animejs

name

animejs

description

Write correct anime.js v4 animations with the right imports, API patterns, easing, timelines, and advanced features. Use this skill whenever the user asks to animate DOM elements, create CSS/SVG animations, build scroll-linked effects, add drag interactions, choreograph timeline sequences, or write any JavaScript animation code — even if they don't mention 'anime.js' by name. Also triggers when the user mentions 'animejs', 'anime.js', 'createTimeline', 'createDraggable', 'stagger', 'spring easing', or imports from the 'animejs' package. If the user wants smooth, performant web animations and isn't already using GSAP or Framer Motion, this skill applies.

Anime.js v4 Animation Skill

Anime.js v4 is a modular JavaScript animation engine (10KB full / 3KB WAAPI-only). This skill ensures you write correct v4 syntax — the API changed significantly from v3.

Installation

npm install animejs

CDN (ESM):

<script type="module">
  import { animate } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/animejs/+esm';
</script>

Core Concept: Named Imports

v4 uses named exports, not a default anime object. Import only what you need:

import { animate, stagger, createTimeline, utils } from 'animejs';

Subpath imports for smaller bundles:

import { animate } from 'animejs/animation';
import { createTimeline } from 'animejs/timeline';
import { createDraggable } from 'animejs/draggable';
import { onScroll } from 'animejs/events';
import { stagger, utils } from 'animejs/utils';
import { waapi } from 'animejs/waapi';

Quick Reference: animate()

animate(targets, parameters);

Targets: CSS selectors, DOM elements, NodeLists, JS objects, or arrays of these.

Parameters combine animatable properties + playback settings + callbacks:

animate('.box', {
  translateX: 250,           // CSS transform
  opacity: [0, 1],           // [from, to]
  scale: { from: 0.5, to: 1 },
  backgroundColor: '#FF0000', // color animation
  duration: 800,
  delay: stagger(100),       // stagger per element
  ease: 'outExpo',           // easing function
  loop: 2,                   // repeat 2 times (3 total plays)
  alternate: true,           // ping-pong
  onComplete: () => console.log('done'),
});

Animatable Properties

Category	Examples
CSS	opacity, width, height, backgroundColor, borderRadius
Transforms	translateX, translateY, rotate, scale, skewX
CSS Variables	'--my-var': 100
SVG Attributes	cx, r, points, d (via morphTo)
HTML Attributes	value, data-count
JS Object Props	Any numeric property on a plain object

Value Formats

translateX: 250,              // unitless (px for transforms)
translateX: '10rem',          // with unit
translateX: '+=100',          // relative (add 100)
translateX: '-=50px',         // relative subtract
opacity: [0, 1],             // [from, to] shorthand
scale: { from: 0.5, to: 1.5 },  // explicit from/to
rotate: '1turn',             // CSS units work

Function-Based Values

animate('.item', {
  translateX: (el, i, total) => i * 50, // per-element
  delay: (el, i) => i * 100,
});

Keyframes (Per-Property)

animate('.ball', {
  y: [
    { to: '-2.75rem', ease: 'outExpo', duration: 600 },
    { to: 0, ease: 'outBounce', duration: 800, delay: 100 },
  ],
});

Playback Settings

Setting	Default	Description
duration	1000	ms
delay	0	ms before start
loop	0	repetitions (0 = play once, true = infinite)
loopDelay	0	ms between loops
alternate	false	reverse on each loop
reversed	false	play backward
autoplay	true	start immediately
playbackRate	1	speed multiplier
frameRate	null	cap FPS

Callbacks

animate(el, {
  translateX: 200,
  onBegin: (anim) => {},     // after delay, when animation starts
  onUpdate: (anim) => {},    // every frame
  onRender: (anim) => {},    // when properties are applied to DOM
  onLoop: (anim) => {},      // at each loop boundary
  onPause: (anim) => {},     // when paused
  onComplete: (anim) => {},  // when fully done
});

// Promise-based
animate(el, { x: 100 }).then(() => console.log('done'));

Playback Methods

const anim = animate(el, { x: 200 });
anim.play();       // play forward
anim.pause();
anim.resume();     // continue current direction
anim.reverse();    // play backward
anim.restart();
anim.seek(500);    // jump to 500ms
anim.complete();   // skip to end
anim.cancel();     // stop and reset
anim.revert();     // remove all changes

