The pointer is a screen-space quantity and the mesh is a world-space one, so something has to convert between them. Instead of unprojecting the pointer on the CPU with a raycaster, every vertex projects ITSELF once, compares its own normalised device position against the pointer, and displaces by the result. Each vertex gets an exact distance, the cost is one extra matrix multiply per vertex, and nothing about it depends on the CPU knowing the mesh's real shape.
A single self-contained brief: the technique, the constants and why they hold, the pitfalls, and the definition of done. Paste it and the component gets written in your own conventions instead of copied in ours.
# Build: In-Shader Mouse BulgeThe pointer is a screen-space quantity and the mesh is a world-space one, so something has to convert between them. Instead of unprojecting the pointer on the CPU with a raycaster, every vertex projects ITSELF once, compares its own normalised device position against the pointer, and displaces by the result. Each vertex gets an exact distance, the cost is one extra matrix multiply per vertex, and nothing about it depends on the CPU knowing the mesh's real shape.Build this as a React component in my project. Match my existing conventions —file layout, styling system, and naming — rather than the ones implied below.Everything after this line is specification, not code to copy verbatim.## What it doesA soft lens that follows the cursor, measured by projecting every vertex to screen space instead of raycasting.- Category: webgl- Runtime cost: webgl- Dependencies: three@^0.185.1## How it works1. The vertex shader runs `projectionMatrix * modelViewMatrix * vec4(pos, 1.0)` twice. The first is a probe: dividing its xy by w gives this vertex's own NDC position, which is the only common space the pointer and the geometry both live in.2. NDC spans -1..1 on both axes whatever the viewport is, so a raw distance is stretched by the aspect ratio. The x component of the delta is multiplied by `uAspect` before the length is taken, which is what keeps the lens circular on a 16:9 canvas instead of an ellipse 1.78 times too wide.3. The weight is `exp(-dot(delta, delta) * falloff)`. A Gaussian never actually reaches zero, so there is no radius at which the deformation visibly stops, and its derivative is continuous, so the sheen has no hard edge either — a smoothstep would give both a visible boundary ring.4. The vertex is lifted by `bulge * uLift` and the weight is passed to the fragment shader, which pushes the centred UV outward by `centered * vBulge * uMagnify`. Lift alone is a bump; lift plus UV magnification is a lens, and that is the difference between a dent in the surface and glass sitting on top of it.5. The second projection is the one that ships the vertex, evaluated after the displacement the first one made possible. The extra matrix multiply per vertex is the entire cost of the technique.6. The strength uniform is damped toward the pointer's active state rather than switched, so the lens fades in on enter and out on leave instead of appearing at, and vanishing from, the last known position.## Constants — use these valuesThese are tuned. Each one has a reason; do not round them off or replace themwith values that "look cleaner".- `falloff = 5` Tightness of the Gaussian in aspect-corrected NDC units, where the full viewport is 2 wide. At 5 the lens is roughly a third of the height across. Below ~2 it swells to cover the whole plane and reads as a global warp; above ~15 it collapses to a pinpoint that the vertex grid cannot resolve smoothly.- `lift = 0.5` World units the crown rises, against a plane about 2.5 units tall at a camera distance of 3. Above ~1.2 the crown passes the camera's near plane and the lens punches a hole through itself when the cursor is centred.- `magnify = 0.12` UV displacement at the crown. This is what makes it a lens rather than a bump. Above ~0.3 the magnification outruns the geometry, the texture visibly slides across the surface, and the illusion of glass breaks into a smear.- `sheen = 0.18` Extra brightness at the crown. Small on purpose: the eye reads a slight highlight as curvature, and anything past ~0.4 reads as a blown-out light source instead.- `segments = 128` The bulge is per-vertex, so the mesh density is the resolution of the lens. At 16 the Gaussian resolves into a faceted pyramid chasing the cursor; past ~192 the extra vertices land inside a single pixel of the highlight.- `STRENGTH_SMOOTHING = 0.0008` Fraction of the gap left after one second, so the lens fades in over roughly a fifth of a second. Instant switching leaves the lens visible at the last known position for one frame after the cursor leaves, which flickers.- `pointer smoothing = 0.0008` Matches the strength smoothing so the lens grows and moves at the same rate. A pointer smoothed much harder than the strength arrives late and the lens appears to be dragged; much softer and it inherits every jitter in the raw pointer stream.- `CAMERA_FOV / CAMERA_Z = 45 / 3` Sets how much perspective the lift reads against. At a narrow FOV the raised crown barely changes size and the bulge looks flat; at a wide one the plane's own edges keystone enough to compete with the effect.## API```tsfunction NdcMouseBulge(props: { strength?: number; falloff?: number; lift?: number; magnify?: number; sheen?: number; segments?: number; paint?: (ctx: CanvasRenderingContext2D, size: { width: number; height: number }) => void; className?: string }): JSX.Element```- `strength: number` — default `1` Peak displacement weight. 0 disables the effect.- `falloff: number` — default `5` Gaussian tightness. Higher is a smaller, sharper lens.- `lift: number` — default `0.5` World units the crown of the bulge rises toward the camera.- `magnify: number` — default `0.12` How far the lens magnifies at the crown, in UV units.- `sheen: number` — default `0.18` Extra brightness at the crown.- `segments: number` — default `128` Plane subdivisions per axis. The resolution of the lens.- `paint: (ctx, size) => void` Override the surface. Receives a 2D context for a 1024x1024 canvas.- `className: string` Merged onto the wrapper via `cn`.## Reference implementation of the coreThis is the part that is hard to get right. Adapt it; do not treat the rest ofthe component as fixed.```tsxexport function NdcMouseBulge({ strength = 1, falloff = 5, lift = 0.5, magnify = 0.12, sheen = 0.18, segments = 128, paint, className,}: NdcMouseBulgeProps) { const host = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null); const stage = useRef<Stage | null>(null); const { width, height } = useResizeObserver(host); const { inView } = useInView(host, { threshold: 0 }); const visible = useVisibility(); const reduced = useReducedMotion(); // Already in NDC, which is exactly the space the shader compares in — no // conversion, no cached bounding rect to go stale on scroll. const pointer = useSmoothPointer({ target: host, smoothing: 0.0008 }); const [supported, setSupported] = useState(true); useEffect(() => setSupported(hasWebGL()), []); const engaged = useRef(0); const live = useRef({ strength, falloff, lift, magnify, sheen }); live.current = { strength, falloff, lift, magnify, sheen }; const ready = width > 1 && height > 1 && supported; useEffect(() => { const el = host.current; if (!el || !ready) return; const renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({ antialias: true, alpha: true }); renderer.setPixelRatio(pixelRatio()); renderer.setSize(el.clientWidth, el.clientHeight, false); renderer.setClearColor(0x000000, 0); renderer.domElement.style.display = 'block'; renderer.domElement.style.width = '100%'; renderer.domElement.style.height = '100%'; el.appendChild(renderer.domElement); const scene = new THREE.Scene(); const camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(CAMERA_FOV, 1, 0.1, 100); camera.position.z = CAMERA_Z; const canvas = document.createElement('canvas'); canvas.width = TEXTURE_SIZE; canvas.height = TEXTURE_SIZE; const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d'); if (ctx) (paint ?? paintSurface)(ctx, { width: TEXTURE_SIZE, height: TEXTURE_SIZE }); const texture = new THREE.CanvasTexture(canvas); texture.colorSpace = THREE.SRGBColorSpace; texture.wrapS = THREE.ClampToEdgeWrapping; texture.wrapT = THREE.ClampToEdgeWrapping; texture.anisotropy = Math.min(4, renderer.capabilities.getMaxAnisotropy()); const uniforms: BulgeUniforms = { uTexture: { value: texture }, uMouseNdc: { value: new THREE.Vector2(0, 0) }, uAspect: { value: 1 }, uStrength: { value: 0 }, uFalloff: { value: falloff }, uLift: { value: lift }, uMagnify: { value: magnify }, uSheen: { value: sheen }, }; // Dense. The bulge is evaluated per vertex, so the lens can only be as // round as the mesh is fine: at 16 segments the Gaussian resolves into a // faceted pyramid that follows the cursor. const geometry = new THREE.PlaneGeometry(1, 1, segments, segments); const material = new THREE.ShaderMaterial({ vertexShader: ndcMouseBulgeVertexShader, fragmentShader: ndcMouseBulgeFragmentShader, uniforms, }); const mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material); // The lift happens after the bounding sphere was computed; leaving culling // on lets three blank a plane that is filling the viewport. mesh.frustumCulled = false; scene.add(mesh); stage.current = { renderer, scene, camera, mesh, geometry, material, texture, uniforms }; return () => { stage.current = null; scene.remove(mesh); // Inside `uniforms`, where `disposeObject` cannot see it. texture.dispose(); disposeObject(scene); geometry.dispose(); material.dispose(); disposeRenderer(renderer); renderer.domElement.remove(); }; // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps }, [ready, segments, paint]); useEffect(() => { const current = stage.current; if (!current || width < 1 || height < 1) return; const aspect = width / height; current.renderer.setPixelRatio(pixelRatio()); current.renderer.setSize(width, height, false); current.camera.aspect = aspect; current.camera.updateProjectionMatrix(); // Cover the frustum exactly at z = 0. Derived from the camera, because the // visible extent at this distance has no fixed relationship to the pixel // width of the container. const visibleHeight = 2 * Math.tan((CAMERA_FOV * Math.PI) / 360) * CAMERA_Z; current.mesh.scale.set(visibleHeight * aspect, visibleHeight, 1); // The shader corrects its screen-space distance with this, so a stale // value turns the lens into an ellipse the moment the container reshapes. current.uniforms.uAspect.value = aspect; }, [width, height]); useRaf( (dt) => { const current = stage.current; if (!current) return; const { strength: peak, falloff: tightness, lift: rise, magnify: zoom, sheen: light } = live.current; // Fade the whole effect in and out with the pointer rather than snapping // it. Snapping leaves a lens sitting at the last known position for one // frame after the cursor leaves, which flickers. const wanted = pointer.current.active && !reduced ? peak : 0; engaged.current = damp(engaged.current, wanted, STRENGTH_SMOOTHING, dt); current.uniforms.uMouseNdc.value.set(pointer.current.ndcX, pointer.current.ndcY); current.uniforms.uStrength.value = engaged.current; current.uniforms.uFalloff.value = tightness; current.uniforms.uLift.value = rise; current.uniforms.uMagnify.value = zoom; current.uniforms.uSheen.value = light; current.renderer.render(current.scene, current.camera); }, ready && inView && visible, );```## RequirementsThese are not optional. A version of this component that skips any of them isnot finished.**Cleanup.** Removes the mesh from the scene, disposes the `CanvasTexture` explicitly because it sits inside `material.uniforms` beyond `disposeObject`'s reach, runs `disposeObject` over the scene, disposes the geometry and material, then `disposeRenderer` — `setAnimationLoop(null)`, `dispose()`, `forceContextLoss()` — and removes the canvas from the DOM. The stage ref is nulled first so a frame already queued on the shared RAF loop exits before touching anything. `useSmoothPointer` removes its own listeners on unmount.**Reduced motion.** The strength target is held at 0, so no vertex is ever displaced, the UV is never magnified and no sheen appears — the surface is a completely static image that ignores the pointer. The value is still damped to zero rather than assigned, so a lens that is on screen when the preference changes retracts smoothly instead of popping flat.**Frame-rate independence.** Any smoothing must be a function of delta time.`x += (target - x) * 0.1` converges twice as fast at 120 Hz as at 60 Hz; use`x = target + (x - target) * Math.pow(smoothing, dt)` instead, where`smoothing` is the fraction of the gap remaining after one second.**Strict mode.** Assume effects run twice in development. Setup must beidempotent and teardown must fully undo it.## Known pitfalls — avoid these specifically- Comparing raw NDC distances. NDC is -1..1 on both axes regardless of the viewport, so on a 16:9 canvas the falloff is 1.78 times wider than it is tall and the lens is a visible ellipse. The x component of the delta is weighted by the aspect before the length is taken.- Raycasting the pointer against the plane instead. It costs a matrix inversion per frame, returns exactly one hit point, and — decisively — it intersects the CPU-side geometry, which this shader has already moved. Once anything displaces vertices, the raycast answers a question about a surface that is not on screen.- Projecting once and reusing `gl_Position`. The probe has to happen before the displacement and the final projection has to happen after it, so the two cannot be shared. Displacing after computing `gl_Position` simply has no effect at all.- Using a linear or smoothstep falloff. Both reach exactly zero at a finite radius, which draws a visible ring on the surface where the deformation stops. The Gaussian is asymptotic and leaves no boundary.- Lifting the vertex without magnifying the UV. The result is a bump, not a lens — the surface moves but the image printed on it does not, so it reads as a dent in a rigid sheet rather than glass laid over it.- Leaving `frustumCulled` on. The lift happens after the bounding sphere was computed, so three can decide a plane that is filling the viewport is off screen and blank it.- Sizing the plane from the container's pixel dimensions. The plane has to cover the frustum at z = 0, which is `2 * tan(fov/2) * distance` tall; a pixel width has no fixed relationship to that and the plane ends up short of the edges or overscaled.- Forgetting to update `uAspect` on resize. The lens silently turns elliptical the moment the container reshapes, and because it still follows the cursor correctly the bug looks like a design decision.- Calling `renderer.dispose()` alone on unmount. GPU objects are freed but the WebGL context survives, and Chromium drops the oldest once a renderer process holds about 16. `disposeRenderer` calls `forceContextLoss`.## Notes- `useSmoothPointer` already exposes `ndcX` / `ndcY`, so the pointer reaches the uniform without a single conversion and without a cached bounding rect that could go stale on scroll.- This is the same two-projections-per-vertex trick `cylinder-gallery` uses; there it has to be in-shader, because the CPU geometry is a flat plane and the visible drum exists only on the GPU.## Definition of doneMove the cursor over the surface and a round highlight follows it, swelling the lattice cells underneath rather than merely brightening them. The highlight is circular at any container aspect — resize from square to wide and it stays round. It has no visible outer edge or ring where the effect stops. Leave the surface and the lens retracts over about a fifth of a second rather than vanishing. Nothing changes when the cursor moves outside the component. With `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` the surface is completely inert and the cursor has no effect at all.When you are finished, tell me which of the requirements above you implementedand where, so I can check them.
