Set of nice spinners for imgui

headers

The library is header-only and split into add-on files; each one includes the one below it, so just include the highest level you need:

header	what you get	includes
imspinner.h	the spinners themselves	—
imspinner_compat.h	Spinner<> typed dispatcher	imspinner.h + imspinner_bars.h
imspinner_bars.h	bar-chart spinners (e.g. SpinnerFadeBars)	imspinner.h
imspinner_dots.h	dot-based spinners (e.g. SpinnerBounceDots)	imspinner.h
imspinner_text.h	text loaders (e.g. SpinnerTextFade)	imspinner.h
imspinner_shapes.h	shape spinners (e.g. SpinnerMorphShape)	imspinner.h
imspinner_demo.h	the interactive demo gallery (demoSpinners())	above + imspinner_compat.h

#include "../imspinner/imspinner.h"          // graphical spinners only
// or
#include "../imspinner/imspinner_text.h"     // + text loaders
// or
#include "../imspinner/imspinner_demo.h"     // + interactive demo

// use a single spinner anywhere inside an ImGui window:
ImSpinner::SpinnerRainbow("rainbow", 16.f, 2.f, ImColor(255, 255, 255), 8.f);

how to test

1. include the demo header (no #define needed — including it is the opt-in) and call demoSpinners() once per frame:

#include "../imspinner/imspinner_demo.h"

int main(int, char**) {
  ...
  while (!done) {
     ...
     ImSpinner::demoSpinners();
  }
}

2. enable edit mode with checkbox 'show number' or play with options

bar spinners

Bar-chart and fading-bar spinners live in imspinner_bars.h. SpinnerBarChartSine is also wired into the core Spinner<e_st_barchartsine> dispatcher.

#include "../imspinner/imspinner_bars.h"   // pulls in imspinner.h
...
ImSpinner::SpinnerFadeBars("bars", 6.f, ImColor(255, 255, 255), 2.8f, 3);
ImSpinner::SpinnerBarChartRainbow("rainbow", 16.f, 4.f, ImColor(255, 255, 255), 4.f);

function	effect
SpinnerFadeBars	vertical bars fade in sequence (scale stretches height)
SpinnerBarsRotateFade	radial bars rotate with fading opacity
SpinnerBarsScaleMiddle	bars scale from the centre outward
SpinnerBarChartSine	sine-wave bar chart (also Spinner<e_st_barchartsine>)
SpinnerBarChartAdvSine	dense sine bars with horizontal wobble
SpinnerBarChartAdvSineFade	dense sine bars with fade
SpinnerBarChartRainbow	rainbow bars with independent wave heights
SpinnerFluid	fluid equalizer-style columns
SpinnerFluidPoints	fluid columns drawn as stacked dots
SpinnerBarsSeqPulse	three bars shrink height in sequence
SpinnerBarsCascadeGrow	bottom bars grow in a cascade
SpinnerBarsRise	three bars slide upward with stagger
SpinnerBarsCornerHop	bars hop diagonally toward the top
SpinnerBarsDiagonalGrow	bars step through corner positions
SpinnerBarsBounceCenter	centre-anchored bars bounce between slots
SpinnerBarsScaleAlt	bars pulse height with alternate timing
SpinnerBarsCornerWave	bottom bars step in a corner wave
SpinnerBarsJump	bars swap between top and bottom
SpinnerBarsDoubleRow	two rows of bar segments slide horizontally
SpinnerBarsSixPulse	six corner bars pulse height 50↔30%
SpinnerBarsSixStagger	six bars shrink in staggered wave order
SpinnerBarsMorphPlus	five bars morph tall→square→wide
SpinnerBarsFlipSix	six bars shrink while positions flip every 2 s
SpinnerBarsSwapTriBottom	three bars swap bottom anchors while shrinking
SpinnerBarsSwapTriZigzag	three bars zigzag between corner pairs
SpinnerBarsMorphDiagonal	three diagonal bars morph tall→square→wide
SpinnerBarsSlideDiagonal	three diagonal bars shrink while outers swap
SpinnerBarsConicAlternate	two conic-corner tiles slide diagonally
`SpinnerBarsConicWalk$	\text{two} \text{conic} \text{corners} \text{step} \text{a} 2 \times 2 \text{path}
$SpinnerBarsMarchIn`	four stripe rows march in from the left
SpinnerBarsMarchDown	four stripe rows drop in from the top
SpinnerBarsWaveSkew	four rows skew diagonally then reset
SpinnerBarsRowDrop	four rows drop one-by-one
SpinnerBarsZigzagRows	four rows alternate stripe alignment
SpinnerBarsFillCascade	rows fill left→right in stagger
SpinnerBarsPingPongRows	rows ping-pong stripe alignment
SpinnerBarsWaveRowsWide	four rows wave centre↔edges
`SpinnerBarsGridFade$	3 \times 3 \text{dot} \text{grid} \text{fade} \text{wave}
$SpinnerBarsGridSpread$	3 \times 3 \text{dot} \text{grid} \text{spread} \text{pulse}
$SpinnerBarsStretch`	three pill bars stretch vertically from a centre dot
SpinnerBarsStretchSeq	three pill bars grow to full height one-by-one
SpinnerBarsBounceBall	ball rolls across three bars while bouncing
SpinnerBarsKnockDots	bouncing bar knocks a row of dots downward
SpinnerBarsStaircase	ball bounces down a descending staircase of bars
SpinnerBarsKnockAway	bar knocks two dots down then shoves the last away
SpinnerBarsGates	column gates retract to let a ball roll through
SpinnerBarsCapture	ball rolls to the centre and the gate traps it
SpinnerBarsEscape	trapped ball slips aside and shoots out of the top
SpinnerBarsDevour	ball swallows two dots, grows, then dashes away
SpinnerBarsLift	three tall rounded bars rise in a staggered wave
SpinnerBarsGapSlide	a round gap travels along three static bars
SpinnerBarsConverge	bar and dot meet in the centre of each column
SpinnerBarsSwapEnds	bar and dot swap top/bottom ends in a wave
SpinnerBarsRelay	bars drop, rise with dots, then dots drop in a wave
SpinnerBarsPush	descending dots push the bars down column by column
SpinnerBarsPushWave	a single dot-push travels across the columns
SpinnerBarsGather	four arms assemble a rotating plus around a dot
SpinnerBarsSplit	two bars spread from the centre while the figure rotates
SpinnerBarsSlot	a dot passes through two opening bars while rotating

