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ns-ui

Drill Down Spines

Drill-down navigation where every pushed level compresses into a slim clickable book spine instead of vanishing behind a back button, so the whole navigation history stands on a shelf beside you.

Usage

registry/core/drill-down-spines/demo.tsx
"use client";

import { useRef } from "react";
import { SpineStack, type SpineStackHandle, type SpineStackLevel } from "./component";

// A support/engineering workspace drilled four levels deep: teams -> projects
// -> tickets -> ticket detail. Each row is a real button (`data-drill-row`,
// picked up by autoplay's `press` mode and the gate's `openBy`) that pushes
// the next level via the imperative handle — realistic master-detail depth,
// not a two-level toy.

type Node = {
  id: string;
  title: string;
  meta?: string;
  children?: Node[];
  detail?: { status: string; assignee: string; body: string };
};

const TREE: Node[] = [
  {
    id: "eng",
    title: "Engineering",
    meta: "3 projects",
    children: [
      {
        id: "eng-gateway",
        title: "API Gateway",
        meta: "3 open",
        children: [
          {
            id: "tk-1",
            title: "Rate limiting bug",
            meta: "P1",
            detail: {
              status: "In progress",
              assignee: "Priya N.",
              body: "Burst traffic over 200 req/s bypasses the token-bucket limiter on the /v2 route group — likely a stale counter reset on pod restart.",
            },
          },
          {
            id: "tk-2",
            title: "Auth token refresh",
            meta: "P2",
            detail: {
              status: "Triage",
              assignee: "Unassigned",
              body: "Refresh tokens issued before the v4.2 rollout are rejected with a signature mismatch instead of a clean re-auth prompt.",
            },
          },
          {
            id: "tk-3",
            title: "CORS misconfig on staging",
            meta: "P3",
            detail: {
              status: "Open",
              assignee: "Marcus T.",
              body: "Preflight requests from the staging dashboard origin are missing Access-Control-Allow-Credentials on the new billing endpoints.",
            },
          },
        ],
      },
      {
        id: "eng-web",
        title: "Web App",
        meta: "2 open",
        children: [
          {
            id: "tk-4",
            title: "Checkout regression",
            meta: "P1",
            detail: {
              status: "In progress",
              assignee: "Priya N.",
              body: "Applying a discount code twice in one session double-counts the line-item total shown before payment, though the charge itself is correct.",
            },
          },
          {
            id: "tk-5",
            title: "Onboarding redesign",
            meta: "Draft",
            detail: {
              status: "Draft",
              assignee: "Sana K.",
              body: "Three-step signup flow replacing the current single long form; first Figma pass is in for review.",
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    ],
  },
  {
    id: "design",
    title: "Design",
    meta: "1 project",
    children: [
      {
        id: "design-brand",
        title: "Brand Refresh",
        meta: "2 open",
        children: [
          {
            id: "tk-6",
            title: "Logo exploration",
            meta: "Review",
            detail: {
              status: "In review",
              assignee: "Sana K.",
              body: "Second round of wordmark variants, narrowed to two directions after the founder walkthrough.",
            },
          },
          {
            id: "tk-7",
            title: "Typography audit",
            meta: "Open",
            detail: {
              status: "Open",
              assignee: "Unassigned",
              body: "Geist Sans is live in-product; this audit checks every marketing surface still on the old typeface stack.",
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    ],
  },
  {
    id: "support",
    title: "Support",
    meta: "1 project",
    children: [
      {
        id: "support-escalations",
        title: "Escalations",
        meta: "2 open",
        children: [
          {
            id: "tk-8",
            title: "Ticket #4821 — billing",
            meta: "P1",
            detail: {
              status: "In progress",
              assignee: "Marcus T.",
              body: "Customer charged twice for the annual plan after a failed card retry; refund queued, root cause still open.",
            },
          },
          {
            id: "tk-9",
            title: "Ticket #4790 — export",
            meta: "P2",
            detail: {
              status: "Open",
              assignee: "Unassigned",
              body: "CSV export truncates at 10k rows with no error surfaced to the user — likely a silent timeout, not a real row limit.",
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    ],
  },
];