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10 files, exactly as installed.
installs tocomponents/motion/ndc-mouse-bulge.tsx
'use client';import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';import * as THREE from 'three';import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';import { useInView } from '@/hooks/use-in-view';import { useRaf } from '@/hooks/use-raf';import { useReducedMotion } from '@/hooks/use-reduced-motion';import { useResizeObserver } from '@/hooks/use-resize-observer';import { useSmoothPointer } from '@/hooks/use-smooth-pointer';import { useVisibility } from '@/hooks/use-visibility';import { damp } from '@/lib/damp';import { disposeObject, disposeRenderer, hasWebGL, pixelRatio,} from '@/lib/webgl';import { ndcMouseBulgeFragmentShader, ndcMouseBulgeVertexShader,} from '@/components/motion/shaders/ndc-mouse-bulge';/* ========================================================================== In-Shader Mouse Bulge -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A soft lens that follows the cursor across a textured plane, with no raycaster, no picking buffer and no CPU geometry work at all. The pointer arrives in normalised device coordinates and stays there. Each vertex projects itself once to find out where it is on screen, compares that against the pointer, and displaces itself by the result. ========================================================================== */export interface NdcMouseBulgeProps { /** Peak displacement weight. 0 disables the effect. */ strength?: number; /** Gaussian tightness. Higher is a smaller, sharper lens. */ falloff?: number; /** World units the crown of the bulge rises toward the camera. */ lift?: number; /** How far the lens magnifies at the crown, in UV units. */ magnify?: number; /** Extra brightness at the crown. */ sheen?: number; /** Plane subdivisions per axis. The bulge is per-vertex, so this is its resolution. */ segments?: number; /** Draw the surface. Default paints a ruled hue field. */ paint?: ( ctx: CanvasRenderingContext2D, size: { width: number; height: number }, ) => void; className?: string;}const CAMERA_FOV = 45;const CAMERA_Z = 3;const TEXTURE_SIZE = 1024;const STRENGTH_SMOOTHING = 0.0008;interface BulgeUniforms { [name: string]: THREE.IUniform; uTexture: THREE.IUniform<THREE.Texture | null>; uMouseNdc: THREE.IUniform<THREE.Vector2>; uAspect: THREE.IUniform<number>; uStrength: THREE.IUniform<number>; uFalloff: THREE.IUniform<number>; uLift: THREE.IUniform<number>; uMagnify: THREE.IUniform<number>; uSheen: THREE.IUniform<number>;}interface Stage { renderer: THREE.WebGLRenderer; scene: THREE.Scene; camera: THREE.PerspectiveCamera; mesh: THREE.Mesh; geometry: THREE.PlaneGeometry; material: THREE.ShaderMaterial; texture: THREE.CanvasTexture; uniforms: BulgeUniforms;}function paintSurface( ctx: CanvasRenderingContext2D, size: { width: number; height: number },): void { const { width, height } = size; const ramp = ctx.createLinearGradient(0, 0, width, height); ramp.addColorStop(0, 'hsl(248, 46%, 15%)'); ramp.addColorStop(0.55, 'hsl(212, 52%, 38%)'); ramp.addColorStop(1, 'hsl(166, 56%, 60%)'); ctx.fillStyle = ramp; ctx.fillRect(0, 0, width, height); // A regular lattice. The lens is measured by how the cells swell as it // passes; on a plain gradient there is nothing to swell. const cell = width / 22; ctx.strokeStyle = 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2)'; ctx.lineWidth = Math.max(1, width / 900); for (let x = cell; x < width; x += cell) { ctx.beginPath(); ctx.moveTo(x, 0); ctx.lineTo(x, height); ctx.stroke(); } for (let y = cell; y < height; y += cell) { ctx.beginPath(); ctx.moveTo(0, y); ctx.lineTo(width, y); ctx.stroke(); } ctx.fillStyle = 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9)'; ctx.textAlign = 'center'; ctx.textBaseline = 'middle'; ctx.font = `600 ${Math.round(height * 0.085)}px ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif`; ctx.fillText('UNDER GLASS', width / 2, height / 2);}// #region criticalexport function NdcMouseBulge({ strength = 1, falloff = 5, lift = 0.5, magnify = 0.12, sheen = 0.18, segments = 128, paint, className,}: NdcMouseBulgeProps) { const host = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null); const stage = useRef<Stage | null>(null); const { width, height } = useResizeObserver(host); const { inView } = useInView(host, { threshold: 0 }); const visible = useVisibility(); const reduced = useReducedMotion(); // Already in NDC, which is exactly the space the shader compares in — no // conversion, no cached bounding rect to go stale on scroll. const pointer = useSmoothPointer({ target: host, smoothing: 0.0008 }); const [supported, setSupported] = useState(true); useEffect(() => setSupported(hasWebGL()), []); const engaged = useRef(0); const live = useRef({ strength, falloff, lift, magnify, sheen }); live.current = { strength, falloff, lift, magnify, sheen }; const ready = width > 1 && height > 1 && supported; useEffect(() => { const el = host.current; if (!el || !ready) return; const renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({ antialias: true, alpha: true }); renderer.setPixelRatio(pixelRatio()); renderer.setSize(el.clientWidth, el.clientHeight, false); renderer.setClearColor(0x000000, 0); renderer.domElement.style.display = 'block'; renderer.domElement.style.width = '100%'; renderer.domElement.style.height = '100%'; el.appendChild(renderer.domElement); const scene = new THREE.Scene(); const camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(CAMERA_FOV, 1, 0.1, 100); camera.position.z = CAMERA_Z; const canvas = document.createElement('canvas'); canvas.width = TEXTURE_SIZE; canvas.height = TEXTURE_SIZE; const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d'); if (ctx) (paint ?? paintSurface)(ctx, { width: TEXTURE_SIZE, height: TEXTURE_SIZE }); const texture = new THREE.CanvasTexture(canvas); texture.colorSpace = THREE.SRGBColorSpace; texture.wrapS = THREE.ClampToEdgeWrapping; texture.wrapT = THREE.ClampToEdgeWrapping; texture.anisotropy = Math.min(4, renderer.capabilities.getMaxAnisotropy()); const uniforms: BulgeUniforms = { uTexture: { value: texture }, uMouseNdc: { value: new THREE.Vector2(0, 0) }, uAspect: { value: 1 }, uStrength: { value: 0 }, uFalloff: { value: falloff }, uLift: { value: lift }, uMagnify: { value: magnify }, uSheen: { value: sheen }, }; // Dense. The bulge is evaluated per vertex, so the lens can only be as // round as the mesh is fine: at 16 segments the Gaussian resolves into a // faceted pyramid that follows the cursor. const geometry = new THREE.PlaneGeometry(1, 1, segments, segments); const material = new THREE.ShaderMaterial({ vertexShader: