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/

possible duplicate of [Custom Cursor Image CSS](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/336925/custom-cursor-image-css) — Zach Saucier, Aug 31 '13 at 18:14
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, Aug 31 '13 at 18:26
@Zeaklous- Not a dup at all- I'm asking about external images — Yarin, Aug 31 '13 at 18:30

score 107 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 11 '22 at 14:45

107

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 '22 at 14:45

Taco

181
1
12

answered Aug 31 '13 at 18:14

Josh Crozier

233,099
56
391
304

17

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 https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/cursor/url?redirectlocale=en-US&redirectslug=CSS%2Fcursor%2Furl) – Yarin Aug 31 '13 at 18:37
4

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. – Silver Ringvee Nov 03 '15 at 13:30
9

@SilverRingvee you mean **fallback** if the url... ;) thanks – abhisekp Dec 15 '15 at 12:45
2

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. – OXiGEN Mar 18 '21 at 02:19
would be nice if one could simply get the standard cursor but use a filter on it or something – LuckyLuke Skywalker Apr 07 '22 at 18:00
updated link to icon size limitations: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/cursor#icon_size_limits – Gangula Jun 21 '23 at 06:22

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 10 '15 at 18:22

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 '15 at 18:22

CFraser

153
2
4

1

[Working example for IE versions](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7419314/custom-cursor-image-doesnt-work-in-all-ies#answer-35068297). – Leopoldo Sanczyk Mar 15 '16 at 19:50
1

NOT THE CASE ANYMORE - NOWADAYS YOU CAN USE PNG ETC :) – LuckyLuke Skywalker Apr 07 '22 at 18:02

