skydoves/AndroidVeil

🎭 An easy and flexible way to implement loading skeletons and shimmering effects on layouts for Android.

Kotlin

1,569

160 commits

updated Oct 15, 2025

See the code

README

AndroidVeil


An easy, flexible way to implement veil skeletons and shimmering effect for Android.


License API Build Status Android Weekly Medium Android Weekly


Download

Maven Central

Gradle

Add the dependency below to your module's build.gradle file:

dependencies {
    implementation("com.github.skydoves:androidveil:1.1.4")
}

Usage

First, add following XML namespace inside your XML layout file:

xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"

VeilLayout in layout

<com.skydoves.androidveil.VeilLayout
      android:id="@+id/veilLayout"
      android:layout_width="match_parent"
      android:layout_height="match_parent"
      app:veilLayout_veiled="true" // shows veils initially
      app:veilLayout_shimmerEnable="true" // sets shimmer enable
      app:veilLayout_baseColor="@android:color/holo_green_dark" // sets shimmer base color
      app:veilLayout_highlightColor="@android:color/holo_green_light" // sets shimmer highlight color
      app:veilLayout_baseAlpha="0.6" // sets shimmer base alpha value
      app:veilLayout_highlightAlpha="1.0" // sets shimmer highlight alpha value
      app:veilLayout_dropOff="0.5"// sets how quickly the shimmer`s gradient drops-off
      app:veilLayout_radius="6dp" // sets a corner radius of the whole veiled items >

      <TextView
         android:layout_width="match_parent"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:text="And now here is my secret, a very simple secret"
         android:textColor="@android:color/white"
         android:textSize="22sp"/>

      <!-- Skip -->    

</com.skydoves.androidveil.VeilLayout>

Veil and UnVeil

We can implement veiled skeletons using below methods.

veilLayout.veil()
veilLayout.unVeil()

Implement veils using layout resource

We can implement veiled skeletons using the layout resource.

veilLayout.layout = R.layout.layout_item_test

VeilRecyclerFrameView

VeilRecyclerFrameView implements veiled skeletons for RecyclerView with the shimmer effect.

VeilRecyclerFrameView in layout

<com.skydoves.androidveil.VeilRecyclerFrameView
        android:id="@+id/veilRecyclerView"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        app:veilFrame_layout="@layout/item_profile" // sets to make veiling target layout
        app:veilFrame_veiled="true" // shows veils initially
        app:veilFrame_shimmerEnable="true" // sets shimmer enable
        app:veilFrame_baseColor="@android:color/holo_green_dark" // sets shimmer base color
        app:veilFrame_highlightColor="@android:color/holo_green_light" // sets shimmer highlight color
        app:veilFrame_baseAlpha="0.6" // sets shimmer base alpha value
        app:veilFrame_highlightAlpha="1.0" // sets shimmer highlight alpha value
        app:veilFrame_radius="8dp" // sets a corner radius of the whole veiled items 
        app:veilFrame_isItemWrapContentHeight="true"  // sets height of list item wrap_content
        app:veilFrame_isItemWrapContentWidth="true"   // sets width of list item wrap_content />

And we should attach our own adapter and LayoutManager.

veilRecyclerView.setAdapter(adapter) // sets your own adapter
veilRecyclerView.setLayoutManager(LinearLayoutManager(this)) // sets LayoutManager
veilRecyclerView.addVeiledItems(15) // add veiled 15 items

Automatically masking a horizontal layout is not supported yet. Horizontal (carousel) layouts can be used if you specify their shimmer layout yourself in advance (and tell the view to use this prepared layout by setting isPrepared = true). See CarouselActivity for an example

veilRecyclerView.setVeilLayout(
  layout = R.layout.item_prepared_shimmer_carousel,
  isPrepared = true
)
veilRecyclerView.setAdapter(adapter)
veilRecyclerView.setLayoutManager(LinearLayoutManager(this, RecyclerView.HORIZONTAL, false))
addVeiledItems(15)

Veil and UnVeil

We can implement veiled skeletons using below methods.

veilRecyclerView.veil() // shows veil skeletons
veilRecyclerView.unVeil() // disappear veils and shows your own recyclerView

RecyclerView

We can access our Recyclerview and veiledRecyclerView using the below methods.

veilRecyclerView.getRecyclerView() // veilRecyclerView.getRecyclerView().setHasFixedSize(true)
veilRecyclerView.getVeiledRecyclerView()

Shimmer

This library using shimmer-android by Facebook.
Here are the detail shimmer-instruction about shimmer or you can reference below examples.

