Stencil Guide

Table of Contents

1. Installation
2. Custom Elements Registration
3. Basic Usage
4. Engine Initialization
5. Custom Configuration
6. Component Lifecycle
7. TypeScript Example

---

Installation

Install the Stencil wrapper and the tsParticles engine via npm:

npm install @tsparticles/stencil tsparticles

Optionally install a preset bundle to reduce manual configuration:

npm install @tsparticles/slim

---

Custom Elements Registration

The @tsparticles/stencil package provides a defineCustomElements function that registers the <stencil-particles> custom element with the browser. Call it once before using the component anywhere in your app.

import { defineCustomElements } from "@tsparticles/stencil/loader";

// Register the <stencil-particles> element
defineCustomElements();

For Stencil projects using lazy-loading, call this inside componentWillLoad or in your app's root component to ensure the element is available before rendering.

---

Basic Usage

Once the custom element is registered, you can use <stencil-particles> in your JSX with an options prop and an init callback to load the required engine features.

import { Component, h } from "@stencil/core";
import type { ISourceOptions } from "@tsparticles/engine";
import { loadSlim } from "@tsparticles/slim";

const options: ISourceOptions = {
  fpsLimit: 60,
  particles: {
    number: { value: 80 },
    color: { value: "#00d4ff" },
    shape: { type: "circle" },
    opacity: { value: 0.6 },
    size: { value: { min: 2, max: 5 } },
    links: {
      enable: true,
      distance: 150,
      color: "#00d4ff",
      opacity: 0.3,
      width: 1,
    },
    move: {
      enable: true,
      speed: 1.5,
      direction: "none",
      random: true,
      outModes: { default: "bounce" },
    },
  },
  background: { color: "#0d1117" },
};

@Component({ tag: "my-particles" })
export class MyParticles {
  render() {
    return (
      <stencil-particles
        container-id="tsparticles"
        options={options}
        init={async (engine) => {
          await loadSlim(engine);
        }}
      />
    );
  }
}

---

Engine Initialization

The init prop receives the engine instance and lets you load the features you need. This is the recommended place to call loadSlim, loadFull, or individual updater/interaction plugins.

import { loadSlim } from "@tsparticles/slim";
import { loadFull } from "tsparticles";
import { loadConfettiPreset } from "@tsparticles/preset-confetti";

// Option A: lightweight (circles, basic movement, links)
init={async engine => { await loadSlim(engine); }}

// Option B: full feature set (all shapes, effects, presets)
init={async engine => { await loadFull(engine); }}

// Option C: presets (confetti, fireworks, snow, stars)
init={async engine => { await loadConfettiPreset(engine); }}

The engine instance is also accessible after initialization through the container-id attribute, allowing you to programmatically control the particle system later if needed.

---

Custom Configuration

Below is a full configuration with interactivity, multiple shape types, and hover/click modes.

import { Component, h } from "@stencil/core";
import type { ISourceOptions } from "@tsparticles/engine";
import { loadSlim } from "@tsparticles/slim";

const fullOptions: ISourceOptions = {
  fpsLimit: 60,
  particles: {
    number: {
      value: 60,
      density: { enable: true, width: 800, height: 800 },
    },
    color: {
      value: ["#ff6b6b", "#feca57", "#48dbfb", "#ff9ff3", "#54a0ff"],
    },
    shape: {
      type: ["circle", "triangle", "polygon"],
      options: {
        polygon: { sides: 6 },
      },
    },
    opacity: { value: { min: 0.4, max: 0.8 } },
    size: { value: { min: 3, max: 8 } },
    links: {
      enable: true,
      distance: 200,
      color: "#ffffff",
      opacity: 0.15,
      width: 1,
    },
    move: {
      enable: true,
      speed: 2,
      direction: "none",
      random: true,
      straight: false,
      outModes: { default: "out" },
    },
  },
  interactivity: {
    events: {
      onHover: { enable: true, mode: "attract" },
      onClick: { enable: true, mode: "repulse" },
    },
    modes: {
      attract: { distance: 200, duration: 0.4, factor: 1 },
      repulse: { distance: 200, duration: 0.4 },
    },
  },
  background: {
    color: "#0f0f23",
  },
};

@Component({ tag: "app-particles" })
export class AppParticles {
  render() {
    return (
      <stencil-particles
        container-id="tsparticles"
        options={fullOptions}
        init={async (engine) => {
          await loadSlim(engine);
        }}
      />
    );
  }
}

