React Text Generate Effect

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Motion

Most text reveal animations just fade words in at fixed intervals, creating robotic timing that feels unnatural. Users either wait forever for slow reveals or get overwhelmed by rapid-fire text dumps. This component generates text progressively with staggered timing that matches natural reading rhythm—each word appears with subtle blur effects that create the illusion of text materializing on the page.

Progressive text generation with natural timing

Words that appear sequentially with smooth blur-to-focus transitions:

import { TextGenerateEffect } from '@/components/ui/shadcn-io/text-generate-effect';const words = `Building amazing interfaces has never been this smooth. Each word appears with natural timing, creating that satisfying progressive reveal effect.`;const TextGenerateEffectDemo = () => {  return (    <div className="p-8">      <TextGenerateEffect         words={words}        className="text-2xl md:text-4xl text-center max-w-2xl mx-auto"        duration={0.6}        staggerDelay={0.15}      />    </div>  );};export default TextGenerateEffectDemo;

'use client';import * as React from 'react';import { motion, stagger, useAnimate } from 'motion/react';import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';type TextGenerateEffectProps = Omit<React.ComponentProps<'div'>, 'children'> & {  words: string;  filter?: boolean;  duration?: number;  staggerDelay?: number;};function TextGenerateEffect({  ref,  words,  className,  filter = true,  duration = 0.5,  staggerDelay = 0.2,  ...props}: TextGenerateEffectProps) {  const localRef = React.useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);  React.useImperativeHandle(ref, () => localRef.current as HTMLDivElement);    const [scope, animate] = useAnimate();  const wordsArray = React.useMemo(() => words.split(' '), [words]);  React.useEffect(() => {    if (scope.current) {      animate(        'span',        {          opacity: 1,          filter: filter ? 'blur(0px)' : 'none',        },        {          duration: duration,          delay: stagger(staggerDelay),        }      );    }  }, [animate, duration, filter, scope, staggerDelay]);  return (    <div ref={localRef} className={cn('font-bold', className)} data-slot="text-generate-effect" {...props}>      <motion.div ref={scope}>        {wordsArray.map((word, idx) => (          <motion.span            key={`${word}-${idx}`}            className="opacity-0 will-change-transform will-change-opacity will-change-filter"            style={{              filter: filter ? 'blur(10px)' : 'none',            }}          >            {word}{' '}          </motion.span>        ))}      </motion.div>    </div>  );}export { TextGenerateEffect, type TextGenerateEffectProps };

Built with TypeScript and Motion for React applications, using staggered animations and blur filters to create that "AI generating text" effect. Each word transitions from blurred to sharp focus, mimicking how thoughts crystallize into readable content.

Installation

npx shadcn@latest add https://www.shadcn.io/registry/text-generate-effect.json

npx shadcn@latest add https://www.shadcn.io/registry/text-generate-effect.json

pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add https://www.shadcn.io/registry/text-generate-effect.json

bunx shadcn@latest add https://www.shadcn.io/registry/text-generate-effect.json

Usage

import { TextGenerateEffect } from "@/components/text/text-generate-effect";

<TextGenerateEffect
  words="Building amazing interfaces has never been this smooth"
  duration={0.6}
  staggerDelay={0.15}
  filter={true}
/>;

Why most text generation effects suck

Most developers just stagger opacity changes with fixed timing, like a broken teleprompter. The result feels mechanical—every word gets exactly 200ms regardless of length or importance. "The" gets the same reveal time as "extraordinary", which breaks reading flow completely.

This React component uses Motion's stagger animations with natural blur-to-focus transitions. Words don't just pop in—they materialize from a blurred state, creating the effect of thoughts becoming clear. The timing respects reading patterns: fast enough to maintain engagement, slow enough for comprehension.

The key insight: this isn't about typing speed, it's about content generation. The blur effect suggests text being processed or created in real-time, like watching an AI compose responses. Users feel like they're witnessing content creation, not just reading pre-written text.

Features

• Progressive word-by-word generation with staggered timing for React applications
• Smooth blur-to-focus transitions that simulate content materialization
• Configurable animation duration and stagger delays for different content types
• Optional blur filter effects for enhanced visual generation illusion
• Complete TypeScript support with full Motion configuration options
• Performance optimized with proper will-change properties for smooth rendering
• Free open source component compatible with Next.js and shadcn/ui design systems

API Reference

TextGenerateEffect

Progressive text generation component with word-by-word reveals and blur effects.

Optimal Generation Speeds

Timing that matches content consumption patterns:

Animation Styles

Choose the right generation feel:

Common gotchas

Text generates too slowly: Default 0.2s stagger works for normal sentences in React applications. For headlines or short phrases, reduce to 0.1-0.12s for snappier reveals in TypeScript projects.

Blur effect too intense: The 10px initial blur creates realistic generation effects in JavaScript applications. If too dramatic for your content, the component uses Motion's optimized filters for smooth performance in Next.js projects.

Words appear all at once: Stagger timing might be too small for your word count in React applications. For longer text (20+ words), increase stagger delay to 0.15-0.25s to maintain the generation rhythm in TypeScript projects.

Animation doesn't restart: The effect runs once on mount in JavaScript applications. To retrigger, change the words prop or remount the component. This free open source solution focuses on initial content generation.

Performance issues with long text: Each word creates an animated span element. For very long content (100+ words), consider breaking into paragraphs or using pagination strategies in Next.js applications.

Integration with other components

Perfect for hero sections in Card layouts or dynamic content in Sheet overlays within React applications. Works excellently with Button components for progressive call-to-action reveals in Next.js projects.

For storytelling interfaces, combine with Progress bars showing generation progress or Tabs for chapter-by-chapter reveals. This TypeScript component pairs well with Badge for content tags and Avatar for author attribution, all with seamless shadcn/ui integration.

Questions developers actually ask