Stack Section

Installation

1. 1. Install the dependencies.

   npm install 

2. 2. Add the cn helper, if you don't already have it.

   import { clsx, type ClassValue } from "clsx";
   import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge";
   
   export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
     return twMerge(clsx(inputs));
   }

3. 3. Copy the component into your project.

   'use client'
   
   import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
   import { onScroll } from '@/lib/on-scroll'
   import { usePrefersReducedMotion } from '@/lib/use-prefers-reduced-motion'
   import { useIsMobile } from '@/lib/use-is-mobile'
   
   interface StackItem {
     name: string
     logo: string
     // Keyword-contextual alt text for the tools that map to a target keyword
     // (Next.js, GSAP) — falls back to a generic "{name} logo" for the rest
     // rather than stuffing a keyword into every single icon.
     alt?: string
   }
   
   const STACK_ITEMS: StackItem[] = [
     {
       name: 'Next.js',
       logo: '/kine/stack/nextjs.png',
       alt: 'Next.js logo — Kinematic Studio is a Next.js agency in Kuwait',
     },
     { name: 'Tailwind CSS', logo: '/kine/stack/tailwind.webp' },
     { name: 'Node', logo: '/kine/stack/node.png' },
     {
       name: 'GSAP',
       logo: '/kine/stack/gsap.png',
       alt: 'GSAP logo — the motion design library behind Kinematic Studio\'s animation agency work in Kuwait',
     },
     { name: 'Lenis', logo: '/kine/stack/lenis.png' },
     { name: 'PayloadCMS', logo: '/kine/stack/payload.png' },
   ]
   
   // Half the widest card (md:w-[200px]) — clamps random x positions so a card
   // never hangs off the canvas edge. Same technique as the Process sections
   // (app/work/WorkPageClient.tsx, app/services/ServicesPageClient.tsx).
   const CARD_HALF = 110
   
   /** Random scatter layout, same generator shape as the Process sections: x is
    * % of canvas width, y is vh (the canvas is 200vh tall). Item 1 is always
    * centered in the first viewport (50%, 50vh); every later item lands
    * strictly below the previous one, zigzagging at least 20% sideways so the
    * connector line visibly wanders. Client-side only, so it's different every
    * reload. */
   function generateStackLayout() {
     const points = [{ x: 50, y: 50 }]
     let prevX = 50
     const count = STACK_ITEMS.length
     for (let i = 1; i < count; i++) {
       const base = 50 + (i * 135) / (count - 1)
       const y = Math.min(186, base + (Math.random() * 16 - 8))
       let x = 18 + Math.random() * 64
       if (Math.abs(x - prevX) < 20) {
         x = prevX >= 50 ? prevX - (20 + Math.random() * 15) : prevX + (20 + Math.random() * 15)
       }
       x = Math.min(84, Math.max(16, x))
       points.push({ x, y })
       prevX = x
     }
     return points
   }
   
   /** Same pinned-camera-follows-the-line pattern as the Process sections on
    * /work and /services: the section is pinned (sticky) while scroll progress
    * pans a 100vw x 200vh canvas along an SVG line, carrying each tool's card
    * through the center of the screen in turn, with the brand-green line
    * drawing in behind it. The page appears to hold still while the cards and
    * line do the moving. */
   type StackSectionProps = {
     /** Pin the section and pan the camera along the line as the page scrolls.
         Off, it renders the static grid it also uses on mobile — for placing it
         somewhere that is not the page's own scroll. */
     pinned?: boolean
   }
   
   export default function StackSection({ pinned = true }: StackSectionProps) {
     const wrapperRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
     const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
     const pathRef = useRef<SVGPathElement>(null)
     const [points, setPoints] = useState<{ x: number; y: number }[] | null>(null)
     const [size, setSize] = useState({ w: 0, h: 0 })
     const reducedMotion = usePrefersReducedMotion()
     const isMobile = useIsMobile()
   
