ns-ui
Tamper Tine Squeeze
An indeterminate 'still working' loader modeled on mechanised ballast tamping: a satellite plunges a paired tine either side of a rail sleeper, squeezes it shut to pack the ballast beneath, lifts, and steps to the next sleeper along an infinite treadmill row.
Use when an indeterminate 'still working' loading state for a long-running compaction/optimization task (database vacuum, asset bundling, cache rebuild) that currently gets a generic spinner or progress bar and would benefit from real mechanical texture instead — the loose-to-packed ballast read doubles as a legible 'making real progress' signal without claiming a percentage. Pick a plain determinate progress bar instead when the task's percent-complete is the only thing that matters and a physical metaphor would be a distraction; pick autoclave-cycle-gauge instead when the process is a single held state (temperature/pressure hold) rather than a discrete, steppable sequence of positions along a row.
Install
npx shadcn add https://design.helpmarq.com /r/tamper-tine-squeeze.jsonSource
registry/core/tamper-tine-squeeze/component.tsx"use client";
import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
// TamperTineSqueeze — an indeterminate "still working" loader (asset
// optimization, DB vacuum/compaction) modeled on mechanised ballast tamping
// (Plasser & Theurer-class units): a satellite plunges a paired tine either
// side of a rail sleeper, squeezes the pair together under vibration to pack
// the ballast beneath it, lifts, and steps to the next sleeper. Real tine
// vibration is ~35Hz — well above the ~60Hz paint rate this repaints at, so
// per the round-9 decoupling rule it is never animated 1:1. It is rendered
// as a slow, legible squeeze (a smooth close over 250ms) held for 250ms with
// a low-amplitude jitter CAPPED at 6Hz layered on top only during that hold,
// 10x below paint-rate alias risk, to suggest vibration texture without
// strobing. Real per-sleeper machine advance (~2-3 sleepers/minute) is far
// too slow for a legible UI loop, so the rendered cadence is compressed to
// one plunge->squeeze->lift->shift cycle every 1.6s and documented as a
// compression, not a literal rate.
//
// The row is an infinite treadmill, not a bounded loop that resets: the
// satellite always renders at a fixed screen x, and the sleeper row scrolls
// left under it during the 500ms "shift" sub-phase. A monotonically
// increasing cycle index (wall-clock time / 1.6s, floored) drives which
// sleeper is "current" — it never wraps, so the row is materially further
// along at every later timestamp with zero input, satisfying the resting
// -loop rule without a synthetic reset. Sleeper ballast is drawn as two
// crossfading dot clusters per slot: a sparse, fully-random scatter in
// --ns-muted for not-yet-tamped stone, and a denser, jittered-grid cluster
// in --foreground for packed stone — count and layout carry the
// loose-vs-packed read, never color alone, so the distinction survives
// light theme where --ns-muted sits close to --background.
//
// A `progress` prop switches the component into a determinate mode: the
// satellite's position maps directly to percent-complete along a fixed-
// length row and the loop STOPS — it only advances (playing one real
// plunge->squeeze->lift->shift pass) when `progress` itself changes, and
// otherwise sits in a static settled frame. This is the only way the
// component is allowed to stop looping: an indeterminate ambient loop must
// never be dressed up to look like it is reporting a percentage it doesn't
// have, and a real percentage must never keep animating on its own clock
// once it's caught up.
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
export interface TamperTineSqueezeProps {
/**
* 0-100 real progress value. When provided, the satellite's position maps
* directly to percent-complete along a fixed `totalSleepers`-long row and
* the component stops looping — it only advances, once, on a `progress`
* change. When omitted, runs an ambient, unbounded indeterminate loop.
