Using external images for CSS custom cursors

Question

Is it possible to use external image URLs for CSS custom cursors? The following example doesn't work:

HTML:

<div class="test">TEST</div>

CSS:

.test {
  background:gray;
  width:200px;
  height:200px;
  cursor:url('http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/POL_apple.jpg');
}

Fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/wNKcU/4/

Similar to the use of favicon.ico icons, there are limits to what kind of image can be used for your custom cursor. Try using a smaller image. — vmarche
– vmarche, Commented Aug 31, 2013 at 18:26
@Zeaklous- Not a dup at all- I'm asking about external images — Yarin
– Yarin, Commented Aug 31, 2013 at 18:30

Taco · Accepted Answer · 2022-08-11 14:45:36Z

112

It wasn't working because your image was too big - there are restrictions on the image dimensions. In Firefox, for example, the size limit is 128x128px. See this page for more details.

Additionally, you also have to add in auto.

jsFiddle demo here - note that's an actual image, and not a default cursor.

.test {
  background:gray;
  width:200px;
  height:200px;
  cursor:url(http://www.javascriptkit.com/dhtmltutors/cursor-hand.gif), auto;
}

<div class="test">TEST</div>

edited Aug 11, 2022 at 14:45

Taco

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answered Aug 31, 2013 at 18:14

Josh Crozier

242k56 gold badges401 silver badges316 bronze badges

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6 Comments

Yarin Over a year ago

More info on size restrictions: "In Gecko (Firefox) the limit of the cursor size is 128×128px. Larger cursor images are ignored. However, you should limit yourself to the size 32×32 for maximum compatibility with operating systems and platforms." (From developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/cursor/…)

Silver Ringvee Over a year ago

Actually, you do not necessarily need to add "auto" as a second value, it could be anything from CSS cursor values, url() excluded of course. It works as a callback if the url() for some reason does not work.

abhisekp Over a year ago

@SilverRingvee you mean fallback if the url... ;) thanks

OXiGEN Over a year ago

Note that svg files with width and height values have to explicitly set those values within the 32x32 limit to show up. They will NOT auto scale to fit within the browser requirements.

LuckyLuke Skywalker Over a year ago

would be nice if one could simply get the standard cursor but use a filter on it or something

|

CFraser · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-10 18:22:48Z

9

I would put this as a comment, but I don't have the rep for it. What Josh Crozier answered is correct, but for IE .cur and .ani are the only supported formats for this. So you should probably have a fallback just in case:

.test {
    cursor:url("http://www.javascriptkit.com/dhtmltutors/cursor-hand.gif"), url(foo.cur), auto;
}

answered Aug 10, 2015 at 18:22

CFraser

1532 silver badges4 bronze badges

2 Comments

Leopoldo Sanczyk Over a year ago

Working example for IE versions.

LuckyLuke Skywalker Over a year ago

NOT THE CASE ANYMORE - NOWADAYS YOU CAN USE PNG ETC :)

yaya · Accepted Answer · 2019-10-24 20:20:40Z

6

cursor:url('http://www.javascriptkit.com/dhtmltutors/cursor-hand.gif'), auto

NOTE 1: In some cases you should consider setting the offset (anchor):

cursor:url(http://www.javascriptkit.com/dhtmltutors/cursor-hand.gif) 10 3, auto;

in this exmple, we set offsetx to 10 and offsety to 3 (from top left), so the pointer finger will be anchor. fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/5kxt1j98/ (you can see the difference by moving cursor to top left of container)

NOTE 2: THE MAX CURSOR SIZE IS 128*128, recommended one is below 32*32.

