Ask the Magic 8-Ball
Type a question, shake the ball, and watch your fate appear. All 20 classic answers — 10 affirmative, 5 non-committal, 5 negative — picked with cryptographic randomness.
Frame the question for yourself, then shake. The ball draws from 20 fixed answers used by the original Mattel toy.
How to consult the 8-ball
The classic Magic 8-Ball uses a 20-faced icosahedron floating in dark liquid. We replicate the original pool with cryptographic randomness, no batteries required.
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Frame the question
Yes/no questions work best — that's what the original pool was tuned for.
Inputs are treated as UTF-8 throughout the pipeline and validated client-side as you type — nothing dispatches until the value is well-formed.
questioninpututf-8client-sidevalidatedinput · texttext · setWill it ship?
loaded · parsedclient-side - 02
Shake the ball
The dramatic shake delay is half the fun. Crypto random picks one of 20 answers.
Each toggle re-computes through a memoised hook, so flipping options never resets your input and the UI stays snappy on large inputs.
shakeoptionslivememoisedtogglesroll · memoised20 · liveshake → answer
options set · memoisedlive - 03
Read the verdict
Green for affirmative, blue for non-committal, red for negative.
Randomness — where used — comes from
crypto.getRandomValues, neverMath.random. Heavy work sits inuseMemo.readcomputeinstantlocaldeterministicout · instantanswer · computedMost likely
computed · instantinstant - 04
Shake again
Every shake is independent — don't dispute the ball.
Copy writes through
navigator.clipboardand downloads use aBlob— zero network traffic. Same input plus same options always yield the same bytes.repeatcopydownloadzero-networkreproducibleok · copiednext · copiedReply hazy
shipped · ready to shipsuccess
Pro tips for everyday utilities
Reach for crypto.getRandomValues
Cryptographically random for IDs, tokens, salts. Math.random is for animation and games, not security.
Mock data with seeds
Faker-style libraries can be seeded so tests are reproducible. Embed the seed in the fixture file.
Reference cards beat memory
Cheatsheets for Vim, Git, Docker, Linux signals are faster than man pages when you’re mid-flow.
Browser APIs vary
Touch events, gamepads, and clipboard differ across vendors. Feature-detect before use.
Persist in the right place
localStorage for user preferences, sessionStorage for transient state, IndexedDB for structured data.
When to ask the 8-ball
Tiebreakers, ice breakers, and decision fatigue.
Casual tiebreaker
Slightly more theatrical than a coin flip. Random values come from crypto.getRandomValues — cryptographically secure for tokens, salts, and session IDs. Math.random is deterministic enough for animations but predictable enough to be a security bug.
CSPRNG-backedMeeting kickoff
Drop in as an ice breaker for remote teams. Pair with hashids, ULID, or UUID v7 when you need both random and sortable — useful for primary keys, public-facing IDs, and event log ordering without a sequence column.
reproducibleWriting prompts
Force a yes/no plot decision when stuck. Output is deterministic given the same seed, so fixtures and tests stay reproducible across CI runs and contributor machines. Embed the seed in the fixture file for full replay.
snappyStandup volunteer
Let the ball pick who goes first. Heavy work runs through useMemo so the UI stays snappy on large inputs. Same input + same options yields identical bytes — the kind of stability snapshot tests rely on.
feature-detectedGame night
Use as a fortune teller in tabletop games. Storage tools persist to the right backend: localStorage for user preferences, sessionStorage for transient state, IndexedDB for structured data. Pick the right shelf and quota worries disappear.
deterministicDecision fatigue
When small choices pile up, outsource to the ball. Browser feature detection: clipboard, fullscreen, gamepad, and Web Bluetooth APIs gracefully fall back when unavailable. No surprise white screens on Safari or older Firefox.
production-readyFrequently asked questions
Something missing?
Tell us what you need. We ship the top requests every two weeks.