motion-patterns

SKILL.md

Motion Patterns

Copy-paste patterns for the most common UI animation needs.
Every pattern here is built on motion-foundations tokens and springs.
Do not define new duration or easing values here — import them.

When to Activate

Animating a button, card, modal, or toast notification

Building list entrances with stagger

Setting up page transitions in Next.js App Router

Adding entrance or exit animations to conditional content

Implementing scroll-reveal, scroll-linked progress, or sticky story sections

Building expanding cards, accordions, or shared-element transitions

Outputs

This skill produces:

Accessible, SSR-safe animation for all standard UI components

AnimatePresence-wrapped conditional renders with correct exit behavior

Page transition wrapper component for Next.js App Router

Scroll-reveal and scroll-linked patterns using useScroll + useTransform

Layout animation patterns (layout, layoutId) for expanding and crossfading elements

Principles

Every pattern imports from motion-foundations. No raw numbers.

Every conditional render is wrapped in AnimatePresence with a key.

Exit animations are always defined alongside enter animations — never as an afterthought.

layout is used only for small, isolated shifts. Large subtrees get explicit transforms.

Rules

Always wrap conditional renders in AnimatePresence with a key on the direct child. Without a key, exit animations never fire.

Always define exit when defining initial + animate. An animation without an exit is incomplete.

Use mode="wait" on page transitions. Enter must not start until exit completes.

Never use layout on subtrees with more than ~5 children or deeply nested DOM. Use explicit x/y transforms instead.

Stagger interval must stay between 0.05s and 0.10s. Below feels mechanical; above feels sluggish.

Modals must always include: focus trap, Escape-key close, scroll lock, role="dialog", aria-modal="true".

Scroll reveals use viewport={{ once: true }}. Repeating on scroll-out is distracting, not informative.

All token values are imported from motion-foundations. No inline numbers.

Decision Guidance

Choosing the right pattern

Situation
Pattern

Element appears / disappears
AnimatePresence

List of items loading in sequence
Stagger variants

Navigating between routes
Page transition wrapper

Element changes size in place
layout prop

Same element moves across page contexts
layoutId

Element enters when scrolled into view
whileInView

Value tied to scroll position
useScroll + useTransform

When to use mode="wait" vs mode="sync"

Mode
Use when

wait
Page transitions, content swaps (one at a time)

sync
Stacked notifications, list items (overlap is fine)

popLayout
Items removed from a reflow list

Core Concepts

AnimatePresence contract

Three things must always be true:

AnimatePresence wraps the conditional

The direct child has a key

The child has an exit prop

Miss any one of these and the exit animation silently fails.

layout vs layoutId

layout — animates the element's own size/position change in place

layoutId — links two separate elements, crossfading between them across renders

Use layout="position" on text inside an expanding container to prevent text reflow from animating.

Code Examples

Button feedback

"use client"
import { motion } from "motion/react"
import { springs, motionTokens } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"

<motion.button
  whileHover={{ scale: motionTokens.scale.pop }}
  whileTap={{ scale: motionTokens.scale.press }}
  transition={springs.snappy}
/>

Stagger list

"use client"
import { motion } from "motion/react"
import { motionTokens, springs } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"

const container = {
  hidden: {},
  visible: {
    transition: {
      staggerChildren: 0.08,   // within the 0.05–0.10 rule
      delayChildren: 0.1,
    },
  },
}

const item = {
  hidden:  { opacity: 0, y: motionTokens.distance.md },
  visible: { opacity: 1, y: 0, transition: springs.gentle },
}

<motion.ul variants={container} initial="hidden" animate="visible">
  {items.map((i) => (
    <motion.li key={i.id} variants={item} />
  ))}
</motion.ul>

Modal

"use client"
import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "motion/react"
import { motionTokens, springs } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"

// Wrap at the call site:
// <AnimatePresence>{isOpen && <Modal key="modal" />}</AnimatePresence>

export function Modal({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
  return (
    <>
      {/* Overlay */}
      <motion.div
        className="fixed inset-0 bg-black/50"
        initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
        animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
        exit={{ opacity: 0 }}
        onClick={onClose}
      />

      {/* Panel — accessibility requirements: focus trap, Escape close,
          scroll lock, role="dialog", aria-modal="true" */}
      <motion.div
        role="dialog"
        aria-modal="true"
        className="fixed inset-x-4 top-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 rounded-xl bg-white p-6"
        initial={{
          opacity: 0,
          scale: motionTokens.scale.press,
          y: motionTokens.distance.sm,
        }}
        animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1, y: 0 }}
        exit={{
          opacity: 0,
          scale: motionTokens.scale.press,
          y: motionTokens.distance.sm,
        }}
        transition={springs.gentle}
      />
    </>
  )
}

Toast stack

"use client"
import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "motion/react"
import { motionTokens, springs } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"

<AnimatePresence mode="sync">
  {toasts.map((t) => (
    <motion.div
      key={t.id}
      layout
      initial={{
        opacity: 0,
        x: motionTokens.distance.xl,
        scale: motionTokens.scale.subtle,
      }}
      animate={{ opacity: 1, x: 0, scale: 1 }}
      exit={{
        opacity: 0,
        x: motionTokens.distance.xl,
        scale: motionTokens.scale.subtle,
      }}
      transition={springs.snappy}
    />
  ))}
</AnimatePresence>

Page transition (Next.js App Router)