*/
progress?: number;
/** row length the `progress` prop is mapped across. Default 24. */
totalSleepers?: number;
/** accessible label for the loader/progress region */
ariaLabel?: string;
/** extra classes merged onto the rendered root element */
className?: string;
}
const SLOT_COUNT = 8; // pooled DOM slots covering the visible window
const VISIBLE_BEHIND = 1; // sleepers rendered left of the satellite's fixed x
const PLUNGE_MS = 300;
const SQUEEZE_CLOSE_MS = 250;
const SQUEEZE_HOLD_MS = 250;
const SQUEEZE_MS = SQUEEZE_CLOSE_MS + SQUEEZE_HOLD_MS; // 500 — "close-and-hold ~500ms" per spec
const LIFT_MS = 300;
const SHIFT_MS = 500;
const CYCLE_MS = PLUNGE_MS + SQUEEZE_MS + LIFT_MS + SHIFT_MS; // 1600ms per sleeper
const T_PLUNGE_END = PLUNGE_MS; // 300
const T_SQUEEZE_CLOSE_END = T_PLUNGE_END + SQUEEZE_CLOSE_MS; // 550
const T_SQUEEZE_END = T_PLUNGE_END + SQUEEZE_MS; // 800
const T_LIFT_END = T_SQUEEZE_END + LIFT_MS; // 1100
// T_SHIFT_END === CYCLE_MS (1600)
// rendered jitter is capped well below the real ~35Hz tine vibration and
// well below the ~60Hz paint rate it repaints against (round-9 decoupling
// rule) — documented as a compression, never animated 1:1.
const JITTER_HZ_CAP = 6;
// geometry scaled off the container's SMALLER dimension (binding rule) so
// the squeeze motion reads at card scale rather than shrinking away.
const SCALE_REFERENCE_DIM = 200;
const MIN_SCALE = 0.65;
const MAX_SCALE = 2;
function easeOutQuad(t: number): number {
return 1 - (1 - t) * (1 - t);
}
function clamp01(t: number): number {
return t < 0 ? 0 : t > 1 ? 1 : t;
}
function lerp(a: number, b: number, t: number): number {
return a + (b - a) * t;
}
function mulberry32(seed: number) {
let a = seed >>> 0;
return () => {
a = (a + 0x6d2b79f5) >>> 0;
let t = a;
t = Math.imul(t ^ (t >>> 15), t | 1);
t ^= t + Math.imul(t ^ (t >>> 7), t | 61);
return ((t ^ (t >>> 14)) >>> 0) / 4294967296;
};
}
function hashSeed(index: number, salt: number): number {
return (Math.imul(index + salt, 2654435761) ^ (index * 40503)) >>> 0;
}
/** sparse, not-yet-tamped ballast: a plain random scatter — loose stone,
* no structure. Rebuilt only when a pool slot changes which sleeper index
* it represents, never per animation frame. */
function buildScatterDots(cx: number, top: number, bottom: number, halfWidth: number, count: number, seed: number, size: number): string {
const rand = mulberry32(seed);
let d = "";
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
const x = cx + (rand() - 0.5) * 2 * halfWidth;
const y = top + rand() * (bottom - top);
d += `M${(x - size / 2).toFixed(1)} ${(y - size / 2).toFixed(1)}h${size.toFixed(1)}v${size.toFixed(1)}h${(-size).toFixed(1)}Z`;
}
return d;
}
/** dense, packed ballast: a jittered grid — consolidated stone filling the
* band uniformly. Density (structure + count), not colour, carries the
* packed read, so it survives light theme where --ns-muted sits close to
* --background. */
function buildPackedDots(cx: number, top: number, bottom: number, halfWidth: number, cols: number, rows: number, seed: number, size: number): string {
const rand = mulberry32(seed);
const cw = (halfWidth * 2) / cols;
const ch = (bottom - top) / rows;
let d = "";
for (let r = 0; r < rows; r++) {
for (let c = 0; c < cols; c++) {
const x = cx - halfWidth + (c + 0.5) * cw + (rand() - 0.5) * 0.4 * cw;
const y = top + (r + 0.5) * ch + (rand() - 0.5) * 0.4 * ch;
d += `M${(x - size / 2).toFixed(1)} ${(y - size / 2).toFixed(1)}h${size.toFixed(1)}v${size.toFixed(1)}h${(-size).toFixed(1)}Z`;
}
}
return d;
}
interface DotCache {
sparse: string;
packed: string;
}
export function TamperTineSqueeze({
progress,
totalSleepers = 24,
ariaLabel = "Optimizing",
className = "",
}: TamperTineSqueezeProps) {
const rootRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
const svgRef = useRef<SVGSVGElement>(null);
const railTopRef = useRef<SVGLineElement>(null);
const railBottomRef = useRef<SVGLineElement>(null);
const tineLeftRef = useRef<SVGLineElement>(null);
const tineRightRef = useRef<SVGLineElement>(null);
const sleeperRefs = useRef<(SVGRectElement | null)[]>([]);
const sparseRefs = useRef<(SVGPathElement | null)[]>([]);
const packedRefs = useRef<(SVGPathElement | null)[]>([]);
const [ready, setReady] = useState(false);
const isControlled = typeof progress === "number";
const controlledRef = useRef(progress);
controlledRef.current = progress;
// persists the last SETTLED sleeper index across effect re-runs (a new
// `progress` value re-runs the effect below) — without this the "did the
// target change" check compares a value against itself every time and the
// controlled pass never fires.
