Effects Reference

Every built-in effect in Embers Text API, with parameters, markup examples, and suggestions for when to use each one.

How parameters work: Write them inside the tag as key=value. Numbers are plain numbers, booleans are true or false, colors are hex strings (e.g., FF0000). Omit a parameter to use its default.

Color Effects

Rainbow

Cycles text through the full color spectrum. Each character is at a different phase, creating a wave of color across the text.

Tag	Aliases
`<rainbow>`	`<rainb>`

Parameter	Default	Description
`f`	`1.0`	Cycling speed. Higher = faster.
`w`	`1.0`	Phase offset between adjacent characters. Lower = tighter wave.

<rainbow>Standard rainbow</rainbow>
<rainbow f=2.0>Fast-cycling rainbow</rainbow>
<rainbow f=0.5 w=2.0>Slow, spread-out rainbow</rainbow>

When to use: Celebrations, titles, welcome messages, anything that should feel exciting and colorful.

Gradient

Smooth color transition from one color to another across the text.

Tag	Aliases
`<grad>`	`<gradient>`

Parameter	Default	Description
`from`	`5BCEFA` (light blue)	Starting color
`to`	`F5A9B8` (pink)	Ending color
`hue`	`false`	Use HSV color space for smoother hue transitions
`f`	`0.0`	Animation speed. `0` = static gradient.
`sp`	`20.0`	Span in characters — how wide the gradient stretches
`uni`	`false`	Unidirectional (A→B only) vs. cyclic (A→B→A)

<grad>Default blue-to-pink gradient</grad>
<grad from=FF0000 to=0000FF>Red to blue</grad>
<grad hue=true from=FF0000 to=00FF00>Smooth hue shift red-to-green</grad>
<grad f=1.0>Animated shifting gradient</grad>
<grad sp=8 uni=true>Short one-way gradient</grad>

When to use: Health bars, lore text with a visual theme, boss names with dramatic color shifts.

Color

Applies a single solid color to text via the effect system. Unlike the <color> style tag, this works within the effect stack and can be combined with other color effects.

Tag	Aliases
`<color col=HEX>`	`<color value=HEX>`

Parameter	Default	Description
`col`	`FFFFFF`	The color to apply (hex string)
`value`	`FFFFFF`	Alternative to `col`

<color col=FF0000>Red text</color>
<color value=#00FF00>Green text</color>
<color col=5BCEFA>Sky blue text</color>

When to use: When you need a color that can be stacked with effects like <neon> or <pulse> in the effect chain.

Pulse

Rhythmic brightness pulsing — text brightens and dims repeatedly.

Tag	Aliases
`<pulse>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`base`	`0.75`	Minimum brightness (0.0–1.0). Lower = darker troughs.
`a`	`1.0`	Pulse amplitude.
`f`	`1.0`	Pulse speed.
`w`	`0.0`	Phase offset between characters. Non-zero = wave-style pulse.

<pulse>Gently pulsing text</pulse>
<pulse base=0.3 a=1.5>Strong pulsing</pulse>
<pulse f=3.0>Rapid pulse</pulse>
<pulse w=0.3>Wave-style pulse across characters</pulse>

When to use: Alerts, attention-grabbing HUD elements, countdown timers, energy indicators.

Fade

Oscillates text transparency between visible and semi-transparent.

Tag	Aliases
`<fade>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`0.3`	Minimum alpha (0.0 = fully invisible at minimum)
`f`	`1.0`	Oscillation speed
`w`	`0.0`	Phase offset between characters

<fade>Gently fading text</fade>
<fade a=0.0 f=2.0>Full fade-to-invisible, fast</fade>
<fade w=0.2>Wave-style fading across characters</fade>

When to use: Ghost text, ambient lore, ethereal or mysterious messages.

Motion Effects

Wave

Characters move up and down in a smooth sinusoidal wave.

Tag	Aliases
`<wave>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`1.0`	Wave height in pixels
`f`	`1.0`	Wave speed
`w`	`1.0`	Wavelength (distance between peaks)

<wave>Flowing wave text</wave>
<wave a=3.0>Tall waves</wave>
<wave f=2.0 w=0.5>Fast, tight waves</wave>

When to use: Fluid or water themes, lively NPC dialogue, scrolling announcements.

Shake

Random jitter — each character displaces randomly every frame.

Tag	Aliases
`<shake>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`1.0`	Shake intensity (pixel displacement)
`f`	`1.0`	Shake speed (how often direction changes)

<shake>Vibrating text</shake>
<shake a=3.0>Intense shake</shake>
<shake a=0.5 f=5.0>Subtle rapid vibration</shake>

When to use: Danger warnings, explosions, earthquake events, angry NPC dialogue.