     // Scatter layout: random client-side only, so it never mismatches SSR
     // markup and differs every reload.
     useEffect(() => {
       setPoints(generateStackLayout())
     }, [])
   
     // Track the canvas's rendered pixel size so the connector SVG and the
     // cards share exact coordinates.
     useEffect(() => {
       const canvas = canvasRef.current
       if (!canvas) return
       const measure = () => setSize({ w: canvas.clientWidth, h: canvas.clientHeight })
       measure()
       window.addEventListener('resize', measure)
       return () => window.removeEventListener('resize', measure)
     }, [])
   
     // Pixel positions for cards + line anchors, clamped so no card overflows
     // the 100vw edge.
     const px = useMemo(
       () =>
         points && size.w > 0
           ? points.map((p) => ({
               x: Math.min(size.w - CARD_HALF, Math.max(CARD_HALF, (p.x / 100) * size.w)),
               y: (p.y / 200) * size.h,
             }))
           : null,
       [points, size]
     )
   
     // Smooth cubic path through every card's center, top to bottom.
     let pathD = ''
     if (px) {
       pathD = `M ${px[0].x} ${px[0].y}`
       for (let i = 1; i < px.length; i++) {
         const a = px[i - 1]
         const b = px[i]
         const bend = (b.y - a.y) / 2
         pathD += ` C ${a.x} ${a.y + bend}, ${b.x} ${b.y - bend}, ${b.x} ${b.y}`
       }
     }
   
     useEffect(() => {
       // Reduced motion and mobile both skip this entirely — the section
       // renders as a plain static wrapped grid instead (see the branch below).
       // Same reasoning as the Process sections: this pin only reveals items
       // 2-6 by camera-panning a 400vh canvas, so there's no "just freeze it"
       // version that doesn't strand most of them off-screen. On mobile this
       // was also the single biggest source of jank/CLS on the page — a 400
       // sample getPointAtLength() pass plus a full canvas-transform + per-card
       // opacity/scale recompute on every scroll tick, on top of the pinned
       // wrapper's own layout cost.
       if (reducedMotion || isMobile || !pinned) return
   
       const wrapper = wrapperRef.current
       const canvas = canvasRef.current
       const path = pathRef.current
       if (!wrapper || !canvas || !path || !pathD || !px) return
   
       const total = path.getTotalLength()
       path.style.strokeDasharray = `${total}`
       path.style.strokeDashoffset = `${total}`
   
       // Distance along the path at each card's center — sampled finely and
       // kept as the closest length per card — so the camera spends equal
       // scroll time per segment even though segment lengths differ.
       const SAMPLES = 400
       const cardLengths = px.map(() => 0)
       const bestDist = px.map(() => Infinity)
       for (let s = 0; s <= SAMPLES; s++) {
         const len = (s / SAMPLES) * total
         const pt = path.getPointAtLength(len)
         px.forEach((c, i) => {
           const d = (pt.x - c.x) ** 2 + (pt.y - c.y) ** 2
           if (d < bestDist[i]) {
             bestDist[i] = d
             cardLengths[i] = len
           }
         })
       }
   
       const segments = px.length - 1
   
       const update = () => {
         const vh = window.innerHeight
         const vw = window.innerWidth
         const rect = wrapper.getBoundingClientRect()
         const extra = wrapper.offsetHeight - vh
         const progress = extra > 0 ? Math.min(1, Math.max(0, -rect.top / extra)) : 0
   
         // Uniform scroll time per item: map progress to a length along the
         // line, linearly between consecutive cards' path distances.
         const f = progress * segments
         const seg = Math.min(segments - 1, Math.floor(f))
         const t = f - seg
         const length = cardLengths[seg] + (cardLengths[seg + 1] - cardLengths[seg]) * t
   
         // Pan the canvas so the camera point sits at screen center, and draw
         // the green line exactly up to that point.
         const pt = path.getPointAtLength(length)
         canvas.style.transform = `translate(${vw / 2 - pt.x}px, ${vh / 2 - pt.y}px)`
         path.style.strokeDashoffset = String(Math.max(0, total - length))
   
