Agent skill

lottie

Renders After Effects animations as lightweight JSON on web and mobile using lottie-web. Use when adding vector animations, loading indicators, or complex motion graphics without video files.

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/development/lottie

SKILL.md

Lottie Web Animation

Render After Effects animations natively with lightweight JSON. Vector-based, scalable, and performant.

Quick Start

bash
npm install lottie-web
javascript
import lottie from 'lottie-web';

const animation = lottie.loadAnimation({
  container: document.getElementById('lottie-container'),
  renderer: 'svg',
  loop: true,
  autoplay: true,
  path: '/animations/loading.json'  // or animationData: jsonObject
});

loadAnimation Options

javascript
const animation = lottie.loadAnimation({
  // Required
  container: document.getElementById('container'),  // DOM element

  // Animation source (use one)
  path: '/animation.json',           // URL to JSON file
  animationData: importedJSON,       // or imported JSON object

  // Renderer
  renderer: 'svg',                   // 'svg' | 'canvas' | 'html'

  // Playback
  loop: true,                        // boolean or number of loops
  autoplay: true,                    // start immediately
  name: 'myAnimation',               // reference name

  // Performance
  rendererSettings: {
    preserveAspectRatio: 'xMidYMid slice',
    progressiveLoad: true,           // improve initial load
    hideOnTransparent: true,         // hide elements with 0 opacity
    className: 'lottie-svg'          // class for SVG element
  }
});

Animation Control Methods

javascript
// Playback
animation.play();
animation.pause();
animation.stop();                    // stop and go to first frame

// Speed & Direction
animation.setSpeed(2);               // 2x speed
animation.setSpeed(0.5);             // half speed
animation.setDirection(1);           // forward
animation.setDirection(-1);          // reverse

// Seek
animation.goToAndPlay(30, true);     // frame 30, play
animation.goToAndStop(2, false);     // 2 seconds, stop
// Second param: true = frames, false = seconds

// Segments
animation.playSegments([0, 30], true);    // play frames 0-30
animation.playSegments([[0, 10], [20, 30]], false);  // multiple segments

// Info
animation.getDuration();             // in seconds
animation.getDuration(true);         // in frames
animation.totalFrames;
animation.currentFrame;
animation.isPaused;

// Cleanup
animation.destroy();

Events

javascript
// Event listener style
animation.addEventListener('complete', () => {
  console.log('Animation completed');
});

animation.addEventListener('loopComplete', () => {
  console.log('Loop finished');
});

animation.addEventListener('enterFrame', (e) => {
  console.log('Current frame:', e.currentTime);
});

// All events
'complete'          // non-looping animation finished
'loopComplete'      // loop cycle finished
'enterFrame'        // each frame (use sparingly)
'segmentStart'      // segment started playing
'config_ready'      // initial config loaded
'data_ready'        // animation data loaded
'data_failed'       // failed to load data
'DOMLoaded'         // elements added to DOM
'destroy'           // animation destroyed

Global Lottie Methods

javascript
import lottie from 'lottie-web';

// Control all animations
lottie.play();                       // play all
lottie.play('myAnimation');          // play by name
lottie.stop();
lottie.pause();

// Settings
lottie.setSpeed(1.5);                // all animations
lottie.setDirection(-1);

// State
lottie.freeze();                     // suspend all animations
lottie.unfreeze();                   // resume

// Responsive
lottie.resize();                     // recalculate sizes

// Quality (canvas renderer)
lottie.setQuality('high');           // 'high' | 'medium' | 'low'
lottie.setQuality(2);                // or number (1-10)

// Auto-discover
lottie.searchAnimations();           // find elements with class "lottie"

// Cleanup
lottie.destroy('myAnimation');       // by name
lottie.destroy();                    // all

React Integration

Using lottie-react

bash
npm install lottie-react
jsx
import Lottie from 'lottie-react';
import animationData from './animation.json';

function MyAnimation() {
  return (
    <Lottie
      animationData={animationData}
      loop={true}
      autoplay={true}
      style={{ width: 300, height: 300 }}
    />
  );
}

With Ref Control

jsx
import { useRef } from 'react';
import Lottie from 'lottie-react';
import animationData from './animation.json';

function ControlledAnimation() {
  const lottieRef = useRef();

  const handlePlay = () => lottieRef.current?.play();
  const handlePause = () => lottieRef.current?.pause();
  const handleStop = () => lottieRef.current?.stop();

  return (
    <>
      <Lottie
        lottieRef={lottieRef}
        animationData={animationData}
        autoplay={false}
      />
      <button onClick={handlePlay}>Play</button>
      <button onClick={handlePause}>Pause</button>
      <button onClick={handleStop}>Stop</button>
    </>
  );
}