Bounce

Characters hop up and down with realistic multi-bounce physics (rises, then diminishing bounces).

Tag	Aliases
`<bounce>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`1.0`	Bounce height
`f`	`1.0`	Bounce speed
`w`	`1.0`	Phase offset between characters (creates a cascading wave)

<bounce>BOING!</bounce>
<bounce a=2.0 w=0.3>High cascading bounce</bounce>
<bounce f=2.0>Fast bounce</bounce>

When to use: Celebratory messages, item collection, score events, jovial NPC text.

Circle

Characters orbit in a circular path around their original position.

Tag	Aliases
`<circle>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`1.0`	Circle radius in pixels
`f`	`1.0`	Rotation speed
`w`	`0.0`	Phase offset between characters

<circle>Orbiting text</circle>
<circle a=3.0>Large orbits</circle>
<circle f=2.0 w=0.2>Fast orbiting wave</circle>

When to use: Magical effects, spinning/swirling themes, enchantment or portal messages.

Wiggle

Each character wiggles in a unique direction determined by its character code. Creates organic, varied motion across the text.

Tag	Aliases
`<wiggle>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`1.0`	Wiggle distance
`f`	`1.0`	Wiggle speed
`w`	`1.0`	Phase offset between characters

<wiggle>Organic wiggly text</wiggle>
<wiggle a=2.0 f=1.5>Stronger, faster wiggle</wiggle>

When to use: Chaos effects, jelly-like text, playful NPC dialogue.

Pendulum

Characters swing back and forth like a pendulum.

Tag	Aliases
`<pend>`	`<pendulum>`

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`30.0`	Maximum swing angle in degrees (0–90)
`f`	`1.0`	Swing speed
`r`	`0.0`	Arc radius. When > 0, characters also move along a circular arc

<pend>Swinging text</pend>
<pend a=60>Wide swing</pend>
<pend a=30 r=5>Pendulum with arc movement</pend>

When to use: Clock or time themes, hypnotic effects, NPCs gesturing.

Swing

Characters rotate back and forth around their center point.

Tag	Aliases
`<swing>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`1.0`	Rotation amplitude in radians × 0.5 (≈ ±28° at default)
`f`	`1.0`	Swing speed
`w`	`0.0`	Phase offset between characters

<swing>Rocking text</swing>
<swing a=2.0 f=1.5>Strong, fast rocking</swing>

When to use: Boat/sea themes, rocking motion, agitated dialogue.

Scroll

Text scrolls continuously from right to left, looping after a fixed period.

Tag	Aliases
`<scroll>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`f`	`1.0`	Scrolling speed

<scroll>Marquee-style scrolling text</scroll>
<scroll f=2.0>Fast scrolling</scroll>

When to use: Ticker-tape announcements, news feeds, long messages that need to loop.

Turbulence

Characters drift in organic, wind-like motion using dual-frequency noise.

Tag	Aliases
`<turb>`	`<turbulence>`

Parameter	Default	Description
`a`	`1.0`	Displacement strength
`f`	`1.0`	Turbulence speed

<turb>Wind-blown text</turb>
<turb a=2.0>Strong turbulence</turb>
<turb a=3.0 f=0.5>Slow, drifting motion</turb>

When to use: Wind, storms, gas/vapor effects, unstable or glitchy environments.

Special Effects

Glitch

Digital distortion — horizontal slice displacement, position jitter, alpha blinks, and optional chromatic aberration.

Tag	Aliases
`<glitch>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`f`	`1.0`	Animation speed multiplier
`s`	`0.08`	Slice displacement frequency (0.0–1.0)
`j`	`0.015`	Position jitter frequency
`b`	`0.003`	Alpha blink frequency
`o`	`1.0`	Slice offset distance multiplier
`c`	`0.0`	Chromatic aberration intensity
`slices`	`2`	Number of horizontal slices (2–5)

<glitch>Basic glitch</glitch>
<glitch s=0.2>Frequent glitches</glitch>
<glitch c=1.0>With chromatic aberration</glitch>
<glitch slices=4 s=0.3 o=2.0>Multi-slice chaos</glitch>

When to use: Corruption events, tech-themed alerts, hacking sequences, computer terminals, error messages.

Neon

Multi-ring glow effect surrounding text with a soft luminous halo.