         // Each card pops in just before the camera reaches it, then stays.
         const cards = canvas.querySelectorAll('[data-stack-card]')
         cards.forEach((card, i) => {
           const cardProgress = i / segments
           const arrival = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, (progress - (cardProgress - 0.12)) / 0.12))
           ;(card as HTMLElement).style.opacity = String(arrival)
           ;(card as HTMLElement).style.transform = `translate(-50%, -50%) scale(${0.8 + arrival * 0.2})`
         })
       }
   
       update()
       return onScroll(update)
     }, [pathD, px, reducedMotion, isMobile, pinned])
   
     if (reducedMotion || isMobile || !pinned) {
       return (
         <section className="border-t border-white/10 bg-[#0f1113] px-6 py-24 md:px-12 md:py-32">
           <div className="mx-auto flex max-w-4xl flex-col gap-12">
             <h2 className="text-center font-kine-display text-4xl uppercase tracking-tight text-kine-primary md:text-6xl">
               Our TechStack
             </h2>
             <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-center gap-6">
               {STACK_ITEMS.map((item) => (
                 <div
                   key={item.name}
                   className="flex flex-col items-center gap-3 rounded-2xl border-2 border-dashed border-kine-primary/40 bg-kine-surface p-6 py-8"
                 >
                   <img
                     src={item.logo}
                     alt={item.alt ?? `${item.name} logo`}
                     width={48}
                     height={48}
                     className="h-10 w-10 object-contain"
                   />
                   <span className="whitespace-nowrap font-kine-body text-sm font-bold uppercase tracking-widest text-kine-primary">
                     {item.name}
                   </span>
                 </div>
               ))}
             </div>
           </div>
         </section>
       )
     }
   
     return (
       <div ref={wrapperRef} className="relative h-[400vh] w-full">
         <section
           className="sticky top-0 z-30 h-dvh w-full overflow-hidden border-t border-white/10 bg-[#0f1113]"
         >
           <h2 className="absolute left-1/2 top-16 z-10 -translate-x-1/2 text-center font-kine-display text-4xl uppercase tracking-tight text-kine-primary md:text-6xl">
             Our TechStack
           </h2>
   
           {/* The pannable canvas — everything inside moves together as the
               camera follows the line. */}
           <div ref={canvasRef} className="absolute left-0 top-0 h-[200vh] w-screen" style={{ willChange: 'transform' }}>
             {/* Connector line — faint full path underneath, brand-green copy
                 drawn in on top exactly up to the camera point. */}
             {pathD && (
               <svg
                 className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 h-full w-full"
                 viewBox={`0 0 ${size.w} ${size.h}`}
                 fill="none"
                 aria-hidden
               >
                 <path d={pathD} stroke="#ffffff" strokeOpacity={0.08} strokeWidth={2} />
                 <path ref={pathRef} d={pathD} stroke="#ceff00" strokeWidth={3} strokeLinecap="round" />
               </svg>
             )}
   
             {px?.map((pt, i) => {
               const item = STACK_ITEMS[i]
               return (
                 <div
                   key={item.name}
                   data-stack-card
                   className="group absolute flex w-[160px] flex-col items-center justify-center gap-3 rounded-2xl border-2 border-dashed border-kine-primary/40 bg-kine-surface p-6 py-8 shadow-[0_8px_30px_rgba(0,0,0,0.35)] transition-colors duration-300 hover:border-kine-primary hover:bg-kine-primary/10 hover:shadow-[0_0_30px_-6px_rgba(206,255,0,0.4)] md:w-[200px] md:p-8 md:py-10"
                   style={{
                     left: pt.x,
                     top: pt.y,
                     opacity: 0,
                     transform: 'translate(-50%, -50%) scale(0.8)',
                   }}
                 >
                   <img
                     src={item.logo}
                     alt={item.alt ?? `${item.name} logo`}
                     width={48}
                     height={48}
                     className="h-9 w-9 object-contain transition-transform duration-300 group-hover:scale-110 sm:h-12 sm:w-12"
                   />
                   <span className="whitespace-nowrap font-kine-body text-sm font-bold uppercase tracking-widest text-kine-primary sm:text-lg">
                     {item.name}
                   </span>
                 </div>
               )
             })}
           </div>
         </section>
       </div>
     )
   }