function ChevronIcon() {
  return (
    <svg
      viewBox="0 0 16 16"
      className="h-3.5 w-3.5 shrink-0 text-ns-muted"
      fill="none"
      stroke="currentColor"
      strokeWidth="1.5"
      strokeLinecap="round"
      strokeLinejoin="round"
      aria-hidden
    >
      <path d="m6 3 5 5-5 5" />
    </svg>
  );
}

function RowList({ nodes, onOpen }: { nodes: Node[]; onOpen: (n: Node) => void }) {
  return (
    <ul className="flex flex-col gap-1">
      {nodes.map((n) => (
        <li key={n.id}>
          <button
            type="button"
            data-drill-row
            onClick={() => onOpen(n)}
            className="flex w-full items-center justify-between gap-3 rounded-sm px-3 py-2 text-left text-sm text-foreground transition-colors hover:bg-surface focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2 focus-visible:outline-ns-accent"
          >
            <span className="truncate">{n.title}</span>
            <span className="flex shrink-0 items-center gap-2">
              {n.meta && (
                <span className="font-mono text-[10px] uppercase tracking-wide text-ns-muted">{n.meta}</span>
              )}
              <ChevronIcon />
            </span>
          </button>
        </li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

function DetailView({ node }: { node: Node }) {
  if (!node.detail) return null;
  return (
    <div className="flex flex-col gap-3">
      <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
        <span className="rounded-full border border-border px-2 py-0.5 font-mono text-[10px] uppercase tracking-wide text-ns-muted">
          {node.detail.status}
        </span>
        <span className="font-mono text-[10px] uppercase tracking-wide text-ns-muted">
          {node.detail.assignee}
        </span>
      </div>
      <p className="text-sm leading-relaxed text-foreground">{node.detail.body}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

function LevelBody({ node, onOpen }: { node: Node; onOpen: (n: Node) => void }) {
  if (node.children) return <RowList nodes={node.children} onOpen={onOpen} />;
  return <DetailView node={node} />;
}

export default function SpineStackDemo() {
  const handleRef = useRef<SpineStackHandle>(null);

  const openNode = (n: Node) => {
    handleRef.current?.push({
      id: n.id,
      title: n.title,
      content: <LevelBody node={n} onOpen={openNode} />,
    });
  };

  const rootLevel: SpineStackLevel = {
    id: "root",
    title: "Workspaces",
    content: <RowList nodes={TREE} onOpen={openNode} />,
  };

  return (
    <div className="flex min-h-screen items-center justify-center px-6 py-16">
      <div className="w-full max-w-3xl">
        <p className="mb-2 font-mono text-[11px] uppercase tracking-[0.16em] text-ns-muted">
          Support workspace
        </p>
        <div className="h-[440px] overflow-hidden rounded-md border border-border bg-background p-2">
          <SpineStack ref={handleRef} initial={rootLevel} className="h-full" />
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
}

Component

registry/core/drill-down-spines/component.tsx
"use client";

import {
  forwardRef,
  useCallback,
  useEffect,
  useImperativeHandle,
  useRef,
  useState,
  type ReactNode,
} from "react";