ndcMouseBulgeVertexShader, fragmentShader: ndcMouseBulgeFragmentShader, uniforms, }); const mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material); // The lift happens after the bounding sphere was computed; leaving culling // on lets three blank a plane that is filling the viewport. mesh.frustumCulled = false; scene.add(mesh); stage.current = { renderer, scene, camera, mesh, geometry, material, texture, uniforms }; return () => { stage.current = null; scene.remove(mesh); // Inside `uniforms`, where `disposeObject` cannot see it. texture.dispose(); disposeObject(scene); geometry.dispose(); material.dispose(); disposeRenderer(renderer); renderer.domElement.remove(); }; // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps }, [ready, segments, paint]); useEffect(() => { const current = stage.current; if (!current || width < 1 || height < 1) return; const aspect = width / height; current.renderer.setPixelRatio(pixelRatio()); current.renderer.setSize(width, height, false); current.camera.aspect = aspect; current.camera.updateProjectionMatrix(); // Cover the frustum exactly at z = 0. Derived from the camera, because the // visible extent at this distance has no fixed relationship to the pixel // width of the container. const visibleHeight = 2 * Math.tan((CAMERA_FOV * Math.PI) / 360) * CAMERA_Z; current.mesh.scale.set(visibleHeight * aspect, visibleHeight, 1); // The shader corrects its screen-space distance with this, so a stale // value turns the lens into an ellipse the moment the container reshapes. current.uniforms.uAspect.value = aspect; }, [width, height]); useRaf( (dt) => { const current = stage.current; if (!current) return; const { strength: peak, falloff: tightness, lift: rise, magnify: zoom, sheen: light } = live.current; // Fade the whole effect in and out with the pointer rather than snapping // it. Snapping leaves a lens sitting at the last known position for one // frame after the cursor leaves, which flickers. const wanted = pointer.current.active && !reduced ? peak : 0; engaged.current = damp(engaged.current, wanted, STRENGTH_SMOOTHING, dt); current.uniforms.uMouseNdc.value.set(pointer.current.ndcX, pointer.current.ndcY); current.uniforms.uStrength.value = engaged.current; current.uniforms.uFalloff.value = tightness; current.uniforms.uLift.value = rise; current.uniforms.uMagnify.value = zoom; current.uniforms.uSheen.value = light; current.renderer.render(current.scene, current.camera); }, ready && inView && visible, ); // #endregion critical return ( <div className={cn('relative h-full w-full overflow-hidden', className)}> <div ref={host} className="absolute inset-0" /> {!supported ? ( <div className="absolute inset-0" style={{ background: 'linear-gradient(135deg, hsl(248 46% 15%), hsl(212 52% 38%), hsl(166 56% 60%))', }} /> ) : null} </div> );}
/* ========================================================================== In-Shader Mouse Bulge — GLSL as TypeScript template literals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The pointer is a screen-space thing and the mesh is a world-space thing, so somebody has to convert. The usual answer is a raycast on the CPU, which gives you one hit point and costs a matrix inversion per frame. This does the opposite and cheaper thing: it projects each VERTEX into screen space and compares it against the pointer there. Every vertex gets its own distance, so the falloff is exact even on a surface the CPU thinks is flat, and the only cost is one extra matrix multiply per vertex. ========================================================================== */export const ndcMouseBulgeVertexShader = /* glsl */ `uniform vec2 uMouseNdc;uniform float uAspect;uniform float uStrength;uniform float uFalloff;uniform float uLift;varying vec2 vUv;varying float vBulge;void main() { vec3 pos = position; // Projection one, the probe. This answers 'where does this vertex land on // screen right now', which is the only way to measure a screen-space // pointer against a mesh without leaving the GPU. vec4 probe = projectionMatrix * modelViewMatrix * vec4(pos, 1.0); vec2 ndc = probe.xy / probe.w; // NDC is -1..1 on both axes regardless of the viewport, so a raw distance // is stretched by the aspect ratio: on a 16:9 canvas an unweighted circle // is an ellipse 1.78 times too wide. Weighting x by the aspect makes the // falloff round on screen. vec2 delta = vec2((ndc.x - uMouseNdc.x) * uAspect, ndc.y - uMouseNdc.y); // Gaussian, not a linear or smoothstep falloff. It never reaches zero, so // there is no ring where the deformation visibly stops, and its own // derivative is smooth, so the highlight has no hard edge either. float bulge = exp(-dot(delta, delta) * uFalloff) * uStrength; pos.z += bulge * uLift; vBulge = bulge; vUv = uv; // Projection two, the one that actually ships the vertex, after the // displacement the first projection made possible. gl_Position = projectionMatrix * modelViewMatrix * vec4(pos, 1.0);}`;export const ndcMouseBulgeFragmentShader = /* glsl */ `uniform sampler2D uTexture;uniform float uMagnify;uniform float uSheen;varying vec2 vUv;varying float vBulge;void main() { // Push the centred UV outward by the same weight that lifted the vertex. // Displacement alone is a bump; displacement plus magnification is a lens, // and the difference is what makes it read as glass over the surface rather // than a dent in it. vec2 centered = vUv - 0.5; vec2 lensed = vUv + centered * vBulge * uMagnify; vec4 texel = texture2D(uTexture, clamp(lensed, 0.0, 1.0)); // A little extra light at the crown of the bulge. Cheap, and it is what // sells the surface as curved rather than merely offset. gl_FragColor = vec4(texel.rgb * (1.0 + vBulge * uSheen), texel.a); // ShaderMaterial gets no automatic output conversion — three only injects // this chunk into its own materials. Without it every colour ships raw // linear values into an sRGB framebuffer and the whole scene looks washed. #include <colorspace_fragment>}`;
