explaingit

wagerfield/parallax

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

16,590JavaScriptAudience · designerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TLDR

Parallax.js creates a layered depth effect on a web page where elements move at different speeds based on mouse position or device tilt.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((parallax-js))
    Inputs
      Mouse movement
      Gyroscope tilt
      Layer depth values
    Outputs
      Layered 3D effect
      Animated DOM transforms
    Use Cases
      Add depth to a landing page hero
      Build an interactive product showcase
      Make a portfolio site feel 3D
    Tech Stack
      JavaScript
      HTML
      CSS
      npm
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Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Add a parallax hero section to a marketing landing page

USE CASE 2

Build an interactive product showcase with multiple visual layers

USE CASE 3

Make a portfolio site react to phone tilt for a 3D feel

USE CASE 4

Animate a background scene that responds to cursor position

What is it built with?

JavaScriptHTMLCSSnpm

How does it compare?

wagerfield/parallaxlowlighter/metricsdream-num/luckysheet
Stars16,59016,61516,629
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyeasyeasymoderate
Complexity2/52/53/5
Audiencedesignerdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

In plain English

Parallax.js is a JavaScript library that creates a layered depth effect on web pages, where elements appear to move at different speeds depending on how you tilt your phone or move your mouse. On devices with a gyroscope, it uses the physical tilt of the device to shift layers, on desktops or devices without motion sensors, mouse cursor movement drives the effect instead. The result is a subtle 3D illusion that makes backgrounds and foreground elements appear to exist at different depths. Setting it up is straightforward: you create a container element in your HTML called a scene, then place child elements inside it as layers. Each layer gets a data-depth attribute from 0 to 1 that controls how much it moves. Lower numbers mean less movement, creating the impression of being far away, while higher numbers move more, appearing closer. You can configure friction to control how smoothly the layers follow input, scale the amount of movement, invert direction, or limit how far layers can travel. It can be added to a page via a CDN link, downloaded directly, or installed through npm as parallax-js. The library has no external dependencies and works entirely in the browser.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me a minimal HTML page that uses parallax-js with three layered images and data-depth values
Prompt 2
Add parallax-js to my React component without breaking server side rendering
Prompt 3
Tune the friction and scalar options in parallax-js to make the effect feel slower and more subtle
Prompt 4
Write a CSS layout where parallax-js layers sit behind a centered headline and call to action
Prompt 5
Detect if the device has no gyroscope and fall back to mouse only for parallax-js

Frequently asked questions

What is parallax?

Parallax.js creates a layered depth effect on a web page where elements move at different speeds based on mouse position or device tilt.

What language is parallax written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, HTML, CSS.

How hard is parallax to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is parallax for?

Mainly designer.

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