carousel

A carousel with motion and swipe built using Embla.

About

The carousel component is built using the Embla Carousel library.

Philosophy

Carousels are controversial — done wrong, they hide content behind interaction. We wrap Embla Carousel because it handles the hard parts (touch gestures, snap points, accessibility, RTL support) without opinions about visual design. Our layer adds the gentleduck/ui styling and exposes Previous/Next controls as composable elements.

How It's Built

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Installation

npx @gentleduck/cli add carousel

npx @gentleduck/cli add carousel

Usage

import {
  Carousel,
  CarouselContent,
  CarouselItem,
  CarouselNext,
  CarouselPrevious,
} from "@/components/ui/carousel"

import {
  Carousel,
  CarouselContent,
  CarouselItem,
  CarouselNext,
  CarouselPrevious,
} from "@/components/ui/carousel"

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
  <CarouselPrevious />
  <CarouselNext />
</Carousel>

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
  <CarouselPrevious />
  <CarouselNext />
</Carousel>

Examples

Sizes

To set the size of the items, you can use the basis utility class on the <CarouselItem />.

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-2 md:-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-2 md:-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

Spacing

To set the spacing between the items, we use a pl-[VALUE] utility on the <CarouselItem /> and a negative -ml-[VALUE] on the <CarouselContent />.

Why: I have been using the gap property or a grid layout on the <CarouselContent /> but it required a lot of math and mental effort to get the spacing right. I found pl-[VALUE] and -ml-[VALUE] utilities much easier to use.

You can always adjust this in your own project if you need to.

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-2 md:-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel>
  <CarouselContent className="-ml-2 md:-ml-4">
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem className="pl-2 md:pl-4">...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

Orientation

Use the orientation prop to set the orientation of the carousel.

<Carousel orientation="vertical | horizontal">
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel orientation="vertical | horizontal">
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

Options

You can pass options to the carousel using the opts prop. See the Embla Carousel docs for more information.

<Carousel
  opts={{
    align: "start",
    loop: true,
  }}
>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

<Carousel
  opts={{
    align: "start",
    loop: true,
  }}
>
  <CarouselContent>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
    <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
  </CarouselContent>
</Carousel>

API

Use a state and the setApi props to get an instance of the carousel API.

import { type CarouselApi } from "@/components/ui/carousel"
 
export function Example() {
  const [api, setApi] = React.useState<CarouselApi>()
  const [current, setCurrent] = React.useState(0)
  const [count, setCount] = React.useState(0)
 
  React.useEffect(() => {
    if (!api) {
      return
    }
 
    setCount(api.scrollSnapList().length)
    setCurrent(api.selectedScrollSnap() + 1)
 
    api.on("select", () => {
      setCurrent(api.selectedScrollSnap() + 1)
    })
  }, [api])
 
  return (
    <Carousel setApi={setApi}>
      <CarouselContent>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
      </CarouselContent>
    </Carousel>
  )
}

import { type CarouselApi } from "@/components/ui/carousel"
 
export function Example() {
  const [api, setApi] = React.useState<CarouselApi>()
  const [current, setCurrent] = React.useState(0)
  const [count, setCount] = React.useState(0)
 
  React.useEffect(() => {
    if (!api) {
      return
    }
 
    setCount(api.scrollSnapList().length)
    setCurrent(api.selectedScrollSnap() + 1)
 
    api.on("select", () => {
      setCurrent(api.selectedScrollSnap() + 1)
    })
  }, [api])
 
  return (
    <Carousel setApi={setApi}>
      <CarouselContent>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
      </CarouselContent>
    </Carousel>
  )
}

Events

You can listen to events using the api instance from setApi.

import { type CarouselApi } from "@/components/ui/carousel"
 
export function Example() {
  const [api, setApi] = React.useState<CarouselApi>()
 
  React.useEffect(() => {
    if (!api) {
      return
    }
 
    api.on("select", () => {
      // Do something on select.
    })
  }, [api])
 
  return (
    <Carousel setApi={setApi}>
      <CarouselContent>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
      </CarouselContent>
    </Carousel>
  )
}

import { type CarouselApi } from "@/components/ui/carousel"
 
export function Example() {
  const [api, setApi] = React.useState<CarouselApi>()
 
  React.useEffect(() => {
    if (!api) {
      return
    }
 
    api.on("select", () => {
      // Do something on select.
    })
  }, [api])
 
  return (
    <Carousel setApi={setApi}>
      <CarouselContent>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
        <CarouselItem>...</CarouselItem>
      </CarouselContent>
    </Carousel>
  )
}

See the Embla Carousel docs for more information on using events.

