Solari split-flap
A satisfying split-flap experiment in the browser with sound.
Jake Weidman pinged on WhatsApp with this tweet. That tweet is on quite a journey itself, but it got me interested in building this out with Claude. A few minutes later I had a base version ready.
Solari is open-source. All source code lives on GitHub: github.com/hardikpandya/solari-split-flap.
It is a Solari-style split-flap display built with vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. No dependencies, no frameworks, no build step, just a single HTML file in the repo.
Each cell has a physical drum that only spins forward, cycling through every intermediate character in sequence (space, A through Z, 0 through 9, punctuation), the same behaviour as the mechanical boards at train stations and airports. The drum starts fast and decelerates as it settles on the target character. A synthesized mechanical click plays on each flip using the Web Audio API.
Quotes cycle every 5 seconds. Author names appear in yellow, right-aligned. The cascade staggers left to right, top to bottom.
It also ships with an HSL theme engine that calculates physically correct flap colors from any hue. Light comes from above, so the top flap is always lighter (catches light), the bottom flap darker (in shadow), and the board recessed behind both.
If you want to run or fork it, clone the repo. It’s MIT-licensed.