create using Builder

This is how to create Shimmer's instance using Shimmer.Builder class.

val shimmer = Shimmer.ColorHighlightBuilder()
      .setBaseColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.shimmerBase0))
      .setHighlightColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.shimmerHighlight0))
      .setBaseAlpha(1f)
      .setHighlightAlpha(1f)
      .build()

veilLayout.shimmer = shimmer // sets shimmer to VeilLayout
veilRecyclerView.shimmer = shimmer // sets shimmer to VeilRecyclerView

create using kotlin dsl

This is how to create Shimmer's instance using kotlin dsl.

val shimmer_alpha = alphaShimmer {
      setBaseAlpha(1.0f)
      setHighlightAlpha(0.5f)
}
val shimmer_color = colorShimmer {
      setBaseAlpha(1.0f)
      setHighlightAlpha(0.5f)
      setBaseColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.colorPrimary))
      setHighlightColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.colorPrimaryDark))
}

AndroidVeil Attributes

AttributesTypeDefaultDescription
veiledBooleanfalseshows veils initially.
layoutInt-1implement veils using the layout resource.
radiusdimension8dpsets corner radius to the veil items.
drawableDrawablenullsets background drawable to the veil items.
shimmerEnableBooleantruesets shimmer enable.
baseColorColorIntColor.LTGRAYsets shimmer base color.
highlightColorColorIntColor.DKGRAYsets shimmer highlight color.
baseAlphaFloat1.0fsets shimmer base alpha value.
highlightAlphaFloat1.0fsets shimmer highlight alpha value.
dropOffFloat0.5fsets how quickly the shimmer's gradient drops-off.
defaultChildVisibleBooleanfalsesets the child view's visibility when called veil and unveil.
isItemWrapContentHeightBooleanfalsesets height of veiled list item wrap_content
isItemWrapContentWidthBooleanfalsesets width of veiled list item wrap_content

Find this repository useful? ❤️

Support it by joining stargazers for this repository. ⭐
Also follow me for my next creations! 🤩

License

Copyright 2018 skydoves

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at

   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
android
android-library
android-ui
androidveil
recyclerview
shimmer
skeleton
skydoves

skydoves/AndroidVeil

🎭 An easy and flexible way to implement loading skeletons and shimmering effects on layouts for Android.

Kotlin

1,569

160 commits

updated Oct 15, 2025

See the code

README

AndroidVeil


An easy, flexible way to implement veil skeletons and shimmering effect for Android.


License API Build Status Android Weekly Medium Android Weekly


Download

Maven Central

Gradle

Add the dependency below to your module's build.gradle file:

dependencies {
    implementation("com.github.skydoves:androidveil:1.1.4")
}

Usage

First, add following XML namespace inside your XML layout file:

xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"

VeilLayout in layout

<com.skydoves.androidveil.VeilLayout
      android:id="@+id/veilLayout"
      android:layout_width="match_parent"
      android:layout_height="match_parent"
      app:veilLayout_veiled="true" // shows veils initially
      app:veilLayout_shimmerEnable="true" // sets shimmer enable
      app:veilLayout_baseColor="@android:color/holo_green_dark" // sets shimmer base color
      app:veilLayout_highlightColor="@android:color/holo_green_light" // sets shimmer highlight color
      app:veilLayout_baseAlpha="0.6" // sets shimmer base alpha value
      app:veilLayout_highlightAlpha="1.0" // sets shimmer highlight alpha value
      app:veilLayout_dropOff="0.5"// sets how quickly the shimmer`s gradient drops-off
      app:veilLayout_radius="6dp" // sets a corner radius of the whole veiled items >

      <TextView
         android:layout_width="match_parent"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
         android:text="And now here is my secret, a very simple secret"
         android:textColor="@android:color/white"
         android:textSize="22sp"/>

      <!-- Skip -->    

</com.skydoves.androidveil.VeilLayout>

Veil and UnVeil

We can implement veiled skeletons using below methods.

veilLayout.veil()
veilLayout.unVeil()

Implement veils using layout resource

We can implement veiled skeletons using the layout resource.

veilLayout.layout = R.layout.layout_item_test

VeilRecyclerFrameView

VeilRecyclerFrameView implements veiled skeletons for RecyclerView with the shimmer effect.