/* ========================================================================== Frame-rate-independent interpolation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The everywhere-idiom `x += (target - x) * 0.1` is a bug: it converges twice as fast on a 120 Hz display as on a 60 Hz one, so the same code feels different on different hardware and visibly speeds up when the browser drops frames. `damp` fixes it by raising the retention factor to the power of elapsed time, which is the exact continuous form of the same curve. ========================================================================== *//** * Fraction of the remaining distance to close this frame. * * @param smoothing Fraction of the gap that REMAINS after one second. * Smaller is snappier. 0.001 ≈ very fast, 0.01 ≈ fast, 0.1 ≈ soft, * 0.5 ≈ slow drift. * @param dt Seconds elapsed since the previous frame. */export function dampFactor(smoothing: number, dt: number): number { return 1 - Math.pow(smoothing, dt);}/** Move `current` toward `target` at a rate independent of frame rate. */export function damp( current: number, target: number, smoothing: number, dt: number,): number { return current + (target - current) * dampFactor(smoothing, dt);}/** * The per-frame lerp constant an author measured at 60fps, converted into the * `smoothing` argument `damp` wants. Lets a source that says "0.1 per frame" * be ported without re-tuning by eye: * * damp(x, t, perFrameToSmoothing(0.1), dt) */export function perFrameToSmoothing(alpha: number, baseFps = 60): number { return Math.pow(1 - alpha, baseFps);}export function lerp(a: number, b: number, t: number): number { return a + (b - a) * t;}export function clamp(v: number, min: number, max: number): number { return v < min ? min : v > max ? max : v;}export function inverseLerp(a: number, b: number, v: number): number { return a === b ? 0 : (v - a) / (b - a);}export function mapRange( v: number, inMin: number, inMax: number, outMin: number, outMax: number, doClamp = true,): number { const t = inverseLerp(inMin, inMax, v); const r = lerp(outMin, outMax, doClamp ? clamp(t, 0, 1) : t); return r;}/** GLSL `smoothstep`, same semantics, for parity between JS and shader code. */export function smoothstep(edge0: number, edge1: number, x: number): number { const t = clamp(inverseLerp(edge0, edge1, x), 0, 1); return t * t * (3 - 2 * t);}/** * Gaussian falloff, `exp(-d²)`. Yields 1.000 / 0.368 / 0.018 / 0.0001 at * distances 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 — a continuous focus scalar with no thresholds and * no branches, which is why carousels that use it feel analogue rather than * stepped. */export function gaussian(distance: number, falloff = 1): number { const d = distance * falloff; return Math.exp(-(d * d));}
'use client';import { useEffect, useRef, useState, type RefObject } from 'react';/* ========================================================================== IntersectionObserver, sharing one observer per option set. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A hundred cards each constructing their own observer is a hundred observers the compositor has to service. Keying a shared observer by its options collapses that to one per distinct configuration — in practice, two or three for the whole site. ========================================================================== */export interface InViewState { inView: boolean; /** 0-1. The preview slot allocator ranks candidates by this. */ ratio: number;}export interface UseInViewOptions { root?: Element | null; rootMargin?: string; /** Single number or list, same meaning as the native option. */ threshold?: number | number[]; /** Stop observing after the first time it becomes visible. */ once?: boolean;}type Entry = { observer: IntersectionObserver; handlers: Map<Element, (e: IntersectionObserverEntry) => void>;};const pools = new Map<string, Entry>();function poolFor(options: UseInViewOptions): Entry { const key = JSON.stringify({ rootMargin: options.rootMargin ?? '0px', threshold: options.threshold ?? 0, }); const existing = pools.get(key); if (existing) return existing; const handlers = new Map<Element, (e: IntersectionObserverEntry) => void>(); const observer = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { for (const entry of entries) handlers.get(entry.target)?.(entry); }, { root: options.root ?? null, rootMargin: options.rootMargin ?? '0px', threshold: options.threshold ?? 0, }, ); const created: Entry = { observer, handlers }; pools.set(key, created); return created;}export function useInView( ref: RefObject<Element | null>, options: UseInViewOptions = {},): InViewState { const [state, setState] = useState<InViewState>({ inView: false, ratio: 0 }); const { root = null, rootMargin = '0px', once = false } = options; const thresholdKey = JSON.stringify(options.threshold ?? 0); const done = useRef(false); useEffect(() => { const el = ref.current; if (!el || typeof IntersectionObserver === 'undefined') return; if (once && done.current) return; const pool = poolFor({ root, rootMargin, threshold: JSON.parse(thresholdKey) as number | number[], }); const handle = (entry: IntersectionObserverEntry) => { setState({ inView: entry.isIntersecting, ratio: entry.intersectionRatio }); if (once && entry.isIntersecting) { done.current = true; pool.handlers.delete(el); pool.observer.unobserve(el); } }; pool.handlers.set(el, handle); pool.observer.observe(el); return () => { pool.handlers.delete(el); pool.observer.unobserve(el); }; }, [ref, root, rootMargin, thresholdKey, once]); return state;}
'use client';import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';/* ========================================================================== One shared requestAnimationFrame loop. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forty components each calling requestAnimationFrame means forty callbacks the browser schedules separately and forty chances to read layout after a write. One loop, one ordered pass, one place to clamp delta time. Delta is clamped to 100 ms. Without that, returning to a backgrounded tab delivers a multi-second dt and every physics integration in the page explodes on the first frame back. ========================================================================== */export type RafCallback = (dt: number, elapsed: number) => void;const callbacks = new Set<RafCallback>();let frame = 0;let last = 0;let start = 0;const MAX_DT = 0.1;const DEFAULT_DT = 1 / 60;function tick(now: number) { frame = requestAnimationFrame(tick); const dt = last === 0 ? DEFAULT_DT : Math.min((now - last) / 1000, MAX_DT); last = now; const elapsed = (now - start) / 1000; // Copy: a callback may unsubscribe itself (or another) mid-iteration. for (const cb of Array.from(callbacks)) { if (callbacks.has(cb)) cb(dt, elapsed); }}function subscribe(cb: RafCallback) { callbacks.add(cb); if (frame === 0) { start = performance.now(); last = 0; frame = requestAnimationFrame(tick); } return () => { callbacks.delete(cb); if (callbacks.size === 0 && frame !== 0) { cancelAnimationFrame(frame); frame = 0; last = 0; } };}/** * Run `cb` every frame while `enabled`. * * The callback is held in a ref, so it does not need to be memoised and the * subscription is never torn down just because the closure changed identity. */export function useRaf(cb: RafCallback, enabled = true): void { const ref = useRef(cb); ref.current = cb; useEffect(() => { if (!enabled) return; return subscribe((dt, elapsed) => ref.current(dt, elapsed)); }, [enabled]);}