edited Oct 24, 2019 at 20:20

answered May 18, 2019 at 8:42

yaya

8,3311 gold badge48 silver badges44 bronze badges

Comments

Regina · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-15 09:54:08Z

Originally from a Codepen pen by Chris Coyier of Codepen/CSS-Tricks

.auto            { cursor: auto; }
.default         { cursor: default; }
.none            { cursor: none; }
.context-menu    { cursor: context-menu; }
.help            { cursor: help; }
.pointer         { cursor: pointer; }
.progress        { cursor: progress; }
.wait            { cursor: wait; }
.cell            { cursor: cell; }
.crosshair       { cursor: crosshair; }
.text            { cursor: text; }
.vertical-text   { cursor: vertical-text; }
.alias           { cursor: alias; }
.copy            { cursor: copy; }
.move            { cursor: move; }
.no-drop         { cursor: no-drop; }
.not-allowed     { cursor: not-allowed; }
.all-scroll      { cursor: all-scroll; }
.col-resize      { cursor: col-resize; }
.row-resize      { cursor: row-resize; }
.n-resize        { cursor: n-resize; }
.e-resize        { cursor: e-resize; }
.s-resize        { cursor: s-resize; }
.w-resize        { cursor: w-resize; }
.ns-resize       { cursor: ns-resize; }
.ew-resize       { cursor: ew-resize; }
.ne-resize       { cursor: ne-resize; }
.nw-resize       { cursor: nw-resize; }
.se-resize       { cursor: se-resize; }
.sw-resize       { cursor: sw-resize; }
.nesw-resize     { cursor: nesw-resize; }
.nwse-resize     { cursor: nwse-resize; }

body {
  text-align: center;
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol";

}
.cursors {
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
}
.cursors > div {
  flex: 150px;
  padding: 10px 2px;
  white-space: nowrap;
  border: 1px solid #eee;
  border-radius: 5px;
  margin: 0 5px 5px 0;
}
.cursors > div:hover {
  background: #eee;
}

HTML CSSResult
EDIT ON
.svg {
  cursor: url(https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s.cdpn.io/9632/heart.svg), auto;
}

.svg-base64 {
  cursor: url(data:text/html;base64,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), auto;
}

.png-base64 {
  cursor: url("data:image/png;base64,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"), auto;
}

.png {
  cursor: url("https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s.cdpn.io/9632/heart.png"), auto;
}

.gif {
  cursor: url("https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s.cdpn.io/9632/tina.gif"), auto;
}

.cursors {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: flex-start;
  align-items: stretch;
  height: 100vh;
}

.cursors > div {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  flex-grow: 1;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  padding: 10px 2px;
  text-align: center;
}

<h1>The Cursors of CSS</h1>

<div class="cursors">
    <div class="auto">auto</div>
    <div class="default">default</div>
    <div class="none">none</div>
    <div class="context-menu">context-menu</div>
    <div class="help">help</div>
    <div class="pointer">pointer</div>
    <div class="progress">progress</div>
    <div class="wait">wait</div>
    <div class="cell">cell</div>
    <div class="crosshair">crosshair</div>
    <div class="text">text</div>
    <div class="vertical-text">vertical-text</div>
    <div class="alias">alias</div>
    <div class="copy">copy</div>
    <div class="move">move</div>
    <div class="no-drop">no-drop</div>
    <div class="not-allowed">not-allowed</div>
    <div class="all-scroll">all-scroll</div>
    <div class="col-resize">col-resize</div>
    <div class="row-resize">row-resize</div>
    <div class="n-resize">n-resize</div>
    <div class="s-resize">s-resize</div>
    <div class="e-resize">e-resize</div>
    <div class="w-resize">w-resize</div>
    <div class="ns-resize">ns-resize</div>
    <div class="ew-resize">ew-resize</div>
    <div class="ne-resize">ne-resize</div>
    <div class="nw-resize">nw-resize</div>
    <div class="se-resize">se-resize</div>
    <div class="sw-resize">sw-resize</div>
    <div class="nesw-resize">nesw-resize</div>
    <div class="nwse-resize">nwse-resize</div>
</div>
<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
<h1>Custom Image</h1>
<div class="cursors">
  <div class="svg"><p>SVG</p></div>
  <div class="svg-base64">Base 64 SVG</div>
  <div class="png-base64">Base 64 PNG</div>
  <div class="png">PNG</div>
  <div class="gif">GIF</div>
</div>

+1 For exceptional code! Although an explanation for what each line does / means would have been helpful.

Pang · Accepted Answer · 2023-01-12 09:17:26Z

0

I found out that you need to add the pointer eg:

div{
    cursor: url('cursorurl.png'), pointer;
}

edited Jan 12, 2023 at 9:17

Pang

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answered Jun 12, 2020 at 2:08

Baraja Swargiary

4574 silver badges10 bronze badges

1 Comment

Momoro Over a year ago

Instead of pointer, auto would be more appropriate. And a valuable thing to mention is that the max cursor image size for Firefox is currently 128x128 pixels, no more --But you can make it within that range.

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