---

Component Lifecycle

In Stencil, the recommended lifecycle hook for one-time setup is componentWillLoad. Use it to register custom elements and manage initialization state so that the <stencil-particles> component only renders when the engine is prepared.

import { Component, h, State } from "@stencil/core";
import type { ISourceOptions } from "@tsparticles/engine";
import { defineCustomElements } from "@tsparticles/stencil/loader";
import { loadSlim } from "@tsparticles/slim";

@Component({ tag: "app-root" })
export class AppRoot {
  @State() private engineReady = false;

  private options: ISourceOptions = {
    particles: {
      number: { value: 50 },
      color: { value: "#ffffff" },
      shape: { type: "circle" },
      opacity: { value: 0.6 },
      size: { value: { min: 1, max: 4 } },
      move: {
        enable: true,
        speed: 1,
        outModes: { default: "bounce" },
      },
    },
    background: { color: "#1a1a2e" },
  };

  componentWillLoad() {
    defineCustomElements();
    this.engineReady = true;
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        <h1>tsParticles + Stencil</h1>
        {this.engineReady && (
          <stencil-particles
            container-id="tsparticles"
            options={this.options}
            init={async (engine) => {
              await loadSlim(engine);
            }}
          />
        )}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

Using @State() ensures the component re-renders when the engine becomes ready, and the conditional render prevents the particles container from mounting before the custom element is defined.

---

TypeScript Example

Here is a complete, typed Stencil application component that integrates tsParticles with the slim preset, hover interactivity, and a custom dark theme.

import { Component, h, State, Prop } from "@stencil/core";
import type { Container, Engine, ISourceOptions } from "@tsparticles/engine";
import { defineCustomElements } from "@tsparticles/stencil/loader";
import { loadSlim } from "@tsparticles/slim";

@Component({
  tag: "app-home",
  styleUrl: "app-home.css",
  shadow: true,
})
export class AppHome {
  @State() private initialized = false;

  @Prop() readonly title: string = "Welcome";

  private container?: Container;

  private readonly options: ISourceOptions = {
    fullScreen: { enable: true, zIndex: -1 },
    fpsLimit: 60,
    particles: {
      number: { value: 80, density: { enable: true } },
      color: { value: "#6366f1" },
      shape: { type: "circle" },
      opacity: { value: { min: 0.3, max: 0.7 } },
      size: { value: { min: 2, max: 6 } },
      links: {
        enable: true,
        distance: 160,
        color: "#6366f1",
        opacity: 0.25,
        width: 1,
      },
      move: {
        enable: true,
        speed: 1.2,
        direction: "none",
        random: false,
        straight: false,
        outModes: { default: "bounce" },
      },
    },
    interactivity: {
      events: {
        onHover: { enable: true, mode: "grab" },
        onClick: { enable: true, mode: "push" },
      },
      modes: {
        grab: { distance: 180, links: { opacity: 0.6 } },
        push: { quantity: 3 },
      },
    },
    background: { color: "#0a0a1a" },
  };

  componentWillLoad() {
    defineCustomElements();
    this.initialized = true;
  }

  private handleInit = async (engine: Engine): Promise<void> => {
    await loadSlim(engine);
  };

  private handleLoaded = async (container?: Container): Promise<void> => {
    this.container = container;
    console.log("Particles container loaded:", container?.id);
  };

  render() {
    return (
      <div class="home">
        <h1>{this.title}</h1>
        <p>Powered by tsParticles and Stencil</p>

        {this.initialized && (
          <stencil-particles
            container-id="tsparticles"
            options={this.options}
            init={this.handleInit}
            particlesLoaded={this.handleLoaded}
          />
        )}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

The particlesLoaded event fires once the first frame is rendered, giving you access to the Container instance for programmatic control (play, pause, stop, switch themes).

---

Reactive Behavior

The component reloads particles when container-id, options, or url props change. Changes to theme apply the theme via loadTheme without a full reload — this requires the optional @tsparticles/plugin-themes package to be loaded (safe no-op otherwise).

Cleanup

When the component is removed from the DOM, the particles container is automatically destroyed, stopping all animations and freeing resources.

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You now have everything needed to integrate tsParticles into a Stencil application. Each example is self-contained and ready to be copied into your project.