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
// SpineStack — drill-down navigation where a pushed level never vanishes
// behind a back button: it compresses against the left edge into a slim
// clickable book spine, so the whole navigation stack stands on a shelf
// beside the current page, labeled and directly tappable at any depth.
//
// Each level's width is an explicit, always-computed pixel value (never
// flex:auto), tracked against the container's measured width via
// ResizeObserver. That is what lets a level's width transition smoothly in
// EITHER direction on a single CSS `transition: width` — full page shrinking
// to a 14px spine on push, or a 14/22px spine growing back to full width on
// pop — both are just px-to-px interpolation, no measure-then-override FLIP
// hack required. The transition runs on a spring-approximating overshoot
// cubic-bezier (not a hand-rolled rAF integrator): honest about the
// mechanism, still reads as a little bounce settling into place.
//
// A spine's content crossfades between a vertical Geist Mono title (the
// resting 14px look) and a horizontal truncated one, widened to 22px, either
// once the shelf is wide enough (a container breakpoint) or transiently on
// hover/focus of that one spine — rotated text is genuinely harder to read,
// so wide-enough shelves and any focused/hovered spine get the easier
// horizontal form. A 1px inset "lit" edge (color-mix over --foreground, a
// decoration, never --ns-accent) reads as the spine's physical edge catching
// light, so the row reads as stacked thickness even at rest.
//
// Clicking any spine pops every level above it in one motion: the levels
// above cascade off in reverse-push order (the most recently pushed leaves
// first, each subsequent one staggered ~90ms behind) while the clicked
// spine's width transitions back up to full — "re-inflating" in parallel
// with, not after, the cascade above it. `prefers-reduced-motion` drops the
// stagger and the transition entirely: pops commit their new stack
// synchronously, entrances render at final width immediately.
//
// A11y: every spine is a real <button> whose accessible name is the level's
// full title (`aria-label`; the rotated/truncated visual text is
// `aria-hidden`, decorative only) — full horizontal names regardless of how
// little of the title is legible on screen. All spines sit inside a `<nav>`
// landmark labeled "Navigation history, N levels". Focus moves to the new
// active page's heading (a `tabIndex={-1}` <h2>) on every push and on every
// pop's commit, so the SPA-style navigation announces itself to assistive
// tech the same way a full route change would. Zero dependencies, DOM+CSS
// only — no canvas.
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

export interface SpineStackLevel {
  /** stable id — also used as the React key and as the pop target */
  id: string;
  /** shown as the vertical/horizontal spine label and the active page heading */
  title: string;
  content: ReactNode;
}

export interface SpineStackHandle {
  /** push a new level onto the stack; ignored if `id` already exists in the stack or a pop is mid-animation */
  push: (level: SpineStackLevel) => void;
  /** pop every level above `id`; no-op if `id` isn't in the stack or is already the active (top) level */
  popTo: (id: string) => void;
  /** pop exactly one level (convenience for a "back" affordance); no-op at the root */
  pop: () => void;
  /** replace the whole stack with a single level, instantly, no animation */
  reset: (level: SpineStackLevel) => void;
}

export interface SpineStackProps {
  /** seed level for the stack; only read on mount — the stack is uncontrolled thereafter, drive it via the ref */
  initial: SpineStackLevel;
  /** fires after the top (active) level settles — on mount, on push, and once a pop's cascade commits */
  onNavigate?: (id: string) => void;
  /** extra classes merged onto the rendered root element */
  className?: string;
}

const SPINE_NARROW = 14;
const SPINE_WIDE = 22;
const WIDE_BREAKPOINT = 640;
const TRANSITION_MS = 420;
const STAGGER_MS = 90;
const ENTER_MS = 380;
const SPRING_EASE = "cubic-bezier(0.34, 1.56, 0.64, 1)";
const MIN_ACTIVE_WIDTH = 200;

function clamp(n: number, min: number, max: number) {
  return Math.min(max, Math.max(min, n));
}

export const SpineStack = forwardRef<SpineStackHandle, SpineStackProps>(function SpineStack(
  { initial, onNavigate, className = "" },
  ref
) {
  const [stack, setStack] = useState<SpineStackLevel[]>(() => [initial]);
  const [collapsingIds, setCollapsingIds] = useState<string[]>([]); // newest-first
  const [poppingTarget, setPoppingTarget] = useState<string | null>(null);
  const [hoveredId, setHoveredId] = useState<string | null>(null);
  const [focusedId, setFocusedId] = useState<string | null>(null);
  const [containerWidth, setContainerWidth] = useState(0);
  const [reducedMotion, setReducedMotion] = useState(false);
  const [enteringId, setEnteringId] = useState<string | null>(null);

