Cursora

GPU‑accelerated cursor trail effects for Windows — built with Tauri (Rust) + WebGL 2 (TypeScript).

Cursora runs as a click‑through overlay and renders particle trails using instanced drawing (up to 1,000 particles per frame) while keeping CPU usage low via adaptive cursor polling.

Features

• Click‑through always‑on‑top overlay (multi‑monitor aware)
• Live settings UI (effect, theme, engine tuning)
• Tail effects are plug‑ins: add one *Tail.ts file (+ shaders) and it auto‑appears in Settings
• GPU friendly: WebGL2 instanced particles, capped to 60 fps

Platform support

• Windows 10/11: supported (native cursor tracking + click‑through overlay are implemented via Win32)
• macOS/Linux: not currently supported as a full product experience (the app may build, but cursor tracking/overlay behavior are Windows-specific)

Download & install (recommended)

1. Go to Releases for this repository.
2. Download the latest Windows installer / .exe.
3. Run it.

On first launch, Cursora starts in the background and shows a system tray icon.

How to use

• Open tray menu: click the tray icon (left‑click shows the menu)
• Open Settings: tray menu → Open Settings
• Toggle Tail Effect: tray menu → Toggle Tail Effect
• Quit: tray menu → Quit Cursora

Settings overview

• Effects: enable/disable the tail effect and choose a style (Comet, Orb, Sparkle, …)
• Color Theme: pick a preset theme color
• Engine Tuning: adjust particle scale, trail lifespan, and opacity (changes apply instantly)
• Reset to Defaults: resets the currently selected tail’s settings

Troubleshooting

• I can’t click through the overlay
  • The overlay is designed to be click‑through. If it isn’t, try quitting and relaunching from the tray.
• High CPU/GPU usage
  • Effects are capped to 60 fps and idle aggressively when the cursor stops. If usage is still high, try lowering Opacity and Particle Scale.
• Nothing shows up
  • Ensure Tail Effect is enabled (Settings → Effects) and WebGL 2 is available on your machine/driver.

Privacy

Cursora tracks cursor position locally to render the effect. It does not need an account, and it does not send cursor data to a server.

Contributing

Most users just install and enjoy Cursora. If you want to build from source or contribute (especially new tail effects), see:

• CONTRIBUTING.md

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.

Copyright © 2026 Theekshana Nuwan (nuwandev)

See LICENSE and NOTICE.