Progressive Blur Skill

Workflow

Confirm placement (top or bottom), height, and z-index relative to UI.
Provide the matching snippet and a short usage checklist.
Offer only targeted tweaks (height, blur steps, direction, opacity stops).

Usage checklist

Insert the HTML inside <body>.
Keep the .gradient-blur element near the top of the DOM.
Ensure the background behind it exists (backdrop-filter blurs what is behind).
Adjust z-index to sit above content but below modals.

Top blur (from top)

<div class="gradient-blur">
  <div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>
</div>
<style>
  .gradient-blur {
    position: fixed;
    z-index: 5;
    inset: 0 0 auto 0;
    height: 12%;
    pointer-events: none;
  }

  .gradient-blur > div,
  .gradient-blur::before,
  .gradient-blur::after {
    position: absolute;
    inset: 0;
  }

  .gradient-blur::before {
    content: "";
    z-index: 1;
    backdrop-filter: blur(0.5px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 12.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(1) {
    z-index: 2;
    backdrop-filter: blur(1px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 12.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(2) {
    z-index: 3;
    backdrop-filter: blur(2px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 25%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(3) {
    z-index: 4;
    backdrop-filter: blur(4px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(4) {
    z-index: 5;
    backdrop-filter: blur(8px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 87.5%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(5) {
    z-index: 6;
    backdrop-filter: blur(16px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(6) {
    z-index: 7;
    backdrop-filter: blur(32px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 100%);
  }

  .gradient-blur::after {
    content: "";
    z-index: 8;
    backdrop-filter: blur(64px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to top,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 87.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 100%);
  }
</style>

Bottom blur (from bottom)

<div class="gradient-blur">
  <div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>
</div>
<style>
  .gradient-blur {
    position: fixed;
    z-index: 5;
    inset: auto 0 0 0;
    height: 65%;
    pointer-events: none;
  }

  .gradient-blur > div,
  .gradient-blur::before,
  .gradient-blur::after {
    position: absolute;
    inset: 0;
  }

  .gradient-blur::before {
    content: "";
    z-index: 1;
    backdrop-filter: blur(0.5px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 12.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(1) {
    z-index: 2;
    backdrop-filter: blur(1px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 12.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 25%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(2) {
    z-index: 3;
    backdrop-filter: blur(2px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 25%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 37.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(3) {
    z-index: 4;
    backdrop-filter: blur(4px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 37.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 50%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(4) {
    z-index: 5;
    backdrop-filter: blur(8px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 62.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 87.5%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(5) {
    z-index: 6;
    backdrop-filter: blur(16px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 62.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 75%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%);
  }

  .gradient-blur > div:nth-of-type(6) {
    z-index: 7;
    backdrop-filter: blur(32px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 75%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 87.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 100%);
  }

  .gradient-blur::after {
    content: "";
    z-index: 8;
    backdrop-filter: blur(64px);
    mask: linear-gradient(to bottom,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 87.5%,
      rgba(0, 0, 0, 1) 100%);
  }
</style>

Customization knobs

Direction: flip to top ↔ to bottom.
Height: adjust .gradient-blur height percentage.
Strength: change blur values (0.5px → 64px).
Steps: add/remove layers to control smoothness.

Common pitfalls

backdrop-filter needs content behind it; it will not blur a flat background.
High blur values are GPU-heavy; reduce steps on low-end devices.
Ensure pointer-events: none stays to avoid blocking clicks.

Questions to ask when specs are missing

Should the blur start from the top or bottom?
How tall should the blur area be?
Is performance a concern on lower-end devices?

progressive-blur

Progressive Blur Skill

Workflow

Usage checklist

Top blur (from top)

Bottom blur (from bottom)

Customization knobs

Common pitfalls

Questions to ask when specs are missing