   Expand code

   /**
    * Calls `handler` whenever anything scrolls — the window or any scroll
    * container on the page — and on resize. Returns the unsubscribe.
    *
    * The Kinematics components were written against a Lenis instance's scroll
    * event. They only ever use it as a tick and measure themselves with
    * getBoundingClientRect, so any scroll will do. Listening in the capture
    * phase catches scroll events from every element, since they do not bubble:
    * the same component works pinned to the page or inside a scrolling card.
    */
   export function onScroll(handler: () => void) {
     const options = { capture: true, passive: true } as const;
     window.addEventListener("scroll", handler, options);
     window.addEventListener("resize", handler);
     return () => {
       window.removeEventListener("scroll", handler, options);
       window.removeEventListener("resize", handler);
     };
   }

   Expand code

   "use client";
   
   import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
   
   const QUERY = "(max-width: 767px)";
   
   /** True below Tailwind's `md` breakpoint (767px). Starts `false` on the
    * server/first paint (no `matchMedia` there) and corrects on mount — the
    * same convention as usePrefersReducedMotion. For components that render a
    * genuinely different layout on mobile, not just a slowed-down one. */
   export function useIsMobile() {
     const [isMobile, setIsMobile] = useState(false);
   
     useEffect(() => {
       const query = window.matchMedia(QUERY);
       setIsMobile(query.matches);
   
       const handleChange = (e: MediaQueryListEvent) => setIsMobile(e.matches);
       query.addEventListener("change", handleChange);
       return () => query.removeEventListener("change", handleChange);
     }, []);
   
     return isMobile;
   }

   Expand code

   'use client'
   
   import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
   
   // TEMPORARILY DISABLED — hardcoded to false, ignoring the real system
   // preference. On Windows, turning off "Show animations in Windows"
   // (Settings > Accessibility > Visual effects) makes matchMedia report
   // prefers-reduced-motion: reduce in every browser, even for people who
   // never touched a "reduce motion" toggle specifically — that's what made
   // every pinned section on this site go static at once. Disabled here
   // (rather than ripping out every call site) until there's a deliberate
   // decision on how/whether to bring this back — e.g. gated behind an
   // explicit in-app toggle instead of trusting the OS signal outright.
   const FORCE_DISABLED = true
   
   /** True when the user has requested reduced motion at the OS/browser level.
    * Every scroll-jacked "pin" section in this app (hero shrink, StackSection,
    * WorkSection, VisualCode, the /work and /services process sections, etc.)
    * checks this to skip its oversized-scroll-wrapper + sticky-pin mechanic
    * entirely — rather than just slowing the same motion down — so those users
    * get a normal, statically-visible page instead of being carried through a
    * long (sometimes 1000+vh) scroll-jacked, parallaxing, zooming sequence.
    * Starts `false` on the server/first paint (no media-query access there) and
    * corrects on mount — matches this codebase's existing convention of
    * reading `window`-only facts inside an effect rather than during render. */
   export function usePrefersReducedMotion() {
     const [reduced, setReduced] = useState(false)
   
     useEffect(() => {
       if (FORCE_DISABLED) return
       const query = window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)')
       setReduced(query.matches)
   
       const handleChange = (e: MediaQueryListEvent) => setReduced(e.matches)
       query.addEventListener('change', handleChange)
       return () => query.removeEventListener('change', handleChange)
     }, [])
   
     return FORCE_DISABLED ? false : reduced
   }

   Expand code

   /* Kinematic Studio's palette and type, for the components ported from its
      site. Namespaced as kine-* so they sit beside this library's own tokens —
      Kinematics calls its off-white "accent", which here is already the blue.
      Import this from the stylesheet that imports Tailwind, so the @theme
      block turns into utilities: bg-kine-bg, text-kine-primary/70,
      font-kine-display and so on. */
   @theme {
     --color-kine-bg: #0f1113;
     --color-kine-primary: #ceff00;
     --color-kine-surface: #2b2e34;
     --color-kine-accent: #e2e8f0;
   