const lastRenderedIndexRef = useRef<number | null>(null);
useEffect(() => {
const root = rootRef.current;
const svg = svgRef.current;
if (!root || !svg) return;
const reduced = window.matchMedia("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)").matches;
let disposed = false;
let visible = true;
let raf = 0;
let w = 0;
let h = 0;
let sized = false;
let scale = 1;
let spacing = 40;
let fixedX = 0;
let groundY = 0;
let sleeperW = 4;
let sleeperH = 24;
let railY1 = 0;
let railY2 = 0;
let ballastTop = 0;
let ballastBottom = 0;
let clusterHalfW = 16;
let dotSize = 2;
let tineTopY = 0;
let tineBottomFull = 0;
let gapOpen = 10;
let gapClosed = 3;
let jitterAmp = 1;
const dotCache = new Map<number, DotCache>();
const clampTotal = Math.max(2, Math.floor(totalSleepers));
const dotsFor = (index: number): DotCache => {
let entry = dotCache.get(index);
if (!entry) {
entry = {
sparse: buildScatterDots(0, ballastTop, ballastBottom, clusterHalfW, 7, hashSeed(index, 17), dotSize),
packed: buildPackedDots(0, ballastTop, ballastBottom, clusterHalfW, 4, 5, hashSeed(index, 91), dotSize * 0.92),
};
dotCache.set(index, entry);
}
return entry;
};
const pruneCache = (currentIndex: number) => {
for (const key of dotCache.keys()) {
if (key < currentIndex - 2) dotCache.delete(key);
}
};
const layout = () => {
const rect = root.getBoundingClientRect();
w = rect.width;
h = rect.height;
if (w < 2 || h < 2) {
sized = false;
return;
}
sized = true;
svg.setAttribute("viewBox", `0 0 ${w} ${h}`);
const minDim = Math.min(w, h);
scale = Math.min(MAX_SCALE, Math.max(MIN_SCALE, minDim / SCALE_REFERENCE_DIM));
spacing = Math.max(28 * scale, w / 6.2);
fixedX = w * 0.3;
groundY = h * 0.42;
sleeperW = 5 * scale;
sleeperH = 30 * scale;
railY1 = groundY - sleeperH / 2 - 3 * scale;
railY2 = groundY - sleeperH / 2 - 7 * scale;
ballastTop = groundY + sleeperH / 2 - 2 * scale;
ballastBottom = Math.min(h - 6 * scale, ballastTop + 46 * scale);
clusterHalfW = spacing * 0.3;
dotSize = 2.1 * scale;
tineTopY = railY2 - 8 * scale;
tineBottomFull = ballastBottom - 4 * scale;
gapOpen = sleeperW / 2 + 16 * scale;
gapClosed = sleeperW / 2 + 3 * scale;
jitterAmp = 1.3 * scale;
dotCache.clear();
railTopRef.current?.setAttribute("x1", "0");
railTopRef.current?.setAttribute("x2", String(w));
railTopRef.current?.setAttribute("y1", String(railY1));
railTopRef.current?.setAttribute("y2", String(railY1));
railBottomRef.current?.setAttribute("x1", "0");
railBottomRef.current?.setAttribute("x2", String(w));
railBottomRef.current?.setAttribute("y1", String(railY2));
railBottomRef.current?.setAttribute("y2", String(railY2));
setReady(true);
};
// -- writes one full frame given: the sleeper index sitting at fixedX
// ("current"), a 0..1 shift offset (row scroll toward the NEXT index,
// zero outside the shift sub-phase), and the tine state (depth 0..1,
// half-gap in px, jitter offset in px, opacity 0..1). Ambient loop,
