Need animations? Use this library.

Summary

Framer Motion, once a React-specific animation library, is now an independent project supporting multiple frameworks and vanilla JavaScript. With its new home at motion.dev, it offers enhanced performance, a refreshed design, and critical features like layout transitions, exit animations, and gesture support. This shift opens up Motion to a broader developer audience, providing smoother, more accessible animations with minimal setup. The move strengthens Motion’s role in web development, promising continuous improvements and better integration with a variety of tools, while maintaining a focus on performance and accessibility.

Takeaways

• 😀 Framer Motion has become the standard animation library for React, used for smooth animations, entry/exit transitions, and more.
• 😀 Framer Motion is now an independent project, spun off from Framer to better serve the entire web development community beyond just React.
• 😀 The new platform for Framer Motion, motion.dev, brings a fresh design and added features like search functionality.
• 😀 Motion is no longer React-specific and now includes a vanilla JavaScript API, allowing it to be used with other frameworks like Vue and Svelte.
• 😀 Motion's spin-off marks a shift toward supporting more frameworks and provides broader accessibility for developers building animations.
• 😀 The success of Framer Motion, with over 4.5 million weekly downloads, made it clear that separating the library from Framer itself was the right move.
• 😀 New browser features like View Transitions and enhanced animation capabilities will be incorporated into the Motion API.
• 😀 Developers can now create animations with simpler code, and exit animations can be handled easily without the need for complex workarounds.
• 😀 Motion supports layout animations, making it easier to animate elements transitioning between different layouts or views.
• 😀 The library now integrates with advanced features like gestures and timelines, simplifying complex animations like staggered item movements.
• 😀 Motion is fully open-source, and developers can contribute, explore the code, or adapt it for different frameworks, making it highly customizable.

Q & A

What is Framer Motion, and why is it so popular in the React community?

Framer Motion is a powerful, open-source animation library for React developers. It is known for its simplicity, flexibility, and smooth animations. It became popular due to its ease of use for building animations for entry, exit, and transitions in React apps.

What significant change has recently occurred with Framer Motion?

Framer Motion has spun off into its own independent project, separate from Framer, with a new focus on supporting multiple frameworks, not just React. This allows developers to use the library in vanilla JavaScript or other frameworks like Vue.

How has the Framer Motion team responded to the community's requests?

The team has responded to requests by expanding the library's compatibility, offering a vanilla JavaScript API, and improving documentation to support developers working with different frameworks. This shift also includes better support for browser features like view transitions.

What new features can developers expect from the newly independent Motion project?

Developers can expect a set of new features including a hybrid engine, advanced layout engine capabilities, better accessibility support, and a focus on making animations easier and more efficient across different web frameworks.

What are some of the core features of Framer Motion that make it stand out?

Framer Motion stands out for its simple syntax, support for smooth animations, exit animations, layout transitions, gestures (e.g., drag and hover), and timelines for coordinating multiple animations. It also respects accessibility settings like reduced motion.

How does Framer Motion handle exit animations in React, and why is it significant?

Framer Motion simplifies exit animations by allowing elements to animate out of the DOM, instead of staying in the virtual DOM as in React's usual approach. This makes exit animations much easier to implement and avoids complex workarounds.

What is the importance of layout animations in Framer Motion, and how does it improve the user experience?

Layout animations in Framer Motion make it easier to transition between different layouts and UI states. These animations enhance the user experience by providing smooth transitions between elements when the layout changes, such as moving or resizing components.

What are 'timelines' in Framer Motion, and how are they used?

Timelines in Framer Motion allow developers to sequence multiple animations in a specific order, often with staggered delays. This feature is useful when creating complex animations, such as animating a list of items one after another with a delay.

Why did Framer Motion decide to become an independent project, and what benefits does this bring?

Framer Motion became an independent project to better serve the broader community beyond Framer users and React developers. This move allows the library to grow with broader support, maintain sustainability, and focus on features and performance that benefit all web developers.

How can developers contribute to the Motion project, and what are the advantages of doing so?

Developers can contribute to the Motion project by accessing its open-source code on GitHub. The advantages include being part of a growing community, improving their animation skills, and supporting a widely-used tool that has the potential to enhance web experiences across different frameworks.