Skeleton Loader

Installation

npm install @strata-packages/skeleton-loader

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Usage

Standalone

<link  rel="stylesheet" href="node_modules/@strata-packages/skeleton-loader/skeleton-loader.css">
<script src="node_modules/@strata-packages/skeleton-loader/skeleton-loader.js"></script>

Available as SkeletonLoader.

With Strata CSS

<script src="node_modules/strata-css/dist/strata.components.js"></script>

Available as Strata.skeleton. Do not load skeleton-loader.js separately.

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Quick Start

<div id="card">
  <img src="...">
  <h3>Title</h3>
  <p>Description text.</p>
</div>

<script>
  // Show skeleton
  Strata.skeleton.init('#card')

  // After data loads — reveal
  fetchData().then(() => {
    Strata.skeleton.reveal('#card')
  })
</script>

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API

init(selector?, options?)

Registers elements for skeleton management. Applies smart detection — finds content leaves automatically.

Strata.skeleton.init()            // init all [data-st-skeleton="true"] on the page
Strata.skeleton.init('#card')     // init a specific element
Strata.skeleton.init('.card')     // init all matching elements
Strata.skeleton.init(el)          // init a DOM element directly

reveal(selector?, options?)

Removes the skeleton, revealing content.

Strata.skeleton.reveal()                          // reveal all
Strata.skeleton.reveal('#card')                   // reveal one
Strata.skeleton.reveal('.card', { stagger: 150 }) // stagger reveal (150ms between each)
Strata.skeleton.reveal({ onReveal: () => {} })    // callback after last reveal

show(selector?)

Re-applies skeleton (for re-loading states).

Strata.skeleton.show('#card')

toggle(selector?)

Toggles between skeleton and revealed state.

revealAt(selector, index)

Reveals the element at a specific index within a matched set.

Strata.skeleton.revealAt('.card', 2) // reveal the third card

isSkeleton(el)

Returns true if the element is currently in skeleton state.

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CSS — data-st-skeleton Attribute States

The plugin drives appearance via the data-st-skeleton attribute — CSS handles the rest:

Value	Meaning
"true"	Shimmer overlay active on this element
"false"	Content revealed, no shimmer
"null"	JS-managed parent — children shimmer individually

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Manual CSS-Only Usage

No JS needed for simple cases:

<!-- Single element shimmer -->
<div data-st-skeleton="true" style="height:200px; border-radius:8px;"></div>

<!-- Opt-out a child from shimmer -->
<div data-st-skeleton="true">
  <span data-st-skeleton="false">This is not shimmed</span>
</div>

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Smart Detection

init() walks the DOM tree and identifies "leaf" elements — the actual content nodes that should shimmer. It does not shimmer structural containers directly.

Content leaves (shimmed individually): p, h1-h6, span, a, label, strong, em, small, button, input, textarea, select, li, blockquote

Replaced elements (img, video, canvas): JS marks their wrapper instead — pseudo-elements don't work on replaced elements.

Structural containers (div, section, article, etc.): walked recursively, not shimmed directly unless they contain direct text.

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CSS Tokens

:root {
  --st-skeleton-base:     #e2e8f0;  /* shimmer bar background */
  --st-skeleton-shine:    #f8fafc;  /* shimmer highlight */
  --st-skeleton-duration: 1.5s;     /* animation speed */
  --st-skeleton-radius:   4px;      /* corner rounding */
}

Override globally or per-element:

#my-card {
  --st-skeleton-base:     #2d3748;
  --st-skeleton-shine:    #4a5568;
  --st-skeleton-duration: 1s;
}

Dark theme tokens are set automatically when data-st-theme="dark" is on an ancestor.

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Accessibility

• pointer-events: none while shimming — skeleton is not interactive
• cursor: wait on shimming parent
• Reduced motion: animation disabled, static placeholder color shown instead

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Known Limitations

• img, video, canvas cannot host ::before pseudo-elements — the plugin marks their wrapper. If you manually apply data-st-skeleton="true" directly to an <img>, a background shimmer is used and the image content is hidden via object-position: 9999px.
• Inline elements (span, a, etc.) are forced to display: inline-block during skeleton state.

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License

MIT © Aftab Ibrahim Kazi