// controlled one-shot pass, reduced-motion static frame and the
// controlled idle frame all funnel through this one function. ---------
const applyFrame = (
currentIndex: number,
shiftT: number,
tineDepth: number,
tineGapHalf: number,
tineJitter: number,
tineOpacity: number
) => {
pruneCache(currentIndex);
const offsetPx = shiftT * spacing;
for (let slot = 0; slot < SLOT_COUNT; slot++) {
const index = currentIndex - VISIBLE_BEHIND + slot;
const cx = fixedX + (index - currentIndex) * spacing - offsetPx;
const sleeper = sleeperRefs.current[slot];
const sparse = sparseRefs.current[slot];
const packed = packedRefs.current[slot];
if (sleeper) {
sleeper.setAttribute("x", String(cx - sleeperW / 2));
sleeper.setAttribute("y", String(groundY - sleeperH / 2));
sleeper.setAttribute("width", String(sleeperW));
sleeper.setAttribute("height", String(sleeperH));
}
const dots = dotsFor(index);
let packFrac: number;
if (index < currentIndex) packFrac = 1;
else if (index > currentIndex) packFrac = 0;
else packFrac = clamp01(tineDepth <= 0 ? 0 : (tineGapHalf <= gapClosed + 0.01 ? 1 : (gapOpen - tineGapHalf) / (gapOpen - gapClosed)));
if (sparse) {
sparse.setAttribute("d", dots.sparse);
sparse.setAttribute("transform", `translate(${cx.toFixed(1)} 0)`);
sparse.style.opacity = String(1 - packFrac);
}
if (packed) {
packed.setAttribute("d", dots.packed);
packed.setAttribute("transform", `translate(${cx.toFixed(1)} 0)`);
packed.style.opacity = String(packFrac);
}
}
const tl = tineLeftRef.current;
const tr = tineRightRef.current;
const bottomY = lerp(tineTopY, tineBottomFull, tineDepth);
const jx = tineJitter;
if (tl) {
tl.setAttribute("x1", String(fixedX - tineGapHalf + jx));
tl.setAttribute("x2", String(fixedX - tineGapHalf + jx));
tl.setAttribute("y1", String(tineTopY));
tl.setAttribute("y2", String(bottomY));
tl.style.opacity = String(tineOpacity);
}
if (tr) {
tr.setAttribute("x1", String(fixedX + tineGapHalf - jx));
tr.setAttribute("x2", String(fixedX + tineGapHalf - jx));
tr.setAttribute("y1", String(tineTopY));
tr.setAttribute("y2", String(bottomY));
tr.style.opacity = String(tineOpacity);
}
};
// -- one sleeper's plunge->squeeze->lift tine state at local time t
// (0..T_LIFT_END). Shift (t beyond T_LIFT_END) is handled by the
// caller, which also owns which two indices are being crossed. --------
const tineStateAt = (t: number) => {
if (t < T_PLUNGE_END) {
const p = clamp01(t / PLUNGE_MS);
const depth = easeOutQuad(p);
const opacity = clamp01(t / 90);
return { depth, gapHalf: gapOpen, jitter: 0, opacity };
}
if (t < T_SQUEEZE_CLOSE_END) {
const p = clamp01((t - T_PLUNGE_END) / SQUEEZE_CLOSE_MS);
const gapHalf = lerp(gapOpen, gapClosed, easeOutQuad(p));
return { depth: 1, gapHalf, jitter: 0, opacity: 1 };
}
if (t < T_SQUEEZE_END) {
const holdT = (t - T_SQUEEZE_CLOSE_END) / 1000; // seconds into the hold