  const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
  const headingRef = useRef<HTMLHeadingElement>(null);
  const isAnimatingRef = useRef(false);
  const commitTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
  const enterTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
  const isFirstRenderRef = useRef(true);

  useEffect(() => {
    const mq = window.matchMedia("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)");
    setReducedMotion(mq.matches);
    const onChange = () => setReducedMotion(mq.matches);
    mq.addEventListener("change", onChange);
    return () => mq.removeEventListener("change", onChange);
  }, []);

  useEffect(() => {
    const el = containerRef.current;
    if (!el) return;
    setContainerWidth(el.getBoundingClientRect().width);
    const ro = new ResizeObserver((entries) => {
      const w = entries[0]?.contentRect.width;
      if (w) setContainerWidth(w);
    });
    ro.observe(el);
    return () => ro.disconnect();
  }, []);

  useEffect(
    () => () => {
      if (commitTimeoutRef.current) clearTimeout(commitTimeoutRef.current);
      if (enterTimeoutRef.current) clearTimeout(enterTimeoutRef.current);
    },
    []
  );

  const activeId = poppingTarget ?? stack[stack.length - 1].id;

  useEffect(() => {
    if (hoveredId === activeId || (hoveredId && !stack.some((level) => level.id === hoveredId))) {
      setHoveredId(null);
    }
  }, [activeId, hoveredId, stack]);

  // focus + onNavigate fire once the *committed* top settles (immediately on
  // push, or once a pop's cascade actually truncates the stack) — never
  // mid-cascade, and never on first mount.
  const committedActiveId = stack[stack.length - 1].id;
  useEffect(() => {
    if (isFirstRenderRef.current) {
      isFirstRenderRef.current = false;
      return;
    }
    if (poppingTarget) return; // still mid-cascade; effect re-fires once it clears
    headingRef.current?.focus({ preventScroll: true });
    onNavigate?.(committedActiveId);
    // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps -- onNavigate intentionally excluded, fires on id change only
  }, [committedActiveId, poppingTarget]);

  const push = useCallback(
    (level: SpineStackLevel) => {
      if (isAnimatingRef.current) return;
      setStack((prev) => {
        if (prev.some((l) => l.id === level.id)) return prev;
        return [...prev, level];
      });
      if (enterTimeoutRef.current) clearTimeout(enterTimeoutRef.current);
      if (!reducedMotion) {
        setEnteringId(level.id);
        enterTimeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => setEnteringId(null), ENTER_MS);
      }
    },
    [reducedMotion]
  );

  const popTo = useCallback(
    (id: string) => {
      if (isAnimatingRef.current) return;
      const idx = stack.findIndex((l) => l.id === id);
      if (idx === -1 || idx === stack.length - 1) return;
      const above = stack
        .slice(idx + 1)
        .map((l) => l.id)
        .reverse(); // newest (most recently pushed) first

      if (reducedMotion) {
        setStack((prev) => prev.slice(0, idx + 1));
        return;
      }

      isAnimatingRef.current = true;
      setPoppingTarget(id);
      setCollapsingIds(above);
      const total = (above.length - 1) * STAGGER_MS + TRANSITION_MS + 40;
      commitTimeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
        setStack((prev) => prev.slice(0, idx + 1));
        setCollapsingIds([]);
        setPoppingTarget(null);
        isAnimatingRef.current = false;
      }, total);
    },
    [stack, reducedMotion]
  );

  const pop = useCallback(() => {
    if (stack.length < 2) return;
    popTo(stack[stack.length - 2].id);
  }, [stack, popTo]);

  const reset = useCallback((level: SpineStackLevel) => {
    if (commitTimeoutRef.current) clearTimeout(commitTimeoutRef.current);
    if (enterTimeoutRef.current) clearTimeout(enterTimeoutRef.current);
    isAnimatingRef.current = false;
    setCollapsingIds([]);
    setPoppingTarget(null);
    setEnteringId(null);
    setStack([level]);
  }, []);

  useImperativeHandle(ref, () => ({ push, popTo, pop, reset }), [push, popTo, pop, reset]);