mode	effect
0	default timing and direction
1	alternate animation per spinner (sync pulse, reverse stagger, top anchor, single walking tile, synchronized rows, reverse grid wave, etc.)
2	reversed timeline (t → 1−t)

function	effect
SpinnerDotsBarsGrowSync	three bars grow in sync; end dots ride top/bottom
SpinnerDotsBarsGrowCascade	columns grow one after another
SpinnerDotsBarsDotRun	three bottom bars; dot runs along the top
SpinnerDotsBarsBarRun	three top dots bounce; bar runs below
SpinnerDotsBarsDotArc	tiered bars; dot arcs diagonally
SpinnerDotsBarsBarJump	bar jumps along the bottom; dots swap above
SpinnerDotsBarsHalfPulse	six half-bars pulse; dot walks left→right
SpinnerDotsBarsHalfPulseMid	like HalfPulse; dot stops at centre
SpinnerDotsBarsHalfPulseExit	like HalfPulseMid; dot exits upward
SpinnerDotsBarsVersus	wide arena — scaling dot vs shuttling bar
SpinnerDotsBarsMaskGrow	three bars grow upward with cap dots
SpinnerDotsBarsMaskCascade	cap dots slide along full-height bars
SpinnerDotsBarsColSplit	bars split around dots per column
SpinnerDotsBarsColSwap	bars and dots swap top/bottom
SpinnerDotsBarsColDrop	bars shrink from bottom in sequence
SpinnerDotsBarsSwapAlt	bars and dots bounce in alternating order
SpinnerDotsBarsSwapLoop	continuous SwapAlt loop
SpinnerDotsBarsCrossSpin	four bars slide in; frame rotates 90°
SpinnerDotsBarsRailSpin	bar–dot–bar slides off-screen while rotating
SpinnerDotsBarsRailOrbit	like RailSpin; dot also orbits vertically

These also accept optional mode (0 = default, 2 = reversed timeline).

dot spinners

A large family of dot-based spinners lives in the imspinner_dots.h add-on. They mostly share the shape SpinnerXxxDots(const char *label, float radius, float thickness, ImColor color = white, float speed = 2.8f, …), where the trailing count argument is usually dots/lt (number of dots). SpinnerDots additionally takes a float* phase pointer; some take bg/mode/delta. (SpinnerDots and SpinnerVDots stay in the core imspinner.h because the Spinner<> dispatcher references them.)