// envelope so the ~6Hz jitter fades in/out at the hold's edges
// instead of switching on/off abruptly
const holdP = clamp01((t - T_SQUEEZE_CLOSE_END) / SQUEEZE_HOLD_MS);
const envelope = Math.sin(holdP * Math.PI);
const jitter = Math.sin(holdT * 2 * Math.PI * JITTER_HZ_CAP) * jitterAmp * envelope;
return { depth: 1, gapHalf: gapClosed, jitter, opacity: 1 };
}
if (t < T_LIFT_END) {
const p = clamp01((t - T_SQUEEZE_END) / LIFT_MS);
const depth = 1 - easeOutQuad(p);
const opacity = 1 - clamp01((p - 0.7) / 0.3);
return { depth, gapHalf: gapClosed, jitter: 0, opacity };
}
return { depth: 0, gapHalf: gapOpen, jitter: 0, opacity: 0 };
};
// ---- ambient (uncontrolled) mode: a monotonically increasing cycle
// index driven off wall-clock time — an infinite treadmill, never a
// bounded loop that resets. -------------------------------------------
let ambientStart = 0;
const ambientLoop = (now: number) => {
raf = 0;
if (!visible || !sized) return;
if (ambientStart === 0) ambientStart = now;
const totalT = now - ambientStart;
const cycleIndex = Math.floor(totalT / CYCLE_MS);
const localT = totalT - cycleIndex * CYCLE_MS;
if (localT < T_LIFT_END) {
const { depth, gapHalf, jitter, opacity } = tineStateAt(localT);
applyFrame(cycleIndex, 0, depth, gapHalf, jitter, opacity);
} else {
const shiftT = easeOutQuad(clamp01((localT - T_LIFT_END) / SHIFT_MS));
applyFrame(cycleIndex, shiftT, 0, gapOpen, 0, 0);
}
raf = requestAnimationFrame(ambientLoop);
};
// ---- reduced motion: freeze on the squeeze-closed, mid-hold frame —
// one sleeper already packed to the left, the current sleeper's tines
// fully shut and holding (no jitter — this is a frozen frame), the
// rest of the row still loose ahead. ------------------------------
const renderReducedFrame = () => {
applyFrame(1, 0, 1, gapClosed, 0, 1);
};
// ---- controlled (progress) mode: settle instantly to the frame
// matching `progress`, no animation, no timers. ------------------
const settleControlled = (index: number) => {
applyFrame(index, 0, 0, gapOpen, 0, 0);
};
// ---- controlled (progress) mode: play exactly one real
// plunge->squeeze->lift->shift pass from `fromIndex` to `toIndex`,
// then stop and settle — it never keeps animating once caught up. ----
let controlledStart = 0;
let controlledFrom = 0;
let controlledTo = 0;
const controlledLoop = (now: number) => {
raf = 0;
if (!visible || !sized) return;
if (controlledStart === 0) controlledStart = now;
const t = now - controlledStart;
if (t < T_LIFT_END) {
const { depth, gapHalf, jitter, opacity } = tineStateAt(t);
applyFrame(controlledFrom, 0, depth, gapHalf, jitter, opacity);
raf = requestAnimationFrame(controlledLoop);
return;
}
if (t < CYCLE_MS) {
const shiftT = easeOutQuad(clamp01((t - T_LIFT_END) / SHIFT_MS));
// a jump of more than one sleeper still crosses in this single
// 500ms shift window, scaled by the actual distance travelled.