Tag	Aliases
`<neon>`	`<glow>`

Parameter	Default	Description
`r`	`2.0`	Glow radius in pixels (0.5–8.0)
`i`	`1.0`	Glow brightness/intensity (0.1–3.0)
`q`	`2`	Quality: `1` = fast (6 samples), `2` = balanced (12), `3` = high (20)
`c`	(text color)	Glow color override (hex)
`p`	`0`	Pulse animation speed
`f`	`2.0`	Alpha falloff curve power

<neon>Default glow</neon>
<neon r=4 i=2.0>Strong wide glow</neon>
<neon c=00FFFF>Cyan glow</neon>
<neon q=3 r=3>High-quality glow</neon>
<neon p=2.0>Pulsing glow</neon>

When to use: Title screens, legendary item reveals, sci-fi UI elements, boss names.

Shadow

Customizes the text shadow with a specific color, offset, and transparency.

Tag	Aliases
`<shadow>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`x`	`0.0`	Horizontal shadow offset in pixels
`y`	`0.0`	Vertical shadow offset
`c`	(none)	Shadow color (hex). Takes priority over `r`/`g`/`b`.
`r`	`0.0`	Red channel (0.0–1.0)
`g`	`0.0`	Green channel
`b`	`0.0`	Blue channel
`a`	`1.0`	Shadow transparency multiplier

<shadow x=2 y=2>Offset shadow</shadow>
<shadow c=FF0000 a=0.7>Semi-transparent red shadow</shadow>
<shadow x=3 y=3 c=FFFF00>Yellow offset shadow</shadow>

When to use: Making text pop off dark or busy backgrounds, stylized title text.

Animation Effects

Typewriter

Reveals text character by character from left to right.

Tag	Aliases
`<typewriter>`	`<type>`

Parameter	Default	Description
`speed`	`20`	Milliseconds per character. Lower = faster.
`sound`	(none)	Sound ID played on each character reveal. Set to `off` to silence.
`loop`	(none)	`true` = loop forever. `false` = reveal once, stay visible.
`resetDelay`	`1.0`	Seconds before animation resets after the text disappears and reappears

<typewriter>Default-speed reveal</typewriter>
<typewriter speed=50>Slower reveal</typewriter>
<typewriter speed=30 sound="minecraft:block.note_block.hat">With click sounds</typewriter>
<typewriter loop=true>Loops forever</typewriter>
<typewriter loop=false>Plays once</typewriter>

When to use: NPC dialogue, quest text reveals, lore messages, tutorial instructions. Pairs well with message queues for multi-line conversations.

Obfuscate

Shows text as random glyphs, then progressively reveals (or hides) the real characters.

Tag	Aliases
`<obfuscate>`	—

Parameter	Default	Description
`mode`	`constant`	`constant` = always scrambled. `reveal` = starts scrambled, reveals real text. `hide` = starts readable, progressively scrambles. `random` = randomly flickers between scrambled and real.
`speed`	`20`	Milliseconds per character for reveal/hide animations
`direction`	`left`	Direction: `left`, `right`, `center`, `edges`, `random`
`alphabet`	`minecraft`	`minecraft` = Minecraft glyph set. `readable` = random A-Z, a-z, 0-9.

<obfuscate>Permanently scrambled</obfuscate>
<obfuscate mode=reveal>Gradually reveals from left</obfuscate>
<obfuscate mode=reveal direction=center speed=40>Reveals from center outward</obfuscate>
<obfuscate mode=hide direction=right>Hides from right to left</obfuscate>
<obfuscate mode=random>Characters randomly flicker</obfuscate>
<obfuscate mode=reveal alphabet=readable>Reveals using readable chars</obfuscate>

When to use: Cryptic messages, secret reveals, “decoding” sequences, hidden lore, mysterious NPCs.

Built-In Presets

Presets bundle multiple effects and styles into one tag:

Tag	Effects	Style
`<epic>`	Pulse (f=2.0) + Wave	Bold italic purple (#AA00FF)
`<legendary>`	Rainbow (f=1.5) + Neon	Bold gold (#FFD700)
`<spooky>`	Shake (a=0.5) + Fade (a=0.4)	Italic dark purple (#2D1B4E)
`<arcane>`	Neon (c=9944FF) + Turbulence	Purple (#BB88FF), Cinzel font
`<chaotic>`	Rainbow (f=3.0) + Glitch + Bounce	Bold
`<divine>`	Neon (c=FFFFAA) + Wave + Pulse	Bold gold (#FFD700), Almendra font
`<frozen>`	Gradient (88CCFF→FFFFFF) + Pendulum + Neon	Italic, Cardo font
`<infernal>`	Gradient (FF4400→FFD700) + Shake + Neon	Bold, Norse font

<epic>You have slain the Dragon!</epic>
<legendary>Legendary Sword of Doom obtained!</legendary>
<spooky>Something lurks in the darkness...</spooky>
<arcane>Ancient runes shimmer before you...</arcane>
<divine>A blessing from the heavens!</divine>
<infernal>The flames consume everything!</infernal>