'use client';import { useSyncExternalStore } from 'react';/* ========================================================================== prefers-reduced-motion, SSR-safe. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- useSyncExternalStore rather than useState + useEffect: the server snapshot is an explicit `false`, so the markup React renders on the server and the markup it hydrates with agree, and the real value lands in the same commit as hydration instead of one frame later. A useEffect version flashes the animated variant before removing it — the exact thing the user asked not to see. Reduced motion is not "duration: 0". For most components here it means a different render: the final state, a static poster, or a paused frame. ========================================================================== */const QUERY = '(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)';function subscribe(onChange: () => void) { if (typeof window === 'undefined' || !window.matchMedia) return () => {}; const mql = window.matchMedia(QUERY); mql.addEventListener('change', onChange); return () => mql.removeEventListener('change', onChange);}function getSnapshot() { if (typeof window === 'undefined' || !window.matchMedia) return false; return window.matchMedia(QUERY).matches;}function getServerSnapshot() { return false;}export function useReducedMotion(): boolean { return useSyncExternalStore(subscribe, getSnapshot, getServerSnapshot);}/** Generic media-query hook, same SSR guarantees. */export function useMediaQuery(query: string): boolean { return useSyncExternalStore( (onChange) => { if (typeof window === 'undefined' || !window.matchMedia) return () => {}; const mql = window.matchMedia(query); mql.addEventListener('change', onChange); return () => mql.removeEventListener('change', onChange); }, () => { if (typeof window === 'undefined' || !window.matchMedia) return false; return window.matchMedia(query).matches; }, () => false, );}
'use client';import { useEffect, useState, type RefObject } from 'react';/* ========================================================================== Element size, from one shared ResizeObserver. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sized from the element rather than the window because a preview in a grid cell resizes when the grid reflows, not when the viewport does. Reading `window.innerWidth` is the reason so many canvas components are correct on load and wrong after a sidebar opens. ========================================================================== */export interface Size { width: number; height: number;}type Handler = (size: Size) => void;let observer: ResizeObserver | null = null;const handlers = new Map<Element, Handler>();function ensureObserver(): ResizeObserver | null { if (typeof ResizeObserver === 'undefined') return null; observer ??= new ResizeObserver((entries) => { for (const entry of entries) { const box = entry.contentBoxSize?.[0]; const size: Size = box ? { width: box.inlineSize, height: box.blockSize } : { width: entry.contentRect.width, height: entry.contentRect.height }; handlers.get(entry.target)?.(size); } }); return observer;}export function useResizeObserver(ref: RefObject<Element | null>): Size { const [size, setSize] = useState<Size>({ width: 0, height: 0 }); useEffect(() => { const el = ref.current; const ro = ensureObserver(); if (!el || !ro) return; // Seed synchronously: waiting for the first observer callback leaves one // frame where a canvas is sized 0x0, which some drivers log as an error. const rect = el.getBoundingClientRect(); setSize({ width: rect.width, height: rect.height }); handlers.set(el, (next) => setSize((prev) => prev.width === next.width && prev.height === next.height ? prev : next, ), ); ro.observe(el); return () => { handlers.delete(el); ro.unobserve(el); }; }, [ref]); return size;}
'use client';import { useEffect, useRef, type RefObject } from 'react';import { useRaf } from '@/hooks/use-raf';import { damp } from '@/lib/damp';/* ========================================================================== Pointer position, smoothed, in several coordinate spaces at once. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Almost every cursor effect wants the same four things and computes them slightly differently each time: client pixels, element-local pixels, 0..1 normalised, and -1..1 NDC for shaders. Producing all four from one damped source keeps a cursor dot and the shader it drives exactly in step. Exposed via ref for the same reason as scroll velocity: per-frame values must not re-render. ========================================================================== */export interface PointerState { /** Viewport pixels. */ clientX: number; clientY: number; /** Pixels relative to the target element's top-left. */ x: number; y: number; /** 0..1 across the element. */ nx: number; ny: number; /** -1..1, y up. Feed straight into a shader uniform. */ ndcX: number; ndcY: number; /** Whether the pointer has been seen. Nothing should render before. */ active: boolean;}export interface UseSmoothPointerOptions { /** Fraction of the gap remaining after one second. Lower = tighter. */ smoothing?: number; /** Listen on this element rather than the window. */ target?: RefObject<HTMLElement | null>; /** Follow touch drags as well as mouse moves. */ touch?: boolean;}function makeInitialState(): PointerState { return { clientX: 0, clientY: 0, x: 0, y: 0, nx: 0.5, ny: 0.5, ndcX: 0, ndcY: 0, active: false, };}export function useSmoothPointer( options: UseSmoothPointerOptions = {},): { current: PointerState } { const { smoothing = 0.001, target, touch = true } = options; const state = useRef<PointerState>(makeInitialState()); // `null` means "no real pointer yet", which is distinct from a legitimate // pointer at (0, 0) in the top-left corner. const targetPos = useRef<{ clientX: number; clientY: number } | null>(null); const seeded = useRef(false); // Options the listener needs but that must not re-subscribe it on change. const touchRef = useRef(touch); touchRef.current = touch; useEffect(() => { const el = target?.current ?? null; const node: HTMLElement | Window = el ?? window; const onMove = (event: Event) => { const e = event as PointerEvent; if (!touchRef.current && e.pointerType === 'touch') return; targetPos.current = { clientX: e.clientX, clientY: e.clientY }; }; node.addEventListener('pointermove', onMove, { passive: true }); return () => node.removeEventListener('pointermove', onMove); // `target` is a ref object; its identity is stable for the component's // lifetime, so this subscribes