Track lighting is a system of "heads" (light fixtures) and "track". The heads just clip onto the track any where along the track you want and can be turned and adjusted for any direction you want the light to shine.

Other light fixtures you can clip onto your track are mini-pendants, these add a decorative, ambient flair to a normally task oriented lighting system. You can add extra lengths to the track in either straight runs or around corners with the use of joiner pieces. The track can also be cut for custom sizing, and you can add more heads to get just the effect your after.. The heads come in a variety of sizes and styles (gimbal, round back, cylinder, universal, soft square) and use a variety of different light bulbs, to suit different rooms and to accomplish different jobs. The power can usually be fed to anywhere along the track. Track lighting is ideal task lighting for; kitchen counters, desks and work stations or indirect accent lighting, bouncing off of; fireplaces, feature walls, paintings and "objects d'art". The bulbs used in track lighting are called reflector bulbs, which are available both as floods for a wide beam, or spots for narrow beams. There is also available fixed track lighting, although the heads may be able to point where needed, and may be quite stylish, the quantity of the heads and the length of the track is fixed with no add-on options, it remains the length that it was when you first bought it, with the same quantity of heads. The most popular type of track lighting right now is halogen track lighting.Another popular type of track is called rail or cable lighting, these individual lights hook onto a long slender rail that can be bent in exotic shapes around the room.