#include "../imspinner/imspinner_dots.h"   // pulls in imspinner.h
...
ImSpinner::SpinnerBounceDots("dots", 16.f, 6.f, ImColor(255, 255, 255), 6.f, 3);

function	effect
SpinnerDots	dots fade in turn around a circle (also exposed via Spinner<e_st_dots>)
SpinnerVDots	ring of dots with a second rotating set (also Spinner<e_st_vdots>)
SpinnerBounceDots	a few dots bounce up in sequence
SpinnerZipDots	dots zip together and apart
SpinnerDotsToPoints	dots contract from a ring toward points
SpinnerDotsToBar	dots line up into a bar and back
SpinnerWaveDots	a row of dots ripples in a sine wave
SpinnerFadeDots	dots fade in/out in sequence
SpinnerThreeDots	three pulsing dots
SpinnerFiveDots	five pulsing dots
SpinnerMultiFadeDots	multiple rows of fading dots
SpinnerScaleDots	dots scale up/down in turn
SpinnerMovingDots	dots travel across and wrap around
SpinnerRotateDots	groups of dots rotate around the centre
SpinnerOrionDots	dots spread along rotating arcs
SpinnerGalaxyDots	dots swirl along galaxy-like arms
SpinnerIncDots	dots light up incrementally around a circle
SpinnerIncFullDots	incremental dots filling the full ring
SpinnerIncScaleDots	dots scale up incrementally around a circle
SpinnerSomeScaleDots	a subset of dots scales in turn
SpinnerDotsLoading	dots with a separate background ring
SpinnerSquareRandomDots	dots blink at random inside a square grid
SpinnerHboDots	HBO-style fading dots
SpinnerMoonDots	two dots chasing like a moon orbit
SpinnerTwinHboDots	two interleaved HBO dot rings
SpinnerThreeDotsStar	three dots arranged/rotating in a star
SpinnerSwingDots	dots swinging like a pendulum
SpinnerDnaDots	dots winding along a DNA double helix
Spinner3SmuggleDots	three dots weaving/smuggling past each other
SpinnerDotsTyping	a row of dots appears one by one, then resets (typing)
SpinnerDotsStep	a single dot hops across slots left→right, then loops
SpinnerDotsGather	a row of dots spreads apart and squeezes together
SpinnerDotsShift	three dots; the side dots shuffle in/out around a fixed centre
SpinnerDotsOrbit	three dots dance — one orbits a half-circle over the others
SpinnerDotsCircle	two dots slide while a third orbits a full circle
SpinnerDotsSquare	three dots chase around the corners of a square
SpinnerDotsShuffle	four dots fan out into loops and shuffle back into a row
SpinnerDotsSplit	three dot pairs open to the edges and close, in a left→right wave
SpinnerDotsLeader	a leader dot sweeps left→right while trailing pairs shift columns
SpinnerDotsRolling	a row of dots mirror-flips while a rotating overlay carousels them
SpinnerDotsTriangle	three dots on a triangle rotate one corner clockwise each half-cycle
`SpinnerDotsCascade$	\text{three} \text{dots} \text{drop} \text{one}-\text{by}-\text{one} \text{into} \text{a} 3 \times 3 \text{grid}, \text{pause}, \text{then} \text{fall} \text{to} \text{the} \text{bottom} \text{row}
$SpinnerDotsSwap`	a fixed centre dot; two satellites cycle horizontal → diagonal → vertical → swapped
SpinnerDotsSpread	four dots stack left, fan into a row, pause, then collapse to the right
SpinnerDotsTwin	two mirrored dot-halves slide −25%, spin one turn, then slide back
SpinnerDotsHop	two dots drop in turn while a third rolls across the top with a hop
SpinnerDotsJiggle	side dots wobble at 40%/90%; the centre dot shakes elastically
SpinnerDotsVibrate	static side dots; the centre dot vibrates horizontally (1s) and vertically (0.5s)
SpinnerDotsWiper	static side dots; two semicircles swing ±90° from left/right pivots
SpinnerDotsCollapse	four dots collapse inward in turn while a spread ring grows, then snap back
SpinnerDotsFlip	two columns of dots flip ±180° about the bottom pivot with a vertical bounce
SpinnerDotsTurn	two columns rotate −270° — left pivots at bottom, right at top (last 30% of cycle)
SpinnerDotsCarousel	two dot-pairs swap via rotate-translate-rotate while the row slides 37.5%
SpinnerDotsHalfTurn	two dot-pairs at edges and thirds; both rotate ±180° in the last 20% of the cycle
SpinnerDotsSlideFlip	two halves slide toward centre while flipping ±180° about their inner dot
SpinnerDotsStaggerTurn	two offset dot-pairs rotate 180° in alternation (0.5 s stagger)
SpinnerDotsStretch	two bars stretch (aspect 2.3→3.7) while bouncing ±8px in opposite directions
SpinnerDotsMirrorStretch	like Stretch plus translateX(±19px); loader mirror-flips vertically every 2 s
SpinnerDotsPinch	centre dot + 4 satellites pinch inward (box-shadow) while the group rotates 180°
SpinnerDotsCorners	four corner dots chase clockwise around a square (0.5 s per edge)
SpinnerDotsNudgeRotate	two halves nudge ±400%/14 (30–70%) while the loader rotates 180° (30–50%)
SpinnerDotsUnfold	four dots stack left then spread to 0/⅓/⅔/100%; mirror-flips every 1.5 s
SpinnerDotsShuttle	two fixed middle dots; end dots run a mirrored □ path (down → across → up)
SpinnerDotsSpreadShuttle	like Shuttle but shorter hop (400%/3); middle dots spread to edges (60–100%)
SpinnerDotsTriad	two 3-dot clusters spread vertically then swap columns (0↔⅓, ⅔↔1)
SpinnerDotsSatellite	static end dots; two centre dots orbit them (±1 turn, 0.5 s stagger)
SpinnerDotsTrack	static end dots; two middle dots follow translate(±37.5%)+rotate (2 s loop)

