palp-ictus

Zero-dependency TypeScript library for browser gesture recognition built on Pointer Events.

Works with mouse, touch, and pen — any input that fires pointer events.

Gestures

| Gesture | Trigger | |--------------|----------------------------------------| | tap | Quick touch / click without movement | | doubleTap | Two taps in quick succession | | longTap | Press and hold | | swipeLeft | Fast horizontal stroke to the left | | swipeRight | Fast horizontal stroke to the right | | swipeUp | Fast vertical stroke upward | | swipeDown | Fast vertical stroke downward |

Install

npm install palp-ictus

Quick start

import { attachGestures } from 'palp-ictus';

const destroy = attachGestures(document.body, {
  tap: {
    callback: (e) => console.log('tap at', e.clientX, e.clientY),
  },
  swipeLeft: {
    callback: () => console.log('swipe left'),
  },
});

// When you no longer need gesture tracking:
// destroy();

Multiple gestures

attachGestures(element, {
  tap:       { callback: onTap },
  doubleTap: { callback: onDouble, options: { window: 400 } },
  longTap:   { callback: onLongPress, options: { holdTime: 600 } },
  swipeLeft:  { callback: onSwipeLeft },
  swipeRight: { callback: onSwipeRight, options: { minDistance: 80 } },
});

Configuration

Every gesture accepts optional tuning parameters via options.

TapConfig

| Option | Type | Default | Description | |-------------|--------|---------|-------------------------------------------------| | tolerance | number | 10 | Max pointer travel (px) before tap is cancelled | | grace | number | 300 | Defer window (ms) for double-tap resolution |

DoubleTapConfig

| Option | Type | Default | Description | |-------------|--------|---------|-----------------------------------------------| | window | number | 300 | Max interval (ms) between two taps | | proximity | number | 30 | Max spatial distance (px) between two taps |

LongTapConfig

| Option | Type | Default | Description | |------------|--------|---------|------------------------------------------------| | holdTime | number | 500 | Required press duration (ms) | | drift | number | 25 | Max allowed drift (px) before gesture cancels |

SwipeConfig

| Option | Type | Default | Description | |---------------|--------|---------|------------------------------------------------------| | minDistance | number | 50 | Minimum travel distance (px) to qualify as a swipe | | maxDuration | number | 300 | Maximum stroke time (ms); slower strokes are ignored |

Advanced

The library also exports individual sensor factories for custom setups:

import {
  createTapSensor,
  createSwipeSensor,
  createEngine,
} from 'palp-ictus';

const engine = createEngine(element, [
  createTapSensor({ tolerance: 15 }),
  createSwipeSensor({ minDistance: 60 }),
], {
  tap: (e) => { /* ... */ },
  swipeLeft: (e) => { /* ... */ },
});

// engine(); // teardown

License

AGPL-3.0-only

Copyright (C) 2026 Родионов Владимир