Show HN: JavaScript library that makes any list a smooth picker of any shape

Developer tahazsh posted a Show HN on August 20, 2026 announcing Loopem, a solo-built JavaScript library that converts any list into a smooth, draggable picker rendered in configurable shapes.

The library ships six built-in layout presets — line, arc, wheel, cover flow, fan, and stack — and is designed to handle an arbitrary number of items without performance degradation, per the HN post. It achieves this through list virtualization, rendering only the items currently visible on screen. The project has no dependencies and is released under the MIT license, with framework adapters for React, Vue, and Svelte, as well as a vanilla JavaScript option.

Loopem is framed as an enhanced alternative to the HTML <select> element, intended for cases where visual richness matters — the author cites a product color-swatch picker in an e-commerce app as a representative use case. Accessibility is included by default: the library supports arrow-key navigation, Home and End keys, ARIA listbox roles, and screen reader compatibility. On mobile, it claims a single gesture axis so a horizontal picker does not intercept vertical page scroll, according to the HN post.

The author describes the core design goal as reducing picker layout to a math problem — given a description of the desired shape, the library resolves the geometry automatically. Documentation ships with interactive live pickers embedded directly alongside each configuration option, which the author says was a deliberate investment. The project is hosted at loopem.tahazsh.com.

The HN submission had one point and no comments at the time of publication. No funding, company affiliation, or team size was mentioned in the post; this appears to be an independent open-source project.