text loaders

imspinner_text.h adds a family of animated text loaders "Loading…" effects. They share a common signature SpinnerTextXxx(const char *label, float radius, ImColor color = white, float speed = …, …, const char *text = "Loading...") and the text is auto-scaled to fit a 2*radius-wide cell. A few take extra params (thickness, mode, etc.) see the notes column.

#include "../imspinner/imspinner_text.h"
...
ImSpinner::SpinnerTextTyping("typing", 30.f, ImColor(255, 255, 255), 1.f, 3, "Loading...");

function	effect	notes
SpinnerTextFade	whole text pulses opacity in/out
SpinnerTextFading	per-character fading shimmer runs over the text	takes text, radius, fsize
SpinnerTextUnderline	underline bar grows left→right	thickness
SpinnerTextUnderlineDots	dashed underline lights up dash by dash	thickness, dashes
SpinnerTextTyping	trailing chars reveal one by one	tail (≤0 = whole word)
SpinnerTextScroll	seamless horizontal marquee
SpinnerTextColorFill	two-tone fill / single moving highlight	bg, mode (0 fill, 1 highlight)
SpinnerTextScrollColors	multi-color scrolling marquee
SpinnerTextColorCycle	text wipes through a 4-color palette
SpinnerTextBounce	alternating letters bob up/down
SpinnerTextSplit	top/bottom halves slide apart and wrap	mode (0 sync, 1 delayed)
SpinnerTextUnderlineScroll	underline fills, then the text scrolls away	thickness
SpinnerTextRoll	alternating letters roll vertically
SpinnerTextColorful	per-letter color blink (rainbow palette)
SpinnerTextCascade	letters drop in from above / fall out one by one
SpinnerTextConveyor	letters slide in from the right / out the left
SpinnerTextReveal	letters fade in, then out, sequentially
SpinnerTextWave	a hop wave travels across the letters
SpinnerTextSweep	a bar sweeps across, inverting the text inside it	bg
SpinnerTextShine	a glint band passes over the text	bg
SpinnerTextScrollSweep	scroll + full-width inverting sweep	bg
SpinnerTextSpotlight	a round spotlight scans back and forth
SpinnerTextShake	the whole word jitters between offsets	mode (0 snap, 1 smooth)
SpinnerTextFlip	flat "card flip" (rotateX → rotateY → scale)
SpinnerTextSpin	the two halves spin a full turn alternately
SpinnerTextTumble	spin + flips	mode (0 flat, 1 3D perspective)
SpinnerTextSwirl	alternating letters counter-rotate about the centre
SpinnerTextRollWave	vertical roll wave across the letters
SpinnerTextVibrate	nervous per-letter vibration
SpinnerTextGlitch	RGB-split chromatic-aberration buzz	fixed R/G/B (no color)
SpinnerTextBlur	random letters flicker out of focus	faked halo (no real blur)
SpinnerTextDropout	characters blink out (missing letters)
SpinnerTextScanline	VHS scanline displacement glitch	mode (0 horizontal, 1 vertical)
SpinnerTextSquash	a scanning band squashes the text vertically
SpinnerTextScramble	slot-machine scramble of the letters	fixed "Loading..." (no text)
SpinnerTextDecode	letters decode/encode into symbols
SpinnerTextVanish	letters fly up & fade out, then drop back in

shape spinners

imspinner_shapes.h adds a family of shape-morphing spinners — squares, triangles, discs and arrows that fold, tumble, skew and spin. They are kept out of imspinner.h and surface under the Shapes tab of the demo gallery. Each one shares the standard signature SpinnerXxx(const char *label, float radius, float thickness, const ImColor &color = white, float speed = 1.f, int mode = 0). Most use the loader's own fixed colour (the color argument is ignored), and mode = 2 runs the timeline in reverse.

