cd ../writing
// free snippets · pure css

Google AI Thinking Animation.

The conic-gradient bloom you keep seeing in Gemini, AI Studio, and search overlays — extracted, refined, and ready to paste. Four variants. No JavaScript. No dependencies.

4 snippets ~50 lines each 0 dependencies © use anywhere · attribution welcome
// what is this

That glow you see while AI thinks.

When Google's AI products are processing, they wrap the trigger element in a soft, rotating, color-shifting halo. It signals working without dimming the surface or stealing focus. Here it is, dissected into four reusable forms.

// how it works

One conic-gradient, two @property vars.

Each snippet animates two custom properties: --angle for rotation and --c1 for the color cycle. A blur filter softens the seam. The opaque inner pill sits above with z-index, so only the rim glows.

Drop it around a button, an icon, a search box — anywhere processing happens.

Knobs you'll probably want to turn

  • SpeedThe cg-rotate duration. Default is 1.9s. Faster (1.2s) reads more urgent; slower (3s) reads more "thoughtful".
  • ColorsThree stops in cg-hue. Swap the RGB triplets for your brand. Keep three stops so the loop seam stays invisible.
  • Blurfilter: blur(5–7px). More blur = softer, dreamier. Less blur = sharper, more "scanner-line".
  • Gap anglesThe transparent arc inside conic-gradient. Widen the transparent range for a thinner trail; narrow it for a fuller halo.