once. }, [target]); useRaf((dt) => { const el = target?.current ?? null; const rect = el ? el.getBoundingClientRect() : { left: 0, top: 0, width: window.innerWidth, height: window.innerHeight, }; const pointer = targetPos.current; if (pointer === null) { // Park at the centre until a real pointer arrives, so the first move // eases out from the middle rather than snapping in from (0, 0). Done // once — re-centring every frame would fight a slow first movement. if (!seeded.current && rect.width > 0 && rect.height > 0) { seeded.current = true; const cx = rect.left + rect.width / 2; const cy = rect.top + rect.height / 2; state.current = { ...state.current, clientX: cx, clientY: cy, x: cx - rect.left, y: cy - rect.top, }; } return; } const clientX = damp(state.current.clientX, pointer.clientX, smoothing, dt); const clientY = damp(state.current.clientY, pointer.clientY, smoothing, dt); const x = clientX - rect.left; const y = clientY - rect.top; const nx = rect.width > 0 ? x / rect.width : 0.5; const ny = rect.height > 0 ? y / rect.height : 0.5; state.current = { clientX, clientY, x, y, nx, ny, ndcX: nx * 2 - 1, ndcY: -(ny * 2 - 1), active: true, }; }); return state;}
'use client';import { useSyncExternalStore } from 'react';/* ========================================================================== Document visibility, shared. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A backgrounded tab still runs `setInterval`, still holds WebGL contexts, and — on some platforms — still gets throttled rAF ticks with multi-second deltas. Anything expensive should stop when the tab is hidden and resume when it comes back, rather than trying to catch up. `useSyncExternalStore` with an explicit server snapshot so SSR markup and the first client render agree. ========================================================================== */function subscribe(onChange: () => void): () => void { document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', onChange); return () => document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', onChange);}function getSnapshot(): boolean { return document.visibilityState === 'visible';}/** Assume visible on the server: the alternative flashes a paused state. */function getServerSnapshot(): boolean { return true;}export function useVisibility(): boolean { return useSyncExternalStore(subscribe, getSnapshot, getServerSnapshot);}
import type * as THREE from 'three';/* ========================================================================== WebGL context lifecycle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chromium allows roughly 16 live WebGL contexts per RENDERER PROCESS (8 on low-end devices). Creating the 17th does not fail — it fires `webglcontextlost` on the OLDEST one, so an unrelated component elsewhere on the page goes black. Same-origin iframes share the renderer process, so isolating previews in iframes does not raise the ceiling. The only real fix is to release contexts on unmount, and `renderer.dispose()` ALONE DOES NOT DO THAT. It frees GPU objects but leaves the context itself alive until GC decides otherwise, which may be never. `forceContextLoss()` is the call that actually hands it back. ========================================================================== *//** * Fully release a three.js renderer. Call this in the `useEffect` cleanup of * any component that constructs a `WebGLRenderer` — the preview host drives * unmount via `<Activity mode="hidden">`, so ordinary cleanup IS the disposal * path and nothing component-specific is required. */export function disposeRenderer(renderer: THREE.WebGLRenderer | null | undefined): void { if (!renderer) return; // Stop the loop first: a queued frame that renders into a lost context // throws, and the throw escapes the cleanup function. renderer.setAnimationLoop(null); renderer.dispose(); renderer.forceContextLoss(); const canvas = renderer.domElement; if (canvas) { // Zeroing the backing store releases the drawing buffer immediately // instead of holding width×height×4 bytes until the node is collected. canvas.width = 0; canvas.height = 0; }}/** * Release a raw WebGL context (ogl, or hand-written GL). The extension is the * only portable way to do it; it is absent in some headless configurations, * hence the optional call. */export function loseContext(gl: WebGLRenderingContext | WebGL2RenderingContext | null | undefined): void { if (!gl) return; gl.getExtension('WEBGL_lose_context')?.loseContext();}/** Recursively dispose geometries, materials and textures under a root. */export function disposeObject(root: THREE.Object3D | null | undefined): void { if (!root) return; root.traverse((obj) => { const mesh = obj as THREE.Mesh; mesh.geometry?.dispose?.(); const material = mesh.material; if (!material) return; const materials = Array.isArray(material) ? material : [material]; for (const m of materials) { for (const value of Object.values(m as unknown as Record<string, unknown>)) { if (value && typeof value === 'object' && 'isTexture' in value) { (value as THREE.Texture).dispose(); } } m.dispose?.(); } });}/** * Device pixel ratio capped for fill-rate. Above 2 the visual gain is nil and * the cost is quadratic; on a 3x phone an uncapped full-screen shader is the * single most common cause of a janky first paint. */export function pixelRatio(max = 2): number { if (typeof window === 'undefined') return 1; return Math.min(window.devicePixelRatio || 1, max);}/** * Whether WebGL is actually available. Some browsers expose the constructor * but fail to create a context (blocklisted GPU, no hardware acceleration); * a component that assumes success renders a permanently blank box. */export function hasWebGL(): boolean { if (typeof document === 'undefined') return false; try { const canvas = document.createElement('canvas'); const gl = canvas.getContext('webgl2') ?? canvas.getContext('webgl') ?? canvas.getContext('experimental-webgl'); if (!gl) return false; (gl as WebGLRenderingContext).getExtension('WEBGL_lose_context')?.loseContext(); return true; } catch { return false; }}
05
API
Every parameter, its type and what happens when you change it.
Gaussian tightness. Higher is a smaller, sharper lens.
lift
number
= 0.5
World units the crown of the bulge rises toward the camera.
magnify
number
= 0.12
How far the lens magnifies at the crown, in UV units.
sheen
number
= 0.18
Extra brightness at the crown.
segments
number
= 128
Plane subdivisions per axis. The resolution of the lens.
paint
(ctx, size) => void
—
Override the surface. Receives a 2D context for a 1024x1024 canvas.
className
string
—
Merged onto the wrapper via cn.
06
How it works
The technique in order, not the code in order.