  const wide = containerWidth >= WIDE_BREAKPOINT;
  const spineWidthFor = (id: string) => {
    if (collapsingIds.includes(id)) return 0;
    return wide || hoveredId === id || focusedId === id ? SPINE_WIDE : SPINE_NARROW;
  };
  const spinesTotal = stack.reduce((sum, l) => sum + (l.id === activeId ? 0 : spineWidthFor(l.id)), 0);
  const GAP = 3;
  const gapCount = Math.max(0, stack.length - 1);
  const activeWidth = containerWidth
    ? clamp(containerWidth - spinesTotal - gapCount * GAP, MIN_ACTIVE_WIDTH, containerWidth)
    : undefined;

  const navLabel = `Navigation history, ${stack.length} level${stack.length === 1 ? "" : "s"}`;

  return (
    <div
      ref={containerRef}
      className={["ns-drill-down-spines relative flex h-full w-full overflow-hidden", className]
        .filter(Boolean)
        .join(" ")}
    >
      <style>{`
.ns-drill-down-spines .ns-level{transition:width ${TRANSITION_MS}ms ${SPRING_EASE},opacity ${TRANSITION_MS}ms ease-out;}
.ns-drill-down-spines .ns-spine-face,
.ns-drill-down-spines .ns-active-face{transition:opacity ${TRANSITION_MS}ms ease-out;}
.ns-drill-down-spines .ns-spine-label{transition:opacity 200ms ease-out;}
.ns-drill-down-spines .ns-spine-enter{animation:ns-spine-enter ${ENTER_MS}ms ${SPRING_EASE};}
@keyframes ns-spine-enter{
  from{opacity:0.35;transform:translateX(18px);}
  to{opacity:1;transform:translateX(0);}
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){
  .ns-drill-down-spines .ns-level,
  .ns-drill-down-spines .ns-spine-face,
  .ns-drill-down-spines .ns-active-face,
  .ns-drill-down-spines .ns-spine-label{transition:none !important;}
  .ns-drill-down-spines .ns-spine-enter{animation:none !important;}
}
`}</style>

      <nav aria-label={navLabel} className="flex h-full w-full" style={{ gap: GAP }}>
        {stack.map((level) => {
          const isActive = level.id === activeId;
          const collapsing = !isActive && collapsingIds.includes(level.id);
          const collapseIndex = collapsingIds.indexOf(level.id);
          const width = isActive ? activeWidth : spineWidthFor(level.id);
          const isWideSpine = !isActive && width === SPINE_WIDE;
          return (
            <div
              key={level.id}
              style={{
                width,
                minWidth: isActive ? MIN_ACTIVE_WIDTH : width,
                opacity: collapsing ? 0 : 1,
                transitionDelay: collapsing ? `${collapseIndex * STAGGER_MS}ms` : "0ms",
              }}
              className={[
                "ns-level relative h-full shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-md border border-border bg-surface",
                enteringId === level.id ? "ns-spine-enter" : "",
              ]
                .filter(Boolean)
                .join(" ")}
            >
              {/* spine face — the level's resting/collapsed representation. Stays mounted
                  even while the active face is showing, so the width transition (on the
                  shared wrapper above) and this opacity crossfade run on ONE persistent
                  element, not a remount between two different DOM nodes. */}
              <button
                type="button"
                data-slot="spine"
                aria-label={level.title}
                title={level.title}
                inert={isActive || undefined}
                onClick={() => popTo(level.id)}
                onMouseEnter={() => setHoveredId(level.id)}
                onMouseLeave={() => setHoveredId((h) => (h === level.id ? null : h))}
                onFocus={() => setFocusedId(level.id)}
                onBlur={() => setFocusedId((f) => (f === level.id ? null : f))}
                style={{
                  opacity: isActive ? 0 : 1,
                  visibility: isActive ? "hidden" : "visible",
                  pointerEvents: isActive ? "none" : undefined,
                  boxShadow: "inset -1px 0 0 0 color-mix(in srgb, var(--foreground) 22%, transparent)",
                }}
                className="ns-spine-face absolute inset-0 focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2 focus-visible:outline-ns-accent"
              >
                <span
                  aria-hidden
                  className="ns-spine-label pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 flex items-center justify-center overflow-hidden whitespace-nowrap px-1 font-mono text-[10px] tracking-wide text-ns-muted"
                  style={{
                    writingMode: "vertical-rl",
                    textOverflow: "ellipsis",
                    opacity: isWideSpine ? 0 : 1,
                  }}
                >
                  {level.title}
                </span>
                <span
                  aria-hidden
                  className="ns-spine-label pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 flex items-center overflow-hidden whitespace-nowrap px-1.5 font-mono text-[10px] tracking-wide text-ellipsis text-ns-muted"
                  style={{ opacity: isWideSpine ? 1 : 0 }}
                >
                  {level.title}
                </span>
              </button>

