CSS + JS Cards & galleries #controls

Coverflow in CSS + JavaScript

JS gives each cover its offset from the active one; CSS calc() does the placement and easing.

  • 56 lines of CSS
  • 16 lines of HTML
  • 32 lines of JS
  • No dependencies
  • MIT licensed
GitHub

How it works

  1. JS knows which cover is active and gives every cover three numbers: --o (offset from active), --abs and --sign.
  2. CSS turns those into position, depth and angle with calc() — JS never writes a transform.
  3. Because only custom properties change, a plain CSS transition animates every move.
  4. z-index by distance keeps nearer covers on top.

Key techniques

  • calc() with per-item custom properties
  • transition
  • keyboard arrows

HTML 16 lines

<div class="coverflow" tabindex="0">
  <div class="track">
    <i style="--hue:250">1</i><i style="--hue:272">2</i>
    <i style="--hue:294">3</i><i style="--hue:316">4</i>
    <i style="--hue:338">5</i><i style="--hue:360">6</i>
    <i style="--hue:22">7</i>
  </div>
  <nav>
    <button type="button" data-dir="-1" aria-label="Previous">
      <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="m15 18-6-6 6-6"/></svg>
    </button>
    <button type="button" data-dir="1" aria-label="Next">
      <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="m9 18 6-6-6-6"/></svg>
    </button>
  </nav>
</div>

CSS 56 lines

.coverflow {
  display: grid;
  justify-items: center;
  gap: 40px;
  perspective: 700px;
  outline: none;
}

.track {
  position: relative;
  width: 130px;
  height: 165px;
  transform-style: preserve-3d;
  pointer-events: none;   /* same plane as the active cover: let the covers take the pointer */
}

.track i {
  /* --o, --abs and --sign are set per cover from JS */
  position: absolute;
  inset: 0;
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
  border-radius: 12px;
  font: 900 2.2rem system-ui;
  color: #fff;
  cursor: pointer;
  pointer-events: auto;
  background: linear-gradient(160deg, hsl(var(--hue) 85% 64%), hsl(var(--hue) 70% 36%));
  box-shadow: 0 16px 24px -14px #000;
  transform:
    translateX(calc(var(--o) * 62px + var(--sign) * 46px))
    translateZ(calc(var(--abs) * -60px))
    rotateY(calc(var(--sign) * -58deg));
  transition: transform 0.55s cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.8, 0.2, 1);
}

nav { display: flex; gap: 8px; }

nav button {
  width: 44px;
  height: 36px;
  border: 1px solid #5a6188;
  border-radius: 8px;
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
  padding: 0;
  background: #161a2e;
  color: #fff;
  cursor: pointer;
}

/* SVG arrows, not text like ‹ ›: a glyph sits on the font's baseline, so it never centres */
nav svg {
  width: 18px;
  height: 18px;
}

JS 32 lines

const root = document.querySelector('.coverflow');
const items = [...root.querySelectorAll('.track i')];
let active = Math.floor(items.length / 2);

function layout() {
  items.forEach((el, i) => {
    const o = i - active;
    el.style.setProperty('--o', o);
    el.style.setProperty('--abs', Math.abs(o));
    el.style.setProperty('--sign', Math.sign(o));
    el.style.zIndex = items.length - Math.abs(o);
  });
}

function go(dir) {
  active = Math.max(0, Math.min(items.length - 1, active + dir));
  layout();
}

root.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
  const btn = e.target.closest('[data-dir]');
  if (btn) return go(Number(btn.dataset.dir));
  const i = items.indexOf(e.target);
  if (i >= 0) go(i - active);
});

root.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
  if (e.key === 'ArrowLeft') go(-1);
  if (e.key === 'ArrowRight') go(1);
});

layout();

Sass source 61 lines

.d-coverflow {
  display: grid;
  place-items: center;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  perspective: 700px;

  &__track {
    position: relative;
    width: 96px;
    height: 120px;
    margin-bottom: 26px;
    transform-style: preserve-3d;
    pointer-events: none; // coplanar with the active cover: let the covers take the pointer
  }

  i {
    // JS sets, per cover: --o (offset from active), --abs (|offset|), --sign (-1 / 0 / 1)
    position: absolute;
    inset: 0;
    display: grid;
    place-items: center;
    border-radius: 12px;
    background: linear-gradient(160deg, hsl(var(--hue) 85% 64%), hsl(var(--hue) 70% 36%));
    color: #fff;
    font-size: 30px;
    font-style: normal;
    font-weight: 900;
    cursor: pointer;
    pointer-events: auto;
    box-shadow: 0 16px 24px -14px #000;
    transform:
      translateX(calc(var(--o) * 46px + var(--sign) * 34px))
      translateZ(calc(var(--abs) * -50px))
      rotateY(calc(var(--sign) * -58deg));
    transition: transform 0.55s cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.8, 0.2, 1);
  }

  &__nav {
    position: absolute;
    bottom: 10px;
    display: flex;
    gap: 8px;

    button {
      width: 34px;
      height: 28px;
      border: 1px solid var(--border-strong);
      border-radius: 8px;
      background: var(--surface);
      display: grid;
      place-items: center;
      padding: 0;
      cursor: pointer;

      &:hover {
        border-color: var(--warm);
      }
    }
  }
}
Standalone snippet · plain CSS, no build step, no dependencies.

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