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 15 '20 at 09:54

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,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAGQAAABkCAYAAABw4pVUAAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAyhpVFh0WE1MOmNvbS5hZG9iZS54bXAAAAAAADw/eHBhY2tldCBiZWdpbj0i77u/IiBpZD0iVzVNME1wQ2VoaUh6cmVTek5UY3prYzlkIj8+IDx4OnhtcG1ldGEgeG1sbnM6eD0iYWRvYmU6bnM6bWV0YS8iIHg6eG1wdGs9IkFkb2JlIFhNUCBDb3JlIDUuNi1jMDY3IDc5LjE1Nzc0NywgMjAxNS8wMy8zMC0yMzo0MDo0MiAgICAgICAgIj4gPHJkZjpSREYgeG1sbnM6cmRmPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8xOTk5LzAyLzIyLXJkZi1zeW50YXgtbnMjIj4gPHJkZjpEZXNjcmlwdGlvbiByZGY6YWJvdXQ9IiIgeG1sbnM6eG1wPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvIiB4bWxuczp4bXBNTT0iaHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL21tLyIgeG1sbnM6c3RSZWY9Imh0dHA6Ly9ucy5hZG9iZS5jb20veGFwLzEuMC9zVHlwZS9SZXNvdXJjZVJlZiMiIHhtcDpDcmVhdG9yVG9vbD0iQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENDIDIwMTUgKE1hY2ludG9zaCkiIHhtcE1NOkluc3RhbmNlSUQ9InhtcC5paWQ6M0EwMEYyRjlDMjZFMTFFNUI4QkRFMkRBRDg3QkNFRUQiIHhtcE1NOkRvY3VtZW50SUQ9InhtcC5kaWQ6M0EwMEYyRkFDMjZFMTFFNUI4QkRFMkRBRDg3QkNFRUQiPiA8eG1wTU06RGVyaXZlZEZyb20gc3RSZWY6aW5zdGFuY2VJRD0ieG1wLmlpZDozQTAwRjJGN0MyNkUxMUU1QjhCREUyREFEODdCQ0VFRCIgc3RSZWY6ZG9jdW1lbnRJRD0ieG1wLmRpZDozQTAwRjJGOEMyNkUxMUU1QjhCREUyREFEODdCQ0VFRCIvPiA8L3JkZjpEZXNjcmlwdGlvbj4gPC9yZGY6UkRGPiA8L3g6eG1wbWV0YT4gPD94cGFja2V0IGVuZD0iciI/Pi/X/ugAAAY6SURBVHja7J1bbBVFHMZ3pVajTQoxCCgaNECqJiJV41NFCdF6CRKrvrRcXkyMD6gQE16MMSbESx9INCYkeHkywRhNiJFUoK3EqDVoRVQIiBpoQDFKC4jYtK7fZP+L0+2e6V7ncvx/ydc953S7Z+b7dWbP7O6Z9YMg8Fj26AKOgIGwGAgDYTEQBsKqQA3yE9/3C28wCLd5C3wnfCPcAl8NN8GNtNrv8M/wN/BuuAfvfNxkECj3HCzuhm+ncs+DL6Nfj8Jn4CPwASp3H7wH5R4r/N7y0EM8iVygMj7cBm+BhwOx2Wweh3fCDwYaW614L3rPnVSGrOUepjqLuvtFgJxnUAQIgVgBD+aoTC0fhDuKVDBluTvovcoq9yBl4RsBgrUXwZ+VWKG4xX/ttRXAuIa2XVW5RSaLtAHBWtPgZ+GxCisV+QzcVSKMLtpm1eUeo4ymVQoEa8yEd2moUNyb0lZO8U+0yUC5RVYzKwGC386F9xuoVOT3g/8+pWWB0Uh/a6rcIrO5pQIhGEMGKxV5WxYoBGObBeUeUkHJBASvzoC/s6BSkd9J031RN7XVonKLDGcUAkIfD3ssqlTkF1MAecHCcvckfSzOAmSDhZWK/IgCxkMWl3tDLiB41gKPWlyxkSA8vBEv97ycRwt0WWTakgfIDosrFblP7gKoi93lQLl3ZAKCR+0OVCryGqncaxwqd3sSEF8GER3txSv9WCxx5Ij1r/ACenwInuVIuT9G2nfEj/Y2JPTBrQ7B8AjAeumxK1oisgaUr2qeDyGtdPC8zpOOno8SWU8AMqHLoj7rGDybz91p0S/wFXKfFT8ZdAPD0KrZlHnNc+pLOSPtWqoCspjz0a7FKiALOR/tWqgCMp/z0a75KiBNnI92Nak+9vJ3E0woCPxaLYRlWAzEvP5RARnhfLRrRAXkBOejXScYiF0aUgE5zPlo10EVkP2cj3Z9qwKyl/PRri9VA8Nm/DzpVfhVANYE/QlPx8BwLLGF+OFHMG4l+tQb/wZW0sDwA85Jm96LvzDpqhM8uxkP93BWlUt8b3EOWsgfMoNJLcQPdzIHOK/K9a6AEX+x1rGsLZxX5Xot6cVaF8pNpxHkpZxbJfoESbdFT5RdFnVbw1hs5twq0/O1fpHYQqiViKsAD3MrKV0f+eEEBV7qFkKtRFwz2835lSox5livWmGqE1QveeEUGKxy1O3Hjl2l7rKkruseLD7kLAtLHLgVF1efm5Rxmi5L6rq2Y/EG51l4ENiZBCNrlxXpKfhHzjW3ngaMwTQrTtllSV3XTVh8Dl/E+WbS20i1U7VCpi5L6rq+xuIxzjeTxDHBR7P8QabLgADlLSxe5pxT6Si8HJmdzZRx2i5L6rrELApb4Q7OvKbEjHltfspT4rm6LKmVjHthn9jPuSfqNHyfn/P6hFxXLuLN/sZiBfwF5z9Bf4lckM9A3g3kvpSUTve2e3wyS4ZxP3LpLbKRQtf2+uEFEcu4pXin4HuLwji/QylhVtJmeMChWRTKnnPlttIYlAGEoFwC9/7PYPwG31pqoygLCEG52PB0ejp9ND6rj3VAonEK/Hqdw/h+qnkUrQFCUMR34zbWKYyBNDONWgVEAvNEzim8bfV2sa8sPSddQAiKmG7vXB3AeDNInqzHLSAERUxWf9JhGBsrnYteNxCCcj18xDEQortdW/Wo0ggQgnIlvNcRGKOqmU/rAog0qu9zYPS9TNdxF6NACEqjZbNOx0ffrToPhBkHQlDE3W1etQyGmKN9ge4jk1YAkcA8ZwmMH+CrjGRgExCCstYwjH3w5cbqbxsQgtJlaFQ/QF+/8BjIZCidmqEIGM3G620rEILygKabAFgBw3ogBGV5xVCsgeEEkIqh7DO9z3ASCEF5uOR9ivhoa91E0c4AISirS4JxXNxU0so6ugSEoKwrCONUYPEk0c4BISjdBe66eZfVdXMUiE+3zMsK5HHPcjkJhKCIy4w+zQDjFc8BOQuEoMxKeeZxN3whA9EDpRU+q4BxLHDoPijOAyEoqxTnwducqks9ACEomxOAPONcPeoIiNjJD0ow+ovcd52BlAPlOtqfnLZ1JJ4FSIPnuPzwBvLr8HAcj39yvj6utox6Fd+ugoGwGAgDYeXVvwIMAGCAb3XkplDRAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC"), 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. — Momoro, Dec 08 '20 at 03:23

yaya · Answer 4 · 2019-10-24T20:20:40.200

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.

score 0 · Answer 5 · edited Jan 12 '23 at 09:17

0

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

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

edited Jan 12 '23 at 09:17

Pang

9,564
146
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122

answered Jun 12 '20 at 02:08

Baraja Swargiary

381
2
10

1

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. – Momoro Dec 08 '20 at 03:22

Using external images for CSS custom cursors

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