CradleToggle() {
  return (
    <>
      <style>
        {css}
      </style>
      <label className="toggle-cradle">
        <input className="toggle-cradle__input" type="checkbox" role="switch" />
        <span className="toggle-cradle__track" aria-hidden="true">
          <span className="toggle-cradle__bar" />
          <span className="toggle-cradle__bob" />
          <span className="toggle-cradle__bob" />
          <span className="toggle-cradle__bob" />
          <span className="toggle-cradle__bob" />
        </span>
        Momentum
      </label>
    </>
  );
}

Free to use in any project, commercial included. MIT-0, no attribution required. Licence

Install with shadcn

npx shadcn@latest add @movin/toggle-cradle
Source on GitHub

About this component

A Newton's cradle switch: the raised ball at one end drops and strikes the row, and the impact lifts the ball at the far end, which stays up. Switching back runs it the other way.

Dependencies
None
Difficulty
Intermediate
Triggers
click, state change, spring
Techniques
css transition, pseudo elements, transition delay stagger
Reduced motion
Respected
Theme
Light and dark (follows your page's color-scheme)

A native checkbox with role="switch" inside a <label>, so Space toggles it and screen readers announce a switch; the visible label names it and :focus-visible on the input outlines the visual. Under prefers-reduced-motion the change is instant.

More toggles

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Eclipse
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