const dist = controlledTo - controlledFrom;
applyFrame(controlledFrom, shiftT * dist, 0, gapOpen, 0, 0);
raf = requestAnimationFrame(controlledLoop);
return;
}
controlledStart = 0;
settleControlled(controlledTo);
};
const startControlledCycle = (fromIndex: number, toIndex: number) => {
if (raf) cancelAnimationFrame(raf);
controlledFrom = fromIndex;
controlledTo = toIndex;
controlledStart = 0;
raf = requestAnimationFrame(controlledLoop);
};
layout();
// `lastRenderedIndexRef` persists across this effect's re-runs (it re-
// runs on every `progress`/`totalSleepers` change) — the whole point is
// to tell "first mount, nothing to animate from" apart from "a real
// change just arrived, play the one-shot pass."
if (isControlled) {
const target = Math.round(clamp01((controlledRef.current ?? 0) / 100) * clampTotal);
const previous = lastRenderedIndexRef.current;
if (previous === null) {
// first mount: settle instantly, nothing to animate from.
lastRenderedIndexRef.current = target;
if (reduced) applyFrame(target, 0, 1, gapClosed, 0, 1);
else settleControlled(target);
} else if (target !== previous) {
lastRenderedIndexRef.current = target;
if (reduced) applyFrame(target, 0, 1, gapClosed, 0, 1);
else startControlledCycle(previous, target);
} else if (reduced) {
applyFrame(target, 0, 1, gapClosed, 0, 1);
} else {
settleControlled(target);
}
} else if (reduced) {
renderReducedFrame();
} else if (sized) {
raf = requestAnimationFrame(ambientLoop);
}
let resizeTimer = 0;
const ro = new ResizeObserver(() => {
window.clearTimeout(resizeTimer);
resizeTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
if (disposed) return;
layout();
if (isControlled) {
const target = lastRenderedIndexRef.current ?? 0;
if (reduced) applyFrame(target, 0, 1, gapClosed, 0, 1);
else settleControlled(target);
} else if (reduced) {
renderReducedFrame();
} else if (sized && !raf) {
ambientStart = 0;
raf = requestAnimationFrame(ambientLoop);
}
}, 100);
});
ro.observe(root);
const io = new IntersectionObserver((entries) => {
visible = entries[0]?.isIntersecting ?? true;
if (visible && !reduced && sized && !raf) {
if (isControlled) {
if (controlledStart !== 0 || controlledFrom !== controlledTo) {
raf = requestAnimationFrame(controlledLoop);
}
} else {
ambientStart = 0;
raf = requestAnimationFrame(ambientLoop);
}
}
});
io.observe(root);
return () => {
disposed = true;
cancelAnimationFrame(raf);
raf = 0;
window.clearTimeout(resizeTimer);
ro.disconnect();
io.disconnect();
};
// progress drives a dedicated one-shot pass on change (see the
// isControlled block above); totalSleepers reshapes the controlled
// mapping and both are intentionally in the dependency array so a
// change re-runs this effect rather than being read through a ref.
// eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
}, [progress, totalSleepers, isControlled]);
return (
<div
ref={rootRef}
data-tamper-tine-squeeze
role={isControlled ? "progressbar" : "status"}
aria-label={ariaLabel}
aria-valuenow={isControlled ? Math.round(progress ?? 0) : undefined}
aria-valuemin={isControlled ? 0 : undefined}
aria-valuemax={isControlled ? 100 : undefined}
className={`relative aspect-[16/9] w-full overflow-hidden rounded-md border border-border bg-background transition-opacity duration-200 ${ready ? "opacity-100" : "opacity-0"} ${className}`}
>
<svg ref={svgRef} aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 h-full w-full">
<line ref={railTopRef} stroke="var(--ns-muted)" strokeOpacity={0.5} strokeWidth={1} />
<line ref={railBottomRef} stroke="var(--ns-muted)" strokeOpacity={0.5} strokeWidth={1} />
{Array.from({ length: SLOT_COUNT }).map((_, i) => (
<path
key={`sparse-${i}`}
ref={(el) => {
sparseRefs.current[i] = el;
}}
d=""
fill="var(--ns-muted)"
/>
))}
{Array.from({ length: SLOT_COUNT }).map((_, i) => (
<path
key={`packed-${i}`}
ref={(el) => {
packedRefs.current[i] = el;
}}
d=""
fill="var(--foreground)"
/>
))}
{Array.from({ length: SLOT_COUNT }).map((_, i) => (
<rect
key={`sleeper-${i}`}
ref={(el) => {
sleeperRefs.current[i] = el;
}}
fill="var(--foreground)"
/>
))}
