| name | gsap-plugins |
| description | Official GSAP skill for GSAP plugins — registration, ScrollToPlugin, ScrollSmoother, Flip, Draggable, Inertia, Observer, SplitText, ScrambleText, SVG and physics plugins, CustomEase, EasePack, CustomWiggle, CustomBounce, GSDevTools. Use when the user asks about a GSAP plugin, scroll-to, flip animations, draggable, SVG drawing, or plugin registration. |
| license | MIT |
GSAP Plugins
When to Use This Skill
Apply when using or reviewing code that uses GSAP plugins: registering plugins, scroll-to, flip/FLIP animations, draggable elements, SVG (DrawSVG, MorphSVG, MotionPath), text (SplitText, ScrambleText), physics, easing plugins (CustomEase, EasePack, CustomWiggle, CustomBounce), or GSDevTools. ScrollTrigger has its own skill (gsap-scrolltrigger).
Related skills: For core tweens use gsap-core; for ScrollTrigger use gsap-scrolltrigger; for React use gsap-react.
Registering Plugins
Register each plugin once so GSAP (and bundlers) know to include it. Use gsap.registerPlugin() with every plugin used in the project:
import gsap from "gsap";
import { ScrollToPlugin } from "gsap/ScrollToPlugin";
import { Flip } from "gsap/Flip";
import { Draggable } from "gsap/Draggable";
gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollToPlugin, Flip, Draggable);
- ✅ Register before using the plugin in any tween or API call.
- ✅ In React, register at top level or once in the app (e.g. before first useGSAP); do not register inside a component that re-renders. useGSAP is a plugin that needs to be registered before use.
Scroll
ScrollToPlugin
Animates scroll position (window or a scrollable element). Use for “scroll to element” or “scroll to position” without ScrollTrigger.
gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollToPlugin);
gsap.to(window, { duration: 1, scrollTo: { y: 500 } });
gsap.to(window, { duration: 1, scrollTo: { y: "#section", offsetY: 50 } });
gsap.to(scrollContainer, { duration: 1, scrollTo: { x: "max" } });
ScrollToPlugin — key config (scrollTo object):
| Option | Description |
|---|
x, y | Target scroll position (number), or "max" for maximum |
element | Selector or element to scroll to (for scroll-into-view) |
offsetX, offsetY | Offset in pixels from the target position |
ScrollSmoother
Smooth scroll wrapper (smooths native scroll). Requires ScrollTrigger and a specific DOM structure (content wrapper + smooth wrapper). Use when smooth, momentum-style scroll is needed. See GSAP docs for setup; register after ScrollTrigger. DOM structure would look like:
<body>
<div id="smooth-wrapper">
<div id="smooth-content">
</div>
</div>
</body>
DOM / UI
Flip
Capture state with Flip.getState(), then apply changes (e.g. layout or class changes), then use Flip.from() to animate from the previous state to the new state (FLIP: First, Last, Invert, Play). Use when animating between two layout states (lists, grids, expanded/collapsed).
gsap.registerPlugin(Flip);
const state = Flip.getState(".item");
Flip.from(state, { duration: 0.5, ease: "power2.inOut" });
Flip — key config (Flip.from vars):
| Option | Description |
|---|
absolute | Use position: absolute during the flip (default: false) |
nested | When true, only the first level of children is measured (better for nested transforms) |
scale | When true, scale elements to fit (avoids stretch); default true |
simple | When true, only position/scale are animated (faster, less accurate) |
duration, ease | Standard tween options |
More information
https://gsap.com/docs/v3/Plugins/Flip
Draggable
Makes elements draggable, spinnable, or throwable with mouse/touch. Use for sliders, cards, reorderable lists, or any drag interaction.
gsap.registerPlugin(Draggable, InertiaPlugin);
Draggable.create(".box", { type: "x,y", bounds: "#container", inertia: true });
Draggable.create(".knob", { type: "rotation" });
Draggable — key config options:
| Option | Description |
|---|
type | "x", "y", "x,y", "rotation", "scroll" |
bounds | Element, selector, or { minX, maxX, minY, maxY } to constrain drag |
inertia | true to enable throw/momentum (requires InertiaPlugin) |
edgeResistance | 0–1; resistance when dragging past bounds |
cursor | CSS cursor during drag |
onDragStart, onDrag, onDragEnd | Callbacks; receive event and target |
onThrowUpdate, onThrowComplete | Callbacks when inertia is active |
Inertia (InertiaPlugin)
Works with Draggable for momentum after release, or track the inertia/velocity of any property of any object so that it can then seamlessly glide to a stop using a simple tween. Register with Draggable when using inertia: true:
gsap.registerPlugin(Draggable, InertiaPlugin);
Draggable.create(".box", { type: "x,y", inertia: true });
Or track velocity of a property:
InertiaPlugin.track(".box", "x");
Then use "auto" to continue the current velocity and glide to a stop:
gsap.to(obj, { inertia: { x: "auto" } });
Observer
Normalizes pointer and scroll input across devices. Use for swipe, scroll direction, or custom gesture logic without tying directly to scroll position like ScrollTrigger.
