Use when applying blur transitions or layered depth effects that need to feel smooth and controlled.
Real-world examples
Live HTML demos for this skill — rendered directly in the page. 4 examples.
- 01
Top chrome blur
Skill’s top progressive blur (12% height) softens a scrolling photo feed under a fixed status/nav edge — stepped backdrop-filter masks from 0.5px to 64px.
- 02
Bottom dock fade
Tall bottom progressive blur (65%) over landscape media so a docked player and CTA sit in soft depth without a hard edge or flat scrim.
- 03
Dual edge chrome
Top and bottom progressive blurs together — reading chrome that keeps header and footer legible while body content scrolls underneath.
- 04
Media caption veil
Bottom progressive blur tuned for full-bleed imagery: captions and controls emerge from stepped blur instead of a solid gradient overlay.
Skill markdown
# Progressive Blur Skill
## Workflow
1. Confirm placement (top or bottom), height, and z-index relative to UI.
2. Provide the matching snippet and a short usage checklist.
3. Offer only targeted tweaks (height, blur steps, direction, opacity stops).
## Usage checklist
- Insert the HTML inside `<body>`.
- Keep the `.gradient-blur` element near the top of the DOM.
- Ensure the background behind it exists (backdrop-filter blurs what is behind).
- Adjust `z-index` to sit above content but below modals.
## Top blur (from top)
```html
<div class="gradient-blur">
<div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>
</div>
<style>
.gradient-blur {
position: fixed;
z-index: 5;
inset: 0 0 auto 0;
height: 12%;
pointer-events: none;
}
.gradient-blur > div,
.gradient-blur::before,
.gradient-blur::after {
position: absolute;
inset: 0;
}
.gradient-blur::before {
content: "";
z-index: 1;
backdrop-filter: blur(0.5px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 12.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(1) {
z-index: 2;
backdrop-filter: blur(1px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 12.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(2) {
z-index: 3;
backdrop-filter: blur(2px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 25%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(3) {
z-index: 4;
backdrop-filter: blur(4px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(4) {
z-index: 5;
backdrop-filter: blur(8px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 87.5%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(5) {
z-index: 6;
backdrop-filter: blur(16px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(6) {
z-index: 7;
backdrop-filter: blur(32px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 100%);
}
.gradient-blur::after {
content: "";
z-index: 8;
backdrop-filter: blur(64px);
mask: linear-gradient(to top,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 87.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 100%);
}
</style>
```
## Bottom blur (from bottom)
```html
<div class="gradient-blur">
<div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>
</div>
<style>
.gradient-blur {
position: fixed;
z-index: 5;
inset: auto 0 0 0;
height: 65%;
pointer-events: none;
}
.gradient-blur > div,
.gradient-blur::before,
.gradient-blur::after {
position: absolute;
inset: 0;
}
.gradient-blur::before {
content: "";
z-index: 1;
backdrop-filter: blur(0.5px);
mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 12.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(1) {
z-index: 2;
backdrop-filter: blur(1px);
mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 12.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(2) {
z-index: 3;
backdrop-filter: blur(2px);
mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 25%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(3) {
z-index: 4;
backdrop-filter: blur(4px);
mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(4) {
z-index: 5;
backdrop-filter: blur(8px);
mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 87.5%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(5) {
z-index: 6;
backdrop-filter: blur(16px);
mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%);
}
.gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(6) {
z-index: 7;
backdrop-filter: blur(32px);
mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 100%);
}
.gradient-blur::after {
content: "";
z-index: 8;
backdrop-filter: blur(64px);
mask: linear-g
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