<line ref={tineLeftRef} stroke="var(--foreground)" strokeWidth={2} strokeLinecap="round" />
<line ref={tineRightRef} stroke="var(--foreground)" strokeWidth={2} strokeLinecap="round" />
</svg>
</div>
);
}
Build spec
`<TamperTineSqueeze progress? totalSleepers? ariaLabel? className? />` renders a card-scale `role="status"` (or `role="progressbar"` when `progress` is supplied) region containing one inset-0 SVG: two thin static `--ns-muted` rail lines near the top, a pool of 8 sleeper `<rect>`s (var(--foreground)) each paired with a sparse-scatter ballast `<path>` (var(--ns-muted)) and a packed-grid ballast `<path>` (var(--foreground)) that crossfade by opacity, and two `<line>` tines (var(--foreground)) that plunge/squeeze/lift at a single fixed screen x. AMBIENT MODE (no `progress` prop, the default): a monotonically increasing `cycleIndex = floor(elapsedMs / 1600)` — never wrapped or reset — names which sleeper is 'current' at the fixed tine x; this is an infinite treadmill, not a bounded loop, so the row is materially further along at every later timestamp with zero input. Each 1600ms cycle runs four sub-phases entirely off local time within the cycle: plunge (0-300ms, tine bottom endpoint eases 0->full depth via easeOutQuad while its top endpoint stays fixed, gap held at the open half-width, opacity ramps in over the first 90ms); squeeze-close (300-550ms, half-gap eases from the open width to the closed width via easeOutQuad — this 250ms close is what visibly reads as 'squeeze shut'); squeeze-hold (550-800ms, gap stays at the closed width and a `sin(t * 2*pi*6Hz) * jitterAmp` offset — CAPPED at 6Hz, an explicit decoupling from the real ~35Hz tine vibration per the round-9 rule that a near-paint-rate real frequency must never be animated 1:1 — is added to both tine x-positions, its amplitude shaped by a `sin(holdProgress * pi)` envelope so the jitter fades in and out at the hold's edges instead of switching on/off abruptly); lift (800-1100ms, the tine's bottom endpoint eases back up to its top via easeOutQuad, opacity fades out over the final 30% once mostly retracted). Ballast packing for the CURRENT sleeper is driven directly off the live half-gap value (`(gapOpen - gapHalf) / (gapOpen - gapClosed)`, clamped 0..1) rather than a separate timer, so the packed-dot cluster's opacity rises in lockstep with the tines visibly closing and holds at 1 through lift; every sleeper behind the current index renders fully packed (packed opacity 1, sparse opacity 0) and every sleeper ahead renders fully loose (sparse opacity 1, packed opacity 0). The shift sub-phase (1100-1600ms) hides the tines (opacity 0) and translates every rendered sleeper slot left by `easeOutQuad(shiftProgress) * spacing` px, so by t=1600ms the row has visually arrived exactly at the position the next cycle's `cycleIndex + 1` frame expects — zero visual discontinuity across the cycle boundary. Only 8 DOM slots are ever mounted; each frame maps slot `s` to sleeper index `cycleIndex - 1 + s` (one sleeper of context behind the satellite, six ahead), positions it at `fixedX + (index - cycleIndex) * spacing - shiftOffsetPx`, and looks up its ballast dot paths from a `Map<index, {sparse, packed}>` cache built lazily via a seeded `mulberry32` PRNG the first time an index enters the visible window (never rebuilt per frame) and pruned once an index falls more than 2 behind the current one, so cache size stays bounded regardless of how long the loop has been running. Sparse dots are 7 points placed by a pure random scatter (loose, no structure); packed dots are a 4x5 jittered grid (±20% of cell size) at slightly smaller size (structure and count carry the 'consolidated' read, never colour alone, so it survives light theme where --ns-muted sits close to --background). CONTROLLED MODE (`progress` 0-100 supplied): the loop does not run on its own clock at all. `totalSleepers` (default 24) sets a fixed row length; the target index is `round(progress/100 * totalSleepers)`. On mount the component settles instantly (no animation) to that index with tines fully retracted (depth 0, opacity 0) — there is no 'from' state to animate from at