VeilRecyclerFrameView in layout

<com.skydoves.androidveil.VeilRecyclerFrameView
        android:id="@+id/veilRecyclerView"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent"
        app:veilFrame_layout="@layout/item_profile" // sets to make veiling target layout
        app:veilFrame_veiled="true" // shows veils initially
        app:veilFrame_shimmerEnable="true" // sets shimmer enable
        app:veilFrame_baseColor="@android:color/holo_green_dark" // sets shimmer base color
        app:veilFrame_highlightColor="@android:color/holo_green_light" // sets shimmer highlight color
        app:veilFrame_baseAlpha="0.6" // sets shimmer base alpha value
        app:veilFrame_highlightAlpha="1.0" // sets shimmer highlight alpha value
        app:veilFrame_radius="8dp" // sets a corner radius of the whole veiled items 
        app:veilFrame_isItemWrapContentHeight="true"  // sets height of list item wrap_content
        app:veilFrame_isItemWrapContentWidth="true"   // sets width of list item wrap_content />

And we should attach our own adapter and LayoutManager.

veilRecyclerView.setAdapter(adapter) // sets your own adapter
veilRecyclerView.setLayoutManager(LinearLayoutManager(this)) // sets LayoutManager
veilRecyclerView.addVeiledItems(15) // add veiled 15 items

Automatically masking a horizontal layout is not supported yet. Horizontal (carousel) layouts can be used if you specify their shimmer layout yourself in advance (and tell the view to use this prepared layout by setting isPrepared = true). See CarouselActivity for an example

veilRecyclerView.setVeilLayout(
  layout = R.layout.item_prepared_shimmer_carousel,
  isPrepared = true
)
veilRecyclerView.setAdapter(adapter)
veilRecyclerView.setLayoutManager(LinearLayoutManager(this, RecyclerView.HORIZONTAL, false))
addVeiledItems(15)

Veil and UnVeil

We can implement veiled skeletons using below methods.

veilRecyclerView.veil() // shows veil skeletons
veilRecyclerView.unVeil() // disappear veils and shows your own recyclerView

RecyclerView

We can access our Recyclerview and veiledRecyclerView using the below methods.

veilRecyclerView.getRecyclerView() // veilRecyclerView.getRecyclerView().setHasFixedSize(true)
veilRecyclerView.getVeiledRecyclerView()

Shimmer

This library using shimmer-android by Facebook.
Here are the detail shimmer-instruction about shimmer or you can reference below examples.

create using Builder

This is how to create Shimmer's instance using Shimmer.Builder class.

val shimmer = Shimmer.ColorHighlightBuilder()
      .setBaseColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.shimmerBase0))
      .setHighlightColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.shimmerHighlight0))
      .setBaseAlpha(1f)
      .setHighlightAlpha(1f)
      .build()

veilLayout.shimmer = shimmer // sets shimmer to VeilLayout
veilRecyclerView.shimmer = shimmer // sets shimmer to VeilRecyclerView

create using kotlin dsl

This is how to create Shimmer's instance using kotlin dsl.

val shimmer_alpha = alphaShimmer {
      setBaseAlpha(1.0f)
      setHighlightAlpha(0.5f)
}
val shimmer_color = colorShimmer {
      setBaseAlpha(1.0f)
      setHighlightAlpha(0.5f)
      setBaseColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.colorPrimary))
      setHighlightColor(ContextCompat.getColor(context, R.color.colorPrimaryDark))
}

AndroidVeil Attributes

AttributesTypeDefaultDescription
veiledBooleanfalseshows veils initially.
layoutInt-1implement veils using the layout resource.
radiusdimension8dpsets corner radius to the veil items.
drawableDrawablenullsets background drawable to the veil items.
shimmerEnableBooleantruesets shimmer enable.
baseColorColorIntColor.LTGRAYsets shimmer base color.
highlightColorColorIntColor.DKGRAYsets shimmer highlight color.
baseAlphaFloat1.0fsets shimmer base alpha value.
highlightAlphaFloat1.0fsets shimmer highlight alpha value.
dropOffFloat0.5fsets how quickly the shimmer's gradient drops-off.
defaultChildVisibleBooleanfalsesets the child view's visibility when called veil and unveil.
isItemWrapContentHeightBooleanfalsesets height of veiled list item wrap_content
isItemWrapContentWidthBooleanfalsesets width of veiled list item wrap_content

Find this repository useful? ❤️

Support it by joining stargazers for this repository. ⭐
Also follow me for my next creations! 🤩

License

Copyright 2018 skydoves

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at

   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
android
android-library
android-ui
androidveil
recyclerview
shimmer
skeleton
skydoves

Project health

Latest release

1.1.4 · Jun 26, 2024

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