gsap.registerPlugin(Observer);
Observer.create({
target: "#area",
onUp: () => {},
onDown: () => {},
onLeft: () => {},
onRight: () => {},
tolerance: 10
});
Observer — key config options:
| Option | Description |
|---|
target | Element or selector to observe |
onUp, onDown, onLeft, onRight | Callbacks when swipe/scroll passes tolerance in that direction |
tolerance | Pixels before direction is detected; default 10 |
type | "touch", "pointer", or "wheel" (default: "touch,pointer") |
Text
SplitText
Splits an element’s text into characters, words, and/or lines (each in its own element) for staggered or per-unit animation. Use when animating text character-by-character, word-by-word, or line-by-line. Returns an instance with chars, words, lines (and masks when mask is set). Restore original markup with revert() or let gsap.context() revert. Integrates with gsap.context(), matchMedia(), and useGSAP(). API: SplitText.create(target, vars) (target = selector, element, or array).
gsap.registerPlugin(SplitText);
const split = SplitText.create(".heading", { type: "words, chars" });
gsap.from(split.chars, { opacity: 0, y: 20, stagger: 0.03, duration: 0.4 });
With onSplit() (v3.13.0+), animations run on each split and on re-split when autoSplit is used; returning a tween/timeline from onSplit() lets SplitText clean up and sync progress on re-split:
SplitText.create(".split", {
type: "lines",
autoSplit: true,
onSplit(self) {
return gsap.from(self.lines, { y: 100, opacity: 0, stagger: 0.05, duration: 0.5 });
}
});
SplitText — key config (SplitText.create vars):
| Option | Description |
|---|
| type | Comma-separated: "chars", "words", "lines". Default "chars,words,lines". Only split what is needed (e.g. "words, chars" if not using lines) for performance. Avoid chars-only without words/lines or use smartWrap: true to prevent odd line breaks. |
| charsClass, wordsClass, linesClass | CSS class on each split element. Append "++" to add an incremented class (e.g. linesClass: "line++" → line1, line2, …). |
| aria | "auto" (default), "hidden", or "none". Accessibility: "auto" adds aria-label on the split element and aria-hidden on line/word/char elements so screen readers read the label; "hidden" hides all from readers; "none" leaves aria unchanged. Use "none" plus a screen-reader-only duplicate if nested links/semantics must be exposed. |
| autoSplit | When true, reverts and re-splits when fonts finish loading or when the element width changes (and lines are split), avoiding wrong line breaks. Animations must be created inside onSplit() so they target the newly split elements; return the animation from onSplit() for automatic cleanup and time-sync on re-split. |
| onSplit(self) | Callback when split completes (and on each re-split if autoSplit is true). Receives the SplitText instance. Returning a GSAP tween or timeline enables automatic revert/sync of that animation when re-splitting. |
| mask | "lines", "words", or "chars". Wraps each unit in an extra element with overflow: clip for mask/reveal effects. Only one type; access wrappers on the instance’s masks array (or use class -mask if a class is set). |
| tag | Wrapper element tag; default "div". Use "span" for inline (note: transforms like rotation/scale may not render on inline elements in some browsers). |
| deepSlice | When true (default), nested elements (e.g. <strong>) that span multiple lines are subdivided so lines don’t stretch vertically. Only applies when splitting lines. |
| ignore | Selector or element(s) to leave unsplit (e.g. ignore: "sup"). |
| smartWrap | When splitting chars only, wraps words in a white-space: nowrap span to avoid mid-word line breaks. Ignored if words or lines are split. Default false. |
| wordDelimiter | Word boundary: string (default " "), RegExp, or { delimiter: RegExp, replaceWith: string } for custom splitting (e.g. zero-width joiner for hashtags, or non-Latin). |
| prepareText(text, parent) | Function that receives raw text and parent element; return modified text before splitting (e.g. to insert break markers for languages without spaces). |
| propIndex | When true, adds a CSS variable with index on each split element (e.g. --word: 1, --char: 2). |
| reduceWhiteSpace | Collapse consecutive spaces; default true. From v3.13.0 also honors line breaks and can insert <br> for <pre>. |
| onRevert | Callback when the instance is reverted. |
Tips: Split only what is animated (e.g. skip chars if only animating words). For custom fonts, split after they load (e.g. document.fonts.ready.then(...)) or use autoSplit: true with onSplit(). To avoid kerning shift when splitting chars, use CSS font-kerning: none; text-rendering: optimizeSpeed;. Avoid text-wrap: balance; it can interfere with splitting. SplitText does not support SVG <text>.
Learn more: SplitText
ScrambleText
Animates text with a scramble/glitch effect. Use when revealing or transitioning text with a scramble.
gsap.registerPlugin(ScrambleTextPlugin);
gsap.to(".text", {
duration: 1,
scrambleText: { text: "New message", chars: "01", revealDelay: 0.5 }
});
SVG
DrawSVG (DrawSVGPlugin)
Reveals or hides the stroke of SVG elements by animating stroke-dashoffset / stroke-dasharray. Works on <path>, <line>, <polyline>, <polygon>, <rect>, <ellipse>. Use when “drawing” or “erasing” strokes.