#include "../imspinner/imspinner_shapes.h"   // pulls in imspinner.h
...
ImSpinner::SpinnerMorphShape("morph", 16.f, 1.f);
ImSpinner::SpinnerPinwheel("pinwheel", 16.f, 1.f, ImColor(255, 255, 255), 1.f, 0);

function	effect
SpinnerMorphShape	a blob morphs circle → square → triangle, recolouring at each step
SpinnerFlipTriangle	a 3-corner triangle "rolls" around the box, one vertex sliding per quarter
SpinnerFoldSquare	two triangles fold the square over onto the other diagonal
SpinnerPinwheel	four wedges pull apart into a pinwheel while spinning (box pulses 40→60)
SpinnerCornerSquares	four corner squares spread, step one corner clockwise, then shrink back
SpinnerSplitSquare	two halves slide apart into interlocking triangles and back
SpinnerCornerBurst	static diamond + four corner triangles burst out, rotate 90°, snap back
SpinnerSkewSquare	halves fly to opposite corners, return, then skewX reforms the square on the other diagonal
SpinnerTumbleSquare	stacked squares swing ±180° about bottom corners while the block climbs and flips
SpinnerTriDiamond	two halves morph triangle ↔ diamond while the container flips and turns 180°
SpinnerTwinBlades	two triangular blades spin in stepped half-turns, offset 90°
SpinnerCrossBlades	static bow-tie + two blades rotate −270° about opposite corners; container mirrors
SpinnerDriftSquare	two halves drift together along a diagonal, rotate 180°, return
SpinnerPieBounce	a 270° pie steps 90° per second while a rounded quarter bounces into the gap
SpinnerLeapFrog	two half-panels hinged at bottom-centre fold ±90° while the assembly climbs and flips
SpinnerPlusSquares	static plus; four corner squares expand, rotate 90°, contract
SpinnerSevenMarch	two point-reflected "7" tiles march up/right and rotate −90°
SpinnerCornerArcs	centre dot + annulus splits into four quarter-arcs that pull apart and rotate 90°
SpinnerWalkBlocks	two half-squares walk apart/down while the bar climbs and flips
SpinnerTumbleHalfDisc	a disc of two semicircles tumbles, folding about the bottom point, while climbing
SpinnerFoldHalfDisc	two semicircles swap places, each rotating about a box corner
SpinnerWiperArrow	conic-wedge arrow; two corner triangles wipe like windshield wipers; container flips/rotates
SpinnerSkewSquares	a diagonal band skews while two corner triangles rotate 180° with a growing outline
SpinnerStretchSquares	two overlapping squares slide apart diagonally, then squeeze to half width / double height
SpinnerTriPie	three 120° pie wedges bloom apart from a disc, spin 180°, then close back together
SpinnerShuffleBars	a square splits into two interlocking combs that slide apart, shuffle a cell, and reassemble
SpinnerHingeTumble	a square with two triangular flaps hinged at one corner swings them ±90° and tumbles around it
SpinnerDiagonalFlip	a diagonally-split square swings one half out on a hinge, then flips to split along the other diagonal
`SpinnerPulseGrid$	\text{a} 3 \times 3 \text{grid} \text{of} \text{squares} \text{pulses} \text{between} \text{a} \text{packed} \text{solid} \text{block} \text{and} \text{a} \text{spread}-\text{apart} \text{dotted} \text{grid}
$SpinnerMarchGrid$	\text{a} 3 \times 3 \text{grid} \text{whose} \text{eight} \text{outer} \text{squares} \text{march} \text{one} \text{cell} \text{clockwise} \text{around} \text{the} \text{ring} \text{while} \text{it} \text{pulses}
$SpinnerSpinBars`	three vertical bars spread apart, quarter-turn together, then pack back into a square
SpinnerMorphDots	squares morph between a quincunx and a plus, passing through three solid bars
SpinnerCombDiscs	two complementary striped discs slide apart, spin 180°, and re-interlock into a solid circle
SpinnerOrbitDisc	a striped disc orbits a half-circle around its static twin, spinning 180°, then re-merges

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

License

MIT