Easing

v4 uses ease (not easing). Names are shortened (no ease prefix):

ease: 'outQuad'       // was easeOutQuad in v3
ease: 'inOutExpo'     // was easeInOutExpo
ease: 'linear'
ease: 'out(3)'        // parametric: power of 3
ease: 'inOut(2)'      // parametric in-out

All built-in easings: linear, in, out, inOut, outIn, inQuad, outQuad, inOutQuad, inCubic, outCubic, inOutCubic, inQuart, outQuart, inOutQuart, inQuint, outQuint, inOutQuint, inSine, outSine, inOutSine, inCirc, outCirc, inOutCirc, inExpo, outExpo, inOutExpo, inBounce, outBounce, inOutBounce, inBack, outBack, inOutBack, inElastic, outElastic, inOutElastic.

Cubic Bezier

import { cubicBezier } from 'animejs';
ease: cubicBezier(0.7, 0.1, 0.5, 0.9)

Spring Physics

import { createSpring } from 'animejs';
ease: createSpring({ mass: 1, stiffness: 100, damping: 10, velocity: 0 })

Presets: spring() (default), spring({ stiffness: 200, damping: 8 }) (snappy), spring({ stiffness: 80, damping: 5 }) (bouncy).

Steps

ease: 'steps(5)'  // 5 discrete steps

Custom Easing Function

ease: t => 1 - Math.sqrt(1 - t * t)  // direct function, no wrapper

Stagger

import { stagger } from 'animejs';

delay: stagger(100)                        // 0, 100, 200, 300...
delay: stagger(100, { start: 500 })        // 500, 600, 700...
delay: stagger(100, { from: 'center' })    // from center outward
delay: stagger(100, { from: 'last' })      // from last element
delay: stagger(100, { reversed: true })    // reverse order
delay: stagger([0, 200])                   // distribute 0-200 across elements
delay: stagger(100, { grid: [14, 5] })     // 2D grid stagger
delay: stagger(100, { grid: [14, 5], from: 'center', ease: 'inQuad' })

Timeline

import { createTimeline } from 'animejs';

const tl = createTimeline({
  defaults: { duration: 600, ease: 'outExpo' },
  loop: true,
  alternate: true,
});

tl.add('.box-1', { translateX: 250 })           // starts at 0
  .add('.box-2', { translateX: 250 }, 200)       // starts at 200ms
  .add('.box-3', { translateX: 250 }, '+=100')   // 100ms after previous ends
  .add('.box-4', { translateX: 250 }, '-=300')   // 300ms before previous ends
  .add('.box-5', { translateX: 250 }, '<')        // same start as previous
  .add('.box-6', { translateX: 250 }, '<+=200');  // 200ms after previous starts

Labels

tl.label('intro')
  .add('.title', { opacity: [0, 1] })
  .label('content', '+=500')
  .add('.body', { opacity: [0, 1] }, 'content');

Timeline Callbacks

tl.call(() => console.log('midpoint'), 1500);  // at 1500ms

Scroll-Linked Animations

import { animate, onScroll } from 'animejs';

// Trigger on scroll into view
animate('.card', {
  opacity: [0, 1],
  translateY: [50, 0],
  autoplay: onScroll({
    target: '.card',     // element to observe
    enter: 'bottom',     // trigger when entering viewport bottom
    leave: 'top',        // stop when leaving viewport top
  }),
});

// Sync animation progress to scroll position
animate('.progress-bar', {
  scaleX: [0, 1],
  autoplay: onScroll({
    target: '.section',
    sync: 'playback',     // link progress to scroll %
  }),
});

SVG Utilities

import { animate, svg } from 'animejs';

// Line drawing
const drawable = svg.createDrawable('path.line');
animate(drawable, { draw: '0 1', duration: 1500 });

// SVG morphing
animate('path#shape', {
  d: svg.morphTo('path#target-shape'),
  duration: 1000,
});

// Motion path
const path = svg.createMotionPath('path#track');
animate('.mover', {
  ...path,   // spreads translateX, translateY, rotate
  duration: 2000,
});

