beta
Scramble Text <mv-scramble-text>
Decode effect: random glyphs resolve into the real text (from the start, the end, the center or at random) on view, hover or focus. The real text stays in place and only its unresolved characters are masked, with width-matched glyphs painted on their exact boxes, so nothing moves in any font, it wraps inline like plain text, and a changed value decodes only the characters that changed.
| Category | Animated text |
|---|---|
| Type | Web Component (<mv-scramble-text>) |
| Status | beta |
| Keywords | scramble, decrypt, decode, hacker, glitch, hover, hyper-text, shuffle, accessible |
When to use
- A heading or label should decrypt from random glyphs into the real text on view, hover or focus
- A tech or security brand needs a decode effect that never shifts layout, even in a proportional font or mid-sentence
- A changing value such as a key, code or status should visibly decode only the characters that changed
Avoid when
- A recurring RGB-split glitch look is wanted instead of a one-time resolve → use Glitch Text instead
- Long paragraphs; per-character scrambling slows reading and draws too much attention
Install
node scripts/add.mjs scramble-text --out ./src/marvelousAI agent with the Marvelous UI MCP server: install_components({ slugs: ["scramble-text"], target_dir: "<absolute path>/src/marvelous", framework: "react" }).
Files copied (dependencies included): tokens/tokens.css, core/base.css, core/dom.js, core/element.js, core/motion.js, core/observe.js, components/scramble-text/scramble-text.js, components/scramble-text/scramble-text.css.
Usage
Quick start, the smallest working markup:
<h2><mv-scramble-text>Access granted</mv-scramble-text></h2>Canonical markup, to start from and customize with attributes, data-* and CSS variables:
<div id="st-demo" style="display:grid;gap:1.75rem;justify-items:center;text-align:center;width:min(100%,44rem);margin-inline:auto">
<div style="display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:.6rem;padding:.4rem .85rem;border:1px solid var(--mv-border);border-radius:var(--mv-radius-full);background:var(--mv-surface);font-size:.8rem;color:var(--mv-fg-muted)">
<span style="width:.5rem;height:.5rem;border-radius:50%;background:var(--mv-success);box-shadow:0 0 0 3px color-mix(in oklch,var(--mv-success) 25%,transparent)"></span>
<mv-scramble-text monospace duration="1200" delay="200" style="letter-spacing:.08em">SECURE CHANNEL · AES-256</mv-scramble-text>
</div>
<h2 style="margin:0;font:700 clamp(1.9rem,4.6vw,3.2rem)/1.1 var(--mv-font-display);letter-spacing:-.035em">
<mv-scramble-text reveal="random" duration="1400" trigger="view hover" colors="var(--mv-accent), var(--mv-info), var(--mv-fg-subtle)">Your data, encrypted end to end.</mv-scramble-text>
</h2>
<nav aria-label="Demo" style="display:flex;gap:.35rem;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center;font:500 .95rem/1 var(--mv-font-mono);text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.06em">
<a href="#" style="padding:.55rem .8rem;border-radius:var(--mv-radius-md);color:inherit;text-decoration:none;background:var(--mv-bg-muted)"><mv-scramble-text trigger="hover" duration="500">Projects</mv-scramble-text></a>
<a href="#" style="padding:.55rem .8rem;border-radius:var(--mv-radius-md);color:inherit;text-decoration:none;background:var(--mv-bg-muted)"><mv-scramble-text trigger="hover" duration="500">Studio</mv-scramble-text></a>
<a href="#" style="padding:.55rem .8rem;border-radius:var(--mv-radius-md);color:inherit;text-decoration:none;background:var(--mv-bg-muted)"><mv-scramble-text trigger="hover" duration="500">Journal</mv-scramble-text></a>
<a href="#" style="padding:.55rem .8rem;border-radius:var(--mv-radius-md);color:inherit;text-decoration:none;background:var(--mv-bg-muted)"><mv-scramble-text trigger="hover" duration="500" reveal="end">Contact</mv-scramble-text></a>
</nav>
<div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:.75rem;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center">
<span style="font-size:.8rem;color:var(--mv-fg-muted)">Deploy key</span>
<code style="padding:.35rem .6rem;border-radius:var(--mv-radius-sm);background:var(--mv-bg-muted);font-size:.9rem"><mv-scramble-text id="st-demo-key" monospace trigger="manual" duration="700" text="mv_live_7Q4K-92XD-LM0A"></mv-scramble-text></code>
<button type="button" class="mv-button" data-variant="outline" data-size="sm" id="st-demo-rotate">Rotate key</button>
</div>
<p style="margin:0;font-size:.85rem;color:var(--mv-fg-subtle)">Hover or focus the heading and the links to replay; rotating the key decodes only the characters that change.</p>
</div>
<script type="module">
const key = document.getElementById("st-demo-key");
const button = document.getElementById("st-demo-rotate");
const block = () => Array.from({ length: 4 }, () => "ABCDEFGHJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789"[Math.floor(Math.random() * 33)]).join("");
button?.addEventListener("click", () => {
const parts = key.text.split("-");
parts[1 + Math.floor(Math.random() * 2)] = block();
key.text = parts.join("-");
});
</script>API
Attributes
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
trigger | view | load | hover | focus | manual | view | Combinable ("view hover"). hover replays on pointer hover (not touch) and on keyboard focus; focus replays on focus only. Hover and focus listen on the closest link, button or focusable ancestor. |
duration | number (ms) | 900 | Time until the last character resolves. |
speed | number (ms) | 45 | How often glyphs change. |
delay | number (ms) | 0 | Extra wait before characters start resolving. |
reveal | start | end | center | random | start | Resolution order. |
glyphs | string | A-Z 0-9 #%&*+=<>… | Glyph set (e.g. "01" for binary, katakana…). The default set keeps case and turns digits into digits. Glyphs are picked close in width to each real character. |
colors | list of CSS colors | Colors picked at random for each glyph. | |
monospace | boolean | Monospace font (terminal look). The width never changes without it either. | |
text | string | Target text (otherwise the element's text). Setting a new value decodes only the characters that changed. | |
data-state | scrambling | done | Set by the element: scrambling (glyphs showing) or done (real text only). |
Methods
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
play() / replay() | Scrambles, then resolves again. |
Events
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
mv-end | All characters have resolved. |
CSS classes
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
mv-scramble-text-text / -glyphs / -char | Real text (one plain text node), aria-hidden out-of-flow glyph layer, one glyph box per character on that layer. |
CSS variables
| Name | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--mv-scramble-text-glyph | var(--mv-accent-fg) | Glyph color (also the color of the lock-in echo). |
Accessibility
The real text is always one plain, visible text node: screen readers, find-in-page, selection, copy and translation get it unchanged, even mid-animation. Unresolved characters are only masked (a CSS highlight makes them transparent); glyphs live on an aria-hidden, out-of-flow layer (pointer-events none, user-select none) and are painted as generated content with empty alternative text, so they are never read nor found. Each glyph sits on its character’s measured box, so the layout never shifts and kerning is untouched, in any font. With reduced motion (system or data-motion="reduce") or forced colors, the final text shows at once and nothing scrambles. hover also replays on keyboard focus and ignores touch; focus replays on focus only. Printing settles to the real text. The frame loop pauses off-screen and in hidden tabs. Without CSS highlights (older browsers) the real text is hidden as a whole during the effect and the layer draws it, still at the same boxes.