01
The vertex shader runs projectionMatrix * modelViewMatrix * vec4(pos, 1.0) twice. The first is a probe: dividing its xy by w gives this vertex's own NDC position, which is the only common space the pointer and the geometry both live in.
02
NDC spans -1..1 on both axes whatever the viewport is, so a raw distance is stretched by the aspect ratio. The x component of the delta is multiplied by uAspect before the length is taken, which is what keeps the lens circular on a 16:9 canvas instead of an ellipse 1.78 times too wide.
03
The weight is exp(-dot(delta, delta) * falloff). A Gaussian never actually reaches zero, so there is no radius at which the deformation visibly stops, and its derivative is continuous, so the sheen has no hard edge either — a smoothstep would give both a visible boundary ring.
04
The vertex is lifted by bulge * uLift and the weight is passed to the fragment shader, which pushes the centred UV outward by centered * vBulge * uMagnify. Lift alone is a bump; lift plus UV magnification is a lens, and that is the difference between a dent in the surface and glass sitting on top of it.
05
The second projection is the one that ships the vertex, evaluated after the displacement the first one made possible. The extra matrix multiply per vertex is the entire cost of the technique.
06
The strength uniform is damped toward the pointer's active state rather than switched, so the lens fades in on enter and out on leave instead of appearing at, and vanishing from, the last known position.
Load-bearing constants
Load-bearing constants
Constant
Value
Why this number
falloff
= 5
Tightness of the Gaussian in aspect-corrected NDC units, where the full viewport is 2 wide. At 5 the lens is roughly a third of the height across. Below ~2 it swells to cover the whole plane and reads as a global warp; above ~15 it collapses to a pinpoint that the vertex grid cannot resolve smoothly.
lift
= 0.5
World units the crown rises, against a plane about 2.5 units tall at a camera distance of 3. Above ~1.2 the crown passes the camera's near plane and the lens punches a hole through itself when the cursor is centred.
magnify
= 0.12
UV displacement at the crown. This is what makes it a lens rather than a bump. Above ~0.3 the magnification outruns the geometry, the texture visibly slides across the surface, and the illusion of glass breaks into a smear.
sheen
= 0.18
Extra brightness at the crown. Small on purpose: the eye reads a slight highlight as curvature, and anything past ~0.4 reads as a blown-out light source instead.
segments
= 128
The bulge is per-vertex, so the mesh density is the resolution of the lens. At 16 the Gaussian resolves into a faceted pyramid chasing the cursor; past ~192 the extra vertices land inside a single pixel of the highlight.
STRENGTH_SMOOTHING
= 0.0008
Fraction of the gap left after one second, so the lens fades in over roughly a fifth of a second. Instant switching leaves the lens visible at the last known position for one frame after the cursor leaves, which flickers.
pointer smoothing
= 0.0008
Matches the strength smoothing so the lens grows and moves at the same rate. A pointer smoothed much harder than the strength arrives late and the lens appears to be dragged; much softer and it inherits every jitter in the raw pointer stream.
CAMERA_FOV / CAMERA_Z
= 45 / 3
Sets how much perspective the lift reads against. At a narrow FOV the raised crown barely changes size and the bulge looks flat; at a wide one the plane's own edges keystone enough to compete with the effect.
07
Behaviour
What it does about motion sensitivity, teardown and being finished.
Reduced motion
The strength target is held at 0, so no vertex is ever displaced, the UV is never magnified and no sheen appears — the surface is a completely static image that ignores the pointer. The value is still damped to zero rather than assigned, so a lens that is on screen when the preference changes retracts smoothly instead of popping flat.
Cleanup
Removes the mesh from the scene, disposes the CanvasTexture explicitly because it sits inside material.uniforms beyond disposeObject's reach, runs disposeObject over the scene, disposes the geometry and material, then disposeRenderer — setAnimationLoop(null), dispose(), forceContextLoss() — and removes the canvas from the DOM. The stage ref is nulled first so a frame already queued on the shared RAF loop exits before touching anything. useSmoothPointer removes its own listeners on unmount.
Definition of done
Move the cursor over the surface and a round highlight follows it, swelling the lattice cells underneath rather than merely brightening them. The highlight is circular at any container aspect — resize from square to wide and it stays round. It has no visible outer edge or ring where the effect stops. Leave the surface and the lens retracts over about a fifth of a second rather than vanishing. Nothing changes when the cursor moves outside the component. With prefers-reduced-motion: reduce the surface is completely inert and the cursor has no effect at all.
Pitfalls
Comparing raw NDC distances. NDC is -1..1 on both axes regardless of the viewport, so on a 16:9 canvas the falloff is 1.78 times wider than it is tall and the lens is a visible ellipse. The x component of the delta is weighted by the aspect before the length is taken.
Raycasting the pointer against the plane instead. It costs a matrix inversion per frame, returns exactly one hit point, and — decisively — it intersects the CPU-side geometry, which this shader has already moved. Once anything displaces vertices, the raycast answers a question about a surface that is not on screen.
Projecting once and reusing gl_Position. The probe has to happen before the displacement and the final projection has to happen after it, so the two cannot be shared. Displacing after computing gl_Position simply has no effect at all.
Using a linear or smoothstep falloff. Both reach exactly zero at a finite radius, which draws a visible ring on the surface where the deformation stops. The Gaussian is asymptotic and leaves no boundary.
Lifting the vertex without magnifying the UV. The result is a bump, not a lens — the surface moves but the image printed on it does not, so it reads as a dent in a rigid sheet rather than glass laid over it.
Leaving frustumCulled on. The lift happens after the bounding sphere was computed, so three can decide a plane that is filling the viewport is off screen and blank it.
Sizing the plane from the container's pixel dimensions. The plane has to cover the frustum at z = 0, which is 2 * tan(fov/2) * distance tall; a pixel width has no fixed relationship to that and the plane ends up short of the edges or overscaled.
Forgetting to update uAspect on resize. The lens silently turns elliptical the moment the container reshapes, and because it still follows the cursor correctly the bug looks like a design decision.
Calling renderer.dispose() alone on unmount. GPU objects are freed but the WebGL context survives, and Chromium drops the oldest once a renderer process holds about 16. disposeRenderer calls forceContextLoss.
Notes
useSmoothPointer already exposes ndcX / ndcY, so the pointer reaches the uniform without a single conversion and without a cached bounding rect that could go stale on scroll.
This is the same two-projections-per-vertex trick cylinder-gallery uses; there it has to be in-shader, because the CPU geometry is a flat plane and the visible drum exists only on the GPU.