first paint. On every subsequent change to `progress`, the effect re-runs (both `progress` and `totalSleepers` are real dependencies, not refs, specifically so a change restarts the one-shot pass rather than being silently swallowed) and plays exactly ONE plunge->squeeze->lift->shift pass from the previously-settled index to the new target — reusing the identical `tineStateAt` phase function the ambient loop uses for the first 1100ms, then during the 500ms shift sub-phase scaling the row's translate distance by the ACTUAL index delta (`shiftProgress * (toIndex - fromIndex) * spacing`) so a multi-sleeper jump in `progress` still crosses in one 500ms pass rather than replaying multiple cycles — then stops the rAF loop entirely and re-settles statically at the target. If `progress` does not change, nothing animates: an indeterminate loop is never faked as looping once a real percentage exists, and a real percentage never keeps animating once the component has caught up to it — this is the one condition under which the component is allowed to stop looping (`autoplay.mode` stays `"none"` regardless, since neither mode is pointer/press/scroll-driven; ambient motion is self-clocked and controlled motion is driven by the `progress` prop, not by any input the site's synthetic-input driver could produce). REDUCED MOTION (`matchMedia`, read once at mount): ambient mode freezes on cycle index 1 with tines fully shut and holding (depth 1, half-gap at the closed width, zero jitter, opacity 1) — sleeper 0 already fully packed to its left, sleeper 1's tines mid-hold around it, sleepers ahead still loose — the frame that shows the mechanism's purpose (the compacted state), never an open or in-transit frame. Controlled mode under reduced motion renders the same squeeze-closed look at whatever the current target index is, still with no animation. Geometry — sleeper width/height, tine gap widths, ballast cluster half-width, dot size, jitter amplitude — is all multiplied by `clamp(min(w,h)/200, 0.65, 2)`, the binding 'derive from the container's smaller dimension' rule, so the squeeze reads at card scale instead of shrinking to a sub-pixel wobble; sleeper spacing is instead driven off container WIDTH (`max(28*scale, w/6.2)`) so roughly six to seven sleepers stay visible regardless of aspect ratio. Sizing is read via `getBoundingClientRect()` inside a debounced `ResizeObserver` (root renders `opacity-0` until the first successful layout read, then fades in over 200ms) and the render loop pauses whenever the card scrolls offscreen via an `IntersectionObserver` (default threshold; there is no separate `visibilitychange` listener, only this one offscreen check), resuming the ambient clock fresh (`ambientStart` reset to 0, so time-off-screen is never counted as elapsed progress) or resuming an in-flight controlled pass, whichever mode is active. Colors are `--background --foreground --ns-muted --border` only, all read as CSS custom properties directly in SVG `fill`/`stroke` attributes and Tailwind classes — no JS colour reads or `getComputedStyle` calls exist because nothing here draws to canvas, and `--ns-accent` never appears anywhere: the loose-to-packed motion is density/geometry only, never accent-tinted, per the brief's 'never the climactic moment' rule. `--border` is used only for the container's own 1px hairline via a Tailwind `border-border` class, never as an SVG stroke or fill. DOM + SVG + CSS, no canvas, zero dependencies.
Props
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| progress? | number | — | 0-100 real progress value. When provided, the satellite's position maps directly to percent-complete along a fixed `totalSleepers`-long row and the component stops looping — it only advances, once, on a `progress` change. When omitted, runs an ambient, unbounded indeterminate loop. |
| totalSleepers? | number | 24 | row length the `progress` prop is mapped across. Default 24. |
| ariaLabel? | string | "Optimizing" | accessible label for the loader/progress region |
| className? | string | — | extra classes merged onto the rendered root element |