Plugins

You can use the plugins prop to add plugins to the carousel.

import Autoplay from "embla-carousel-autoplay"
 
export function Example() {
  return (
    <Carousel
      plugins={[
        Autoplay({
          delay: 2000,
        }),
      ]}
    >
      // ...
    </Carousel>
  )
}

import Autoplay from "embla-carousel-autoplay"
 
export function Example() {
  return (
    <Carousel
      plugins={[
        Autoplay({
          delay: 2000,
        }),
      ]}
    >
      // ...
    </Carousel>
  )
}

See the Embla Carousel docs for more information on using plugins.

Component Composition

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API Reference

Carousel

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`opts`	`CarouselOptions`	--	Configuration options passed to `embla-carousel`
`plugins`	`CarouselPlugin`	--	Array of Embla plugins
`orientation`	`'horizontal' \| 'vertical'`	`'horizontal'`	Carousel axis direction
`dir`	`'ltr' \| 'rtl'`	--	Text direction override. Resolved via `useDirection` (`dir` prop -> `DirectionProvider` -> `'ltr'`).
`setApi`	`(api: CarouselApi) => void`	--	Callback to expose the Embla API
`...props`	`React.HTMLProps<HTMLDivElement>`	--	Additional props to spread to the content div

CarouselContent

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`className`	`string`	--	Additional CSS classes applied to the content container
`children`	`React.ReactNode`	--	`CarouselItem` elements
`...props`	`React.HTMLProps<HTMLDivElement>`	--	Additional props to spread to the content div

CarouselItem

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`className`	`string`	--	Additional CSS classes applied to the item (use `basis-*` utilities to control size)
`children`	`React.ReactNode`	--	Slide content
`...props`	`React.HTMLProps<HTMLLIElement>`	--	Additional props to spread to the li element

CarouselPrevious

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`variant`	`string`	`'outline'`	Variant prop for the `Button` component
`size`	`string`	`'icon'`	Size prop for the `Button` component
`text`	`string`	`'Previous slide'`	Accessible label for the button (`aria-label`)
`...props`	`React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<typeof Button>`	--	Additional props inherited from `Button`.

CarouselNext

Prop	Type	Default	Description
`variant`	`string`	`'outline'`	Variant prop for the `Button` component
`size`	`string`	`'icon'`	Size prop for the `Button` component
`text`	`string`	`'Next slide'`	Accessible label for the button (`aria-label`)
`...props`	`React.ComponentPropsWithoutRef<typeof Button>`	--	Additional props inherited from `Button`.

Types

type CarouselApi = UseEmblaCarouselType[1]
type CarouselOptions = Parameters<typeof useEmblaCarousel>[0]
type CarouselPlugin = Parameters<typeof useEmblaCarousel>[1]
 
type CarouselProps = {
  opts?: CarouselOptions
  plugins?: CarouselPlugin
  orientation?: 'horizontal' | 'vertical'
  setApi?: (api: CarouselApi) => void
}
 
type CarouselContextProps = {
  carouselRef: ReturnType<typeof useEmblaCarousel>[0]
  api: CarouselApi
  scrollPrev: () => void
  scrollNext: () => void
  canScrollPrev: boolean
  canScrollNext: boolean
} & CarouselProps

type CarouselApi = UseEmblaCarouselType[1]
type CarouselOptions = Parameters<typeof useEmblaCarousel>[0]
type CarouselPlugin = Parameters<typeof useEmblaCarousel>[1]
 
type CarouselProps = {
  opts?: CarouselOptions
  plugins?: CarouselPlugin
  orientation?: 'horizontal' | 'vertical'
  setApi?: (api: CarouselApi) => void
}
 
type CarouselContextProps = {
  carouselRef: ReturnType<typeof useEmblaCarousel>[0]
  api: CarouselApi
  scrollPrev: () => void
  scrollNext: () => void
  canScrollPrev: boolean
  canScrollNext: boolean
} & CarouselProps

RTL Support

Direction is resolved through the shared primitives direction module. Use a local dir="rtl" override when the component exposes it, or set DirectionProvider at app/root level for global RTL/LTR behavior.

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