              {/* active face — the level's full page. Mounted for every level, always,
                  so a spine popping back to active re-inflates in place instead of
                  swapping to a freshly-mounted pane. */}
              <div
                inert={isActive ? undefined : true}
                style={{
                  opacity: isActive ? 1 : 0,
                  visibility: isActive ? "visible" : "hidden",
                  pointerEvents: isActive ? undefined : "none",
                }}
                className="ns-active-face absolute inset-0 overflow-auto bg-background"
              >
                <div className="flex h-full flex-col p-4">
                  <h2
                    ref={isActive ? headingRef : undefined}
                    tabIndex={-1}
                    className="mb-3 text-base font-semibold tracking-tight text-foreground outline-none"
                  >
                    {level.title}
                  </h2>
                  <div className="min-h-0 flex-1">{level.content}</div>
                </div>
              </div>
            </div>
          );
        })}
      </nav>
    </div>
  );
});

The usage example imports ./component because it sits next to the component file in this repo. Installed, that file lands at components/ui/drill-down-spines.tsx, so point the import there.

Use when full-page drill-down navigation through a record hierarchy where the levels behind you should stay on screen and clickable as compressed book spines instead of hiding behind a back button; pick menu-nested-trays instead when the nested content is genuinely a menu with menuitem semantics rather than real page content per level, or breadcrumb-overflow-menu when the trail is a text path above otherwise static content rather than the navigation mechanism itself.

Install

npx shadcn add https://design.helpmarq.com/r/drill-down-spines.json

Ask AI

Point an assistant at this component's docs (llms-full.txt) with one click.

Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity open with the prompt already in. Gemini copies it to your clipboard first. Paste it in once the chat opens.

