Motion Driver

High-performance web animations with WAAPI

Motion is a modern animation library built on the Web Animations API (WAAPI). It features a unique hybrid engine that combines JavaScript animations with native browser APIs to deliver high-performance, GPU-accelerated animations.

Installation

yarn
npm
bun
pnpm
yarn add @tamagui/animations-motion motion

Configuration

Add your animations to your Tamagui config:

import { createAnimations } from '@tamagui/animations-motion'
import { createTamagui } from 'tamagui'

export default createTamagui({
  animations: createAnimations({
    '75ms': { duration: 75 },
    '100ms': { duration: 100 },
    '200ms': { duration: 200 },
    superBouncy: {
      type: 'spring',
      damping: 5,
      mass: 0.7,
      stiffness: 200,
    },
    bouncy: {
      type: 'spring',
      damping: 9,
      mass: 0.9,
      stiffness: 150,
    },
  }),
  // ...
})

How it Works

At runtime, the Motion driver uses the useAnimate() hook from the Motion library to create animation scopes and orchestrate animations. It intelligently batches style changes and only animates properties that have changed, optimizing performance.

The driver leverages the Web Animations API (WAAPI) which runs animations on the compositor thread when possible, keeping animations smooth even when the main thread is busy.

Animation Configuration

Motion animations support both spring and tween (timing) animations:

Spring Animations

{
  type: 'spring',
  damping: 10,     // Higher = less bouncy
  mass: 0.9,       // Higher = more inertia
  stiffness: 100,  // Higher = faster
}

Tween Animations

{
  duration: 200,   // Duration in milliseconds
}

Delay

You can add animation delays using the array syntax:

<Square transition={['bouncy', { delay: 200 }]} />

The delay is specified in milliseconds and is converted to seconds for Motion internally.

Highlights

Zero Re-renders

The Motion driver now works with Tamagui to bypasses all internal style changes to instead directly hand off directly to Motion.

WAAPI Performance

The Web Animations API runs animations on the compositor thread when possible, keeping animations smooth even when the main thread is busy. This provides off-thread performance comparable to Reanimated, but for web-only applications.

Platform-Specific Configuration

For cross-platform apps, use Motion on web and Reanimated on native:

// animations.ts (web)
import { createAnimations } from '@tamagui/animations-motion'

export const animations = createAnimations({
  bouncy: {
    type: 'spring',
    damping: 10,
    stiffness: 100,
  },
})

// animations.native.ts
import { createAnimations } from '@tamagui/animations-reanimated'

export const animations = createAnimations({
  bouncy: {
    type: 'spring',
    damping: 10,
    stiffness: 100,
  },
})

Then import without the extension:

import { animations } from './animations'

Your bundler will automatically pick the right file based on the platform.

Pro