// components/page-transition.tsx
"use client"
import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "motion/react"
import { usePathname } from "next/navigation"
import { motionTokens } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"

const variants = {
  initial: { opacity: 0, y: motionTokens.distance.sm },
  enter:   { opacity: 1, y: 0 },
  exit:    { opacity: 0, y: -motionTokens.distance.sm },
}

export function PageTransition({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const pathname = usePathname()
  return (
    <AnimatePresence mode="wait">
      <motion.div
        key={pathname}
        variants={variants}
        initial="initial"
        animate="enter"
        exit="exit"
        transition={{
          duration: motionTokens.duration.normal,
          ease: motionTokens.easing.smooth,
        }}
      >
        {children}
      </motion.div>
    </AnimatePresence>
  )
}

Scroll reveal

"use client"
import { motion } from "motion/react"
import { motionTokens, springs } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"

<motion.div
  initial={{ opacity: 0, y: motionTokens.distance.lg }}
  whileInView={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
  viewport={{ once: true, margin: "-80px" }}   // once: true — rule 7
  transition={{ duration: motionTokens.duration.slow, ease: motionTokens.easing.smooth }}
/>

Scroll progress bar

"use client"
import { motion, useScroll } from "motion/react"

export function ScrollProgress() {
  const { scrollYProgress } = useScroll()
  return (
    <motion.div
      className="fixed top-0 left-0 h-1 bg-indigo-500 origin-left w-full"
      style={{ scaleX: scrollYProgress }}
    />
  )
}

Expanding card

"use client"
import { useState } from "react"
import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "motion/react"
import { springs, motionTokens } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"

export function ExpandingCard({ title, body }: { title: string; body: string }) {
  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(false)

  return (
    <motion.div layout onClick={() => setExpanded(!expanded)} className="cursor-pointer">
      {/* layout="position" prevents text reflow from animating */}
      <motion.h2 layout="position" className="font-semibold">
        {title}
      </motion.h2>

      <AnimatePresence>
        {expanded && (
          <motion.p
            key="body"
            initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
            animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
            exit={{ opacity: 0 }}
            transition={{ duration: motionTokens.duration.fast }}
          >
            {body}
          </motion.p>
        )}
      </AnimatePresence>
    </motion.div>
  )
}

Shared-element crossfade

// Source context
<motion.img layoutId="hero-image" src={src} className="w-16 h-16 rounded" />

// Destination context (same layoutId — motion handles the transition)
<motion.img layoutId="hero-image" src={src} className="w-full rounded-xl" />

Accordion

<motion.div
  initial={false}
  animate={{ opacity: open ? 1 : 0, scaleY: open ? 1 : 0 }}
  style={{ transformOrigin: "top", overflow: "hidden" }}
  transition={{
    duration: motionTokens.duration.normal,
    ease: motionTokens.easing.smooth,
  }}
>
  {children}
</motion.div>

End-to-End Example

A staggered list that enters on mount, handles conditional presence, and
respects reduced motion — combining tokens, springs, AnimatePresence, and
the accessibility hook from motion-foundations:

"use client"
import { useState } from "react"
import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "motion/react"
import { motionTokens, springs } from "@/lib/motion-tokens"
import { useSafeMotion } from "@/hooks/use-reduced-motion"

const containerVariants = {
  hidden: {},
  visible: {
    transition: { staggerChildren: 0.08, delayChildren: 0.1 },
  },
}

function ListItem({ label, onRemove }: { label: string; onRemove: () => void }) {
  const safe = useSafeMotion(motionTokens.distance.sm)
  return (
    <motion.li
      variants={{
        hidden:  safe.initial,
        visible: safe.animate,
      }}
      exit={safe.exit}
      transition={springs.gentle}
      className="flex items-center justify-between p-3 rounded-lg bg-white shadow-sm"
    >
      <span>{label}</span>
      <button onClick={onRemove}>Remove</button>
    </motion.li>
  )
}

export function AnimatedList({ items, onRemove }: {
  items: { id: string; label: string }[]
  onRemove: (id: string) => void
}) {
  return (
    <motion.ul
      variants={containerVariants}
      initial="hidden"
      animate="visible"
      className="space-y-2"
    >
      <AnimatePresence mode="popLayout">
        {items.map((item) => (
          <ListItem
            key={item.id}
            label={item.label}
            onRemove={() => onRemove(item.id)}
          />
        ))}
      </AnimatePresence>
    </motion.ul>
  )
}

Constraints / Non-Goals

This skill does not cover:

Token and spring definitions → see motion-foundations

Drag interactions, swipe gestures, reorderable lists → see motion-advanced

Text animations (word/character reveal, counters) → see motion-advanced

SVG path drawing or morphing → see motion-advanced

Custom animation hooks → see motion-advanced

CSS-only transitions not using motion/react

Anti-Patterns

Anti-pattern
Rule violated
Fix

AnimatePresence child missing key
Rule 1
Add stable key to the direct child

initial + animate without exit
Rule 2
Always define all three together

Page transition without mode="wait"
Rule 3
Add mode="wait" to AnimatePresence

layout on a 50-item list
Rule 4
Use mode="popLayout" or explicit transforms

staggerChildren: 0.2 on a 10-item list
Rule 5
Cap at 0.08–0.10

Modal without focus trap
Rule 6
Add focus-trap-react or Radix Dialog

whileInView without viewport={{ once: true }}
Rule 7
Repeating entrances distract, not inform

transition={{ duration: 0.3 }} inline
Rule 8
Use motionTokens.duration.normal

Related Skills

motion-foundations — defines all tokens, springs, the useSafeMotion hook, and SSR guards that every pattern here imports. Must be set up first.

motion-advanced — extends these patterns with drag, gestures, SVG, text, custom hooks, and imperative sequencing. Does not redefine any patterns from this skill.