Custom Hook

jsx
import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
import lottie from 'lottie-web';

function useLottie(options) {
  const containerRef = useRef(null);
  const animationRef = useRef(null);
  const [isLoaded, setIsLoaded] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    if (!containerRef.current) return;

    animationRef.current = lottie.loadAnimation({
      container: containerRef.current,
      renderer: 'svg',
      loop: true,
      autoplay: true,
      ...options
    });

    animationRef.current.addEventListener('DOMLoaded', () => {
      setIsLoaded(true);
    });

    return () => {
      animationRef.current?.destroy();
    };
  }, [options.path || options.animationData]);

  return {
    containerRef,
    animation: animationRef.current,
    isLoaded
  };
}

// Usage
function MyComponent() {
  const { containerRef, animation } = useLottie({
    path: '/animation.json'
  });

  return <div ref={containerRef} style={{ width: 200, height: 200 }} />;
}

Vue Integration

vue
<template>
  <div ref="container" class="lottie-container"></div>
</template>

<script setup>
import { ref, onMounted, onUnmounted } from 'vue';
import lottie from 'lottie-web';

const container = ref(null);
let animation = null;

onMounted(() => {
  animation = lottie.loadAnimation({
    container: container.value,
    renderer: 'svg',
    loop: true,
    autoplay: true,
    path: '/animation.json'
  });
});

onUnmounted(() => {
  animation?.destroy();
});
</script>

Renderer Comparison

Renderer Pros Cons
svg Best quality, DOM access, smaller file Slower with complex animations
canvas Best performance, consistent No DOM access, larger memory
html DOM access Limited feature support
javascript
// SVG (default, recommended)
{ renderer: 'svg' }

// Canvas (performance-critical)
{
  renderer: 'canvas',
  rendererSettings: {
    context: canvasContext,  // optional: provide 2d context
    clearCanvas: true
  }
}

dotLottie Format

Smaller file size using .lottie container format.

bash
npm install @dotlottie/player-component
html
<script src="https://unpkg.com/@dotlottie/player-component"></script>

<dotlottie-player
  src="/animation.lottie"
  autoplay
  loop
  style="width: 300px; height: 300px"
></dotlottie-player>

Performance Tips

  1. Use SVG renderer for most cases
  2. Use canvas for complex animations or many instances
  3. Reduce frame rate if not needed:
    javascript
    animation.setSubframe(false);  // disable subframe rendering
    
  4. Progressive load for large files:
    javascript
    rendererSettings: { progressiveLoad: true }
    
  5. Destroy when not visible:
    javascript
    // In viewport observer
    if (!isVisible) animation.destroy();
    
  6. Lazy load animations not immediately visible

Common Patterns

Loading Spinner

jsx
function LoadingSpinner({ isLoading }) {
  if (!isLoading) return null;

  return (
    <Lottie
      animationData={spinnerAnimation}
      loop={true}
      style={{ width: 48, height: 48 }}
    />
  );
}

Interactive Animation

jsx
function InteractiveAnimation() {
  const [isHovered, setIsHovered] = useState(false);
  const lottieRef = useRef();

  useEffect(() => {
    if (isHovered) {
      lottieRef.current?.play();
    } else {
      lottieRef.current?.stop();
    }
  }, [isHovered]);

  return (
    <div
      onMouseEnter={() => setIsHovered(true)}
      onMouseLeave={() => setIsHovered(false)}
    >
      <Lottie
        lottieRef={lottieRef}
        animationData={hoverAnimation}
        autoplay={false}
        loop={false}
      />
    </div>
  );
}

Scroll-Triggered Animation

jsx
function ScrollAnimation() {
  const containerRef = useRef();
  const animationRef = useRef();

  useEffect(() => {
    const animation = lottie.loadAnimation({
      container: containerRef.current,
      path: '/scroll-animation.json',
      autoplay: false
    });
    animationRef.current = animation;

    const handleScroll = () => {
      const scrollPercent = window.scrollY / (document.body.scrollHeight - window.innerHeight);
      const frame = scrollPercent * animation.totalFrames;
      animation.goToAndStop(frame, true);
    };

    window.addEventListener('scroll', handleScroll);
    return () => {
      window.removeEventListener('scroll', handleScroll);
      animation.destroy();
    };
  }, []);

  return <div ref={containerRef} />;
}

Finding Animations

After Effects Export

Use LottieFiles plugin or Bodymovin to export from After Effects.

Supported Features

  • Shapes, masks, trim paths
  • Parenting, opacity, transforms
  • Text (convert to shapes for best results)
  • Image sequences (embedded as base64)

Not Supported

  • Video/audio
  • 3D layers
  • Expressions (limited support)
  • Effects like blur, glow
  • Very complex masks

Reference Files

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