Build spec

Build a drill-down navigation primitive for master-detail and multi-level record hierarchies (folders, nested tickets, org charts) where pushing a new level does not hide the previous one behind a back button: the outgoing page compresses in place into a slim clickable spine that stays permanently visible on a shelf to the left of whatever is currently active, at any depth. Manage the stack uncontrolled, driven imperatively via a ref handle: `push({ id, title, content })` appends a new active level (no-op if the id already exists in the stack, or if a pop is mid-animation), `popTo(id)` collapses every level above `id` back to it, `pop()` is a one-level-back convenience, `reset(level)` replaces the whole stack instantly with no animation. Critically, every level in the stack is ONE persistent wrapper element for its entire lifetime — mounted once when pushed, unmounted only when actually popped past — never two different elements swapped between an 'active' tree position and a 'spine' tree position. Inside that wrapper are two always-mounted, absolutely-positioned faces: a spine-face `<button>` (vertical/horizontal title, click-to-popTo) and an active-face `<div>` (heading + content), cross-fading via opacity, with `inert` applied to whichever face is currently not the front one so its buttons/inputs are unreachable and hidden from the accessibility tree without unmounting it. The active-face additionally gets `pointer-events: none` while inert (not just `inert` alone) — `inert` removes an element from the accessibility tree but `document.elementFromPoint`/real hit-testing still resolves to whatever is topmost in paint order, so without an explicit `pointer-events: none` the invisible (opacity 0) active-face sitting on top would swallow clicks meant for the spine-face button beneath it. Because the wrapper never remounts, the wrapper's own width — an explicit pixel value every render, computed from a ResizeObserver-measured container width minus the sum of every other level's current spine width (14px resting, 22px widened) and inter-item gaps, never `flex:auto` — transitions cleanly on a single `transition: width` in EITHER direction on that same node: springing down from full to 14px as a level is pushed past, or re-inflating from 14/22px back to full as a popTo target becomes active again. The timing function is a spring-approximating overshoot cubic-bezier (`cubic-bezier(0.34, 1.56, 0.64, 1)`), not a hand-rolled physics integrator — an honest choice for a DOM/CSS-only nav primitive, and it still reads as a small bounce settling into place. Pushing a level: the previously-active wrapper's width springs down to spine width while its active-face fades out and its spine-face fades in — a horizontal heading crossfading to a `writing-mode: vertical-rl` Geist Mono title in `--ns-muted` (two absolutely-positioned spans within the spine-face, both `aria-hidden` since the button's real accessible name is a plain aria-label carrying the full title); the freshly pushed level is a brand-new wrapper, mounted already at its resolved active width, playing a short slide-and-fade-in keyframe from the right (`translateX(18px)` -> `translateX(0)`) since there is no prior state for a new element to interpolate from. Each spine-face carries a 1px inset right edge via `box-shadow: inset -1px 0 0 0 color-mix(in srgb, var(--foreground) 22%, transparent)` — a decorative lit edge (never `--ns-accent`, which appears only on focus rings) so the row reads as physical stacked thickness even at rest. Clicking any spine calls `popTo` on it: every level above cascades off in reverse-push order on its own still-mounted wrapper (the most recently pushed level's width and opacity go to 0 first, each earlier one staggered 90ms further behind via `transition-delay`) while the clicked level's own wrapper simultaneously transitions its width back up to full and crossfades its active-face back in — the re-inflation runs in parallel with the cascade above it, not after, because it is the same element animating, not a fresh mount. A11y: spine-faces are real `<button>`s, all levels sit inside one `<nav aria-label="Navigation history, N levels">` landmark (N = total stack depth including the active page — the active page's content living inside the same landmark as the history is an accepted minor semantic tradeoff for keeping every level a single animatable element); the rotated/truncated visual label is decorative only, the accessible name is always the full title via `aria-label` plus a native `title` tooltip. Above a ~640px container-width breakpoint every spine permanently widens to 22px with a horizontal truncated label instead of the rotated 14px one (rotated text is genuinely harder to read); below that breakpoint, hovering or focusing one individual spine widens just that spine to 22px with the same horizontal label, reverting once hover/focus leaves. Focus moves to the newly active page's heading (a `tabIndex={-1}` `<h2>`, one per level, each inert while its level isn't active) on every push and once every pop's cascade actually commits (never mid-cascade) — the same SPA-route-change focus pattern a full page navigation would use, and `onNavigate(id)` fires at that same moment. `prefers-reduced-motion` drops every transition, the stagger, and the entrance keyframe: pops commit their new stack synchronously and every level renders at its resolved final width immediately, fully usable and legible, just not eased into. Zero dependencies, DOM+CSS only — no canvas. Differs from toast-gravity-stack, which accumulates dropped toast data as horizontal strata piling under gravity (a core sample of events that arrived, read once and dismissed): drill-down-spines accumulates navigation depth as vertical spines that are each a live, permanently clickable route target back into the hierarchy — a bookshelf you can reach into at any depth, not a core sample you only ever read from the top.

Props

PropTypeDefaultDescription
initialSpineStackLevel—seed level for the stack; only read on mount — the stack is uncontrolled thereafter, drive it via the ref
onNavigate?(id: string) => void—fires after the top (active) level settles — on mount, on push, and once a pop's cascade commits
className?string—extra classes merged onto the rendered root element