     /* Audiowide for headlines, Geo for body copy. Geo breaks up at small
        sizes, so tiny labels use the plain sans instead. */
     --font-kine-display: "Audiowide", ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
     --font-kine-body: "Geo", ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
   
     /* Morni, the restaurant client in the Emoji Cursor demo. */
     --font-morni-brand: "Modak", ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
     --font-morni-body: "Poppins", ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
   }
   
   /* Manifesto emoji markers — the box grows from square to rectangle as scroll
      reaches it; once mostly grown, the emoji starts rolling, paused until then
      via animation-play-state set inline. */
   @keyframes manifesto-emoji-roll {
     to {
       transform: rotate(360deg);
     }
   }
   
   /* Expertise cards — small, always-looping visuals tying each card's
      animation to its own subject (motion, layout, load speed, ranking,
      language). CSS keyframes rather than GSAP, since they run for as long as
      the card is mounted. */
   @keyframes expertise-dash {
     to {
       stroke-dashoffset: -24;
     }
   }
   .expertise-flow-line {
     stroke-dasharray: 6 6;
     animation: expertise-dash 1s linear infinite;
   }
   
   @keyframes expertise-block-a {
     0%, 100% { width: 85%; }
     50% { width: 45%; }
   }
   @keyframes expertise-block-b {
     0%, 100% { width: 55%; }
     50% { width: 90%; }
   }
   @keyframes expertise-block-c {
     0%, 100% { width: 70%; }
     50% { width: 30%; }
   }
   .expertise-block-a { animation: expertise-block-a 3.2s ease-in-out infinite; }
   .expertise-block-b { animation: expertise-block-b 3.2s ease-in-out infinite 0.3s; }
   .expertise-block-c { animation: expertise-block-c 3.2s ease-in-out infinite 0.6s; }
   
   @keyframes expertise-fill {
     0% { width: 6%; opacity: 0.5; }
     70% { width: 100%; opacity: 1; }
     85% { width: 100%; opacity: 1; }
     100% { width: 6%; opacity: 0.5; }
   }
   .expertise-fill-bar {
     animation: expertise-fill 2.2s cubic-bezier(0.65, 0, 0.35, 1) infinite;
   }
   
   @keyframes expertise-rank-bar-1 { 0%, 100% { height: 30%; } 50% { height: 80%; } }
   @keyframes expertise-rank-bar-2 { 0%, 100% { height: 55%; } 50% { height: 25%; } }
   @keyframes expertise-rank-bar-3 { 0%, 100% { height: 40%; } 50% { height: 95%; } }
   @keyframes expertise-rank-bar-4 { 0%, 100% { height: 70%; } 50% { height: 50%; } }
   .expertise-rank-1 { animation: expertise-rank-bar-1 2.4s ease-in-out infinite; }
   .expertise-rank-2 { animation: expertise-rank-bar-2 2.4s ease-in-out infinite 0.15s; }
   .expertise-rank-3 { animation: expertise-rank-bar-3 2.4s ease-in-out infinite 0.3s; }
   .expertise-rank-4 { animation: expertise-rank-bar-4 2.4s ease-in-out infinite 0.45s; }
   
   @keyframes expertise-lang-cross {
     0%, 45% { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
     50%, 95% { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(-6px); }
     100% { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
   }
   @keyframes expertise-lang-cross-alt {
     0%, 45% { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(6px); }
     50%, 95% { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
     100% { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(6px); }
   }
   .expertise-lang-a { animation: expertise-lang-cross 3.6s ease-in-out infinite; }
   .expertise-lang-b { animation: expertise-lang-cross-alt 3.6s ease-in-out infinite; }

   Expand code

Props