Draggable

import { createDraggable } from 'animejs';

const drag = createDraggable('.card', {
  container: '.bounds',
  releaseEase: createSpring({ stiffness: 100, damping: 15 }),
  cursor: { onHover: 'grab', onGrab: 'grabbing' },
  snap: { x: 50, y: 50 },
  onDrag: (draggable) => {},
  onRelease: (draggable) => {},
  onSettle: (draggable) => {},
});

Animatable (High-Frequency Updates)

For values that change every frame (mouse tracking, game loops), use createAnimatable instead of calling animate() repeatedly:

import { createAnimatable, utils } from 'animejs';

const box = createAnimatable('.box', {
  x: 500,   // duration for x transitions
  y: 500,
  ease: 'out(3)',
});

window.addEventListener('mousemove', (e) => {
  box.x(utils.clamp(e.clientX - cx, -limit, limit));
  box.y(utils.clamp(e.clientY - cy, -limit, limit));
});

Text Animation

import { animate, splitText, stagger } from 'animejs';

const { chars, words, lines } = splitText('h1', {
  chars: true,
  words: true,
  lines: true,
});

animate(chars, {
  opacity: [0, 1],
  translateY: ['1em', 0],
  delay: stagger(30),
  ease: 'outExpo',
});

Layout Animations

import { createLayout, stagger } from 'animejs';

const layout = createLayout('.grid-container');

layout.update(({ root }) => {
  root.classList.toggle('column-layout');
}, {
  duration: 800,
  delay: stagger(50),
  ease: 'outExpo',
});

WAAPI (Lightweight 3KB Alternative)

For simpler animations that don't need JS engine features, use the WAAPI wrapper for hardware-accelerated performance:

import { waapi, stagger, splitText } from 'animejs';

waapi.animate('.box', {
  translate: '0 -2rem',
  opacity: [0, 1],
  delay: stagger(100),
  duration: 600,
  ease: 'inOut(2)',
});

Utilities

import { utils } from 'animejs';

utils.get(el, 'translateX');        // get current value
utils.set(el, { opacity: 0.5 });   // set without animation
utils.remove(el);                   // remove from running animations
utils.random(50, 100);             // random number in range
utils.clamp(val, min, max);
utils.lerp(start, end, amount);
utils.mapRange(inLow, inHigh, outLow, outHigh, val);
utils.snap(val, increment);
utils.round(val, decimals);
utils.wrap(val, min, max);

React Integration

import { useRef, useEffect } from 'react';
import { createScope, animate, stagger } from 'animejs';

function AnimatedList({ items }) {
  const root = useRef(null);
  const scope = useRef(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    scope.current = createScope({ root: root.current })
      .add(() => {
        animate('.item', {
          opacity: [0, 1],
          translateY: [20, 0],
          delay: stagger(50),
          ease: 'outExpo',
        });
      });
    return () => scope.current.revert();
  }, []);

  return (
    <ul ref={root}>
      {items.map(item => <li key={item.id} className="item">{item.name}</li>)}
    </ul>
  );
}

createScope scopes CSS selectors to the root element and provides batch revert() on cleanup — essential for React's strict mode and unmount lifecycle.

Animation Composition

v4 handles overlapping animations on the same property:

// Default: 'replace' — new animation cuts the old one
animate(el, { x: 100 });
animate(el, { x: 200 }); // first is replaced

// Additive: values stack
animate(el, { x: 100, composition: 'add' });
animate(el, { x: 50, composition: 'add' }); // total: 150

// None: v3 behavior, animations overlap
animate(el, { x: 100, composition: 'none' });

Common Pitfalls

1. ease not easing — v4 renamed it
2. loop: 1 means repeat once (2 total plays), not "play once" like v3
3. No default anime object — use named imports
4. direction is gone — use alternate: true and reversed: true
5. Easing names dropped ease prefix — outQuad not easeOutQuad
6. Spring syntax changed — use createSpring({...}) not 'spring(1,80,10,0)'
7. SVG helpers moved — svg.createMotionPath() not anime.path()
8. onRender replaces change, onLoop replaces loopBegin/loopComplete
9. play() always goes forward — use resume() to continue previous direction

Reference Files

For detailed API signatures and parameters, read references/api-reference.md. For common animation recipes and patterns, read references/examples.md.