---
name: cursor-click-ripple
description: Animated mouse cursor moves to target, clicks with scale depression and expanding ripple rings.
metadata:
  tags: cursor, click, ripple, interaction, mouse, button
---

# Cursor Click Ripple

An animated cursor moves to a target element, performs a click with visual depression, and emits expanding ripple rings from the click point. Three sequential phases on one timeline: **move** (eased translation to the target's center) → **click** (scale depression on cursor + target together, yoyo back) → **ripple** (1–3 staggered rings expand and fade from the click point). This is a _point event at one location_ — a sustained hold across space is [cursor-drag.md](cursor-drag.md).

## Recipe

```html
<button class="target-button">{ctaLabel}</button>
<div class="cursor"><!-- arrow SVG, positioned at the entry corner --></div>
<!-- Rings live in DOM from t=0 at the click-target CENTER, scale 0 + opacity 0 -->
<div class="ripple ripple-1"></div>
<div class="ripple ripple-2"></div>
<div class="ripple ripple-3"></div>
```

```css
.ripple {
  position: absolute;
  left: 50%;
  top: 50%; /* click-target center */
  width: 100px;
  height: 100px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  border: 2px solid {rippleColor};
  transform: translate(-50%, -50%) scale(0);
  opacity: 0;
  pointer-events: none;
}
```

```js
// Phase 1 — Move: eased, not linear
tl.to(".cursor", { x: TARGET_X, y: TARGET_Y, duration: MOVE_DUR, ease: MOVE_EASE }, 0);

// Phase 2 — Click: cursor + target depress together, then return
tl.to(
  ".cursor",
  { scale: CURSOR_PRESS_SCALE, duration: PRESS_DUR, ease: "power2.in", yoyo: true, repeat: 1 },
  CLICK_AT,
);
tl.to(
  ".target-button",
  { scale: TARGET_PRESS_SCALE, duration: PRESS_DUR, ease: "power2.in", yoyo: true, repeat: 1 },
  CLICK_AT,
);

// Phase 3 — Ripple burst, N rings staggered from the click point
tl.set([".ripple-1", ".ripple-2", ".ripple-3"], { opacity: 1 }, RIPPLE_AT);
tl.to(
  [".ripple-1", ".ripple-2", ".ripple-3"],
  {
    scale: RIPPLE_SCALE,
    opacity: 0,
    duration: RIPPLE_DUR,
    ease: RIPPLE_EASE,
    stagger: RIPPLE_STAGGER,
    immediateRender: false, // holds scale 0 / opacity 0 until the click moment
  },
  RIPPLE_AT,
);
```

## Variations

- **Single ring** — one `.ripple`, no stagger; more elegant when the rest of the scene is busy.
- **Keyframed attack-decay** — a `keyframes` block ramps opacity 0 → peak → 0 across the duration; a clearer "energy radiates and dissipates" envelope.
- **Multi-ring expanding pulse** — 3 rings at 0.08 s stagger when the click is the scene's climactic moment.

## Values

| token                       | range                       | notes                                                                                                                                  |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| MOVE_DUR                    | 0.4–1.0 s                   | short darts; long reads as a "considered click." Must end before CLICK_AT or it reads as a misclick                                    |
| MOVE_EASE                   | discrete choice             | `power2.inOut` calm · `power3.out` decisive · `back.out(1.2–1.4)` settles onto the button with a tiny recoil (higher reads cartoonish) |
| CLICK_AT                    | `MOVE_DUR + 0–0.3 s`        | zero pause reads as autopilot; >0.3 s reads as hesitation                                                                              |
| PRESS_DUR                   | 0.06–0.12 s (half; yoyo ×2) | short crisp, long mushy; must finish before the next phase needs normal scale                                                          |
| CURSOR / TARGET_PRESS_SCALE | 0.80–0.90 / 0.92–0.97       | cursor compresses MORE than the target — the cursor is the actor, the target the recipient                                             |
| RIPPLE_AT                   | `CLICK_AT + 0–0.08 s`       | simultaneous feels causal; slight delay feels acoustic                                                                                 |
| RIPPLE_DUR                  | 0.5–1.0 s                   | sharp ping vs soft sonar; must complete before anything that needs the ring gone                                                       |
| RIPPLE_SCALE                | 3–6                         | 3 stays near the click site; if the ring would exit the frame before fading, lower it                                                  |
| RIPPLE_STAGGER              | 0.06–0.12 s (or 0)          | below ~0.06 s reads as one thick ring; above ~0.12 s as separate events                                                                |
| RIPPLE_EASE                 | discrete choice             | `power2.out` standard ping · `power3.out` sharper attack · `expo.out` strong distant pulse                                             |
| TARGET_X / TARGET_Y         | layout-derived              | must match the target's visual centroid — a 4 px miss reads as missing the button                                                      |

Reference values: `../../examples/cta-orbit-collapse.html` — 0.5 s move on `back.out(1.3)`, click +0.2 s, press 0.08 s at 0.85/0.95, single ring to 5× over 0.7 s `power2.out`.

## Critical Constraints

- **Move before click** — trigger the click only after the move tween settles; clicking mid-motion reads as unintentional.
- **Rings live in DOM from t=0** at the click-target center with `scale: 0` + `opacity: 0` — never conditionally rendered; `immediateRender: false` on the expand so they hold invisible until the trigger.
- **Ripple from the click point** — the button's visual center, not any element's bounding-box origin.
- **Synchronized depression** — cursor + target depress at the same position with the same duration, and both yoyo back.
- **Cursor above all content** (high z-index) for the whole sequence; `pointer-events: none` on cursor + ripples.

## See also

`orbit-3d-entry` (click as the pivot that collapses orbiters) · `center-outward-expansion` (click triggers an outward burst) · `press-release-spring` (stronger physical feel on the target) · `scale-swap-transition` (the button's post-click state change).
