Reactiive

React Native Animation Craft

Initial Response

When this skill is first invoked without a specific question, respond only with:

I'm ready to help you build animations that feel right.

Do not provide any other information until the user asks a question.

The Recipe

Every animation needs three ingredients. Miss any and things will crash.

// 1. A shared value that lives on the UI thread
const scale = useSharedValue(1);

// 2. An animated style that reads from it
const rStyle = useAnimatedStyle(() => ({
  transform: [{ scale: scale.get() }],
}));

// 3. An Animated.View that renders it
<Animated.View style={[styles.square, rStyle]} />

The shared value holds the data. The animated style transforms it into properties. The Animated.View renders it.

Once you get this, everything else is just variations.

Note: Use .get() and .set() instead of .value for React Compiler compatibility.

The Four Hooks

useDerivedValue is my favorite — it's going to be extremely important.

useDerivedValue

Define a new shared value that automatically recomputes based on other shared values.

const isDragging = useSharedValue(false);

const rotate = useDerivedValue(() => {
  return withSpring(isDragging.get() ? '45deg' : '0deg');
});

const scale = useDerivedValue(() => {
  return withSpring(isDragging.get() ? 0.9 : 1);
});

The magic: wrap the return value with animation functions. When isDragging changes, the derived values animate smoothly.

Chaining Derived Values

const color = useDerivedValue(() => {
  if (isDragging.get()) return '#0099ff';
  if (translateY.get() < 0) return 'black';
  if (translateY.get() > 0) return 'white';
  return '#0099ff';
});

const animatedColor = useDerivedValue(() => {
  return withTiming(color.get());
});

Chain them. The color derives from state. The animatedColor adds animation. Clean and declarative.

useAnimatedReaction

Like useEffect for the UI thread. It watches a shared value and fires a callback when it changes.

useAnimatedReaction(
  () => left.get(),
  (curr, prev) => {
    if (curr !== prev && curr !== 0) {
      cancelAnimation(scale);
      scale.set(0);
      scale.set(withSpring(1, { mass: 0.5 }));
    }
  },
);

The check for curr !== 0 prevents firing on mount. Cancel any running animation before starting a new one.

Common Mistakes

Transform Order

The order of transforms matters. Scale before translate multiplies your translation.

// ✗ Wrong: translateX of 50 becomes 50 * 1.5 = 75
transform: [
  { scale: 1.5 },
  { translateX: 50 },
]

// ✓ Correct: translate first, then scale
transform: [
  { translateX: translateX.get() },
  { translateY: translateY.get() },
  { scale: scale.get() },
  { rotate: rotate.get() },
]

Array Index Keys

Using array indices as keys breaks layout animations.

// ✗ Wrong: indices shift when items change
{items.map((item, index) => (
  <Animated.View key={index} layout={LinearTransition} />
))}

// ✓ Correct: stable unique IDs
{items.map((item) => (
  <Animated.View key={item.id} layout={LinearTransition} />
))}

iOS Bounce

Scroll views bounce past their bounds on iOS. Without clamping, your interpolations break.

import { clamp } from 'react-native-reanimated';

// Raw progress can go negative or exceed 1
const rawProgress = offset / maxOffset;

// Clamped progress stays valid
progress.set(clamp(rawProgress, 0, 1));

Timing for Transforms

Timing animations on transforms feel robotic. Use springs.

// ✗ Mechanical
scale.set(withTiming(1.2, { duration: 300 }));

// ✓ Natural
scale.set(withSpring(1.2));

Missing Velocity

When ending gestures, pass the velocity. Without it, the animation feels disconnected.

.onFinalize((event) => {
  translateX.set(withSpring(0, {
    velocity: event.velocityX,
  }));
});

Springs

Springs feel natural because they simulate physics. Real objects don't move with fixed durations.

The dampingRatio

My range: 0.95 - 1. Stay here for professional UI.

// Default: clean, professional
scale.set(withSpring(1, { dampingRatio: 1 }));

// Slightly softer feel
translateY.set(withSpring(0, { dampingRatio: 0.95 }));

When to Use What

// ✓ Transforms: springs
scale.set(withSpring(1.1));

// ✓ Opacity: timing
opacity.set(withTiming(1, { duration: 200 }));

The Context Pattern

Pan gestures jump back to start on new touches. The solution: save position at gesture begin.

const translateX = useSharedValue(0);
const context = useSharedValue({ x: 0 });

const panGesture = Gesture.Pan()
  .onBegin(() => {
    context.set({ x: translateX.get() });
  })
  .onUpdate((event) => {
    translateX.set(event.translationX + context.get().x);
  });

Touch Feedback with pressto

Every tap needs feedback. pressto provides animated touchables that feel right.

import { PressableScale } from 'pressto';

<PressableScale
  <View style={styles.button}>
    <Text>Tap me</Text>
  </View>
</PressableScale>

Global Haptics

import { PressablesConfig } from 'pressto';
import * as Haptics from 'expo-haptics';

<PressablesConfig
  globalHandlers={{
    onPress: () => Haptics.selectionAsync(),
  }}
>
  {children}
</PressablesConfig>

Layout Animations

The easiest way to animate mount/unmount.

import Animated, { FadeIn, FadeOut, LinearTransition } from 'react-native-reanimated';

{isVisible && (
  <Animated.View
    entering={FadeIn.duration(300)}
    exiting={FadeOut.duration(200)}
    layout={LinearTransition.springify()}
  />
)}

Exiting animations are hard to build manually. Reanimated handles the delay, animation, and unmount automatically.

LinearTransition.springify()

// Snappy
LinearTransition.springify().mass(0.3).damping(20).stiffness(250)

// Smooth
LinearTransition.springify().mass(1).damping(20).stiffness(120)

Shared Transitions

Navigate between screens while an element morphs between them.

import { Image } from 'expo-image';
import Animated from 'react-native-reanimated';

const AnimatedImage = Animated.createAnimatedComponent(Image);

// Home screen
<AnimatedImage
  source={{ uri: item.url }}
  sharedTransitionTag={`image-${item.id}`}
  style={{ width: 100, height: 100 }}
/>

// Detail screen - same tag
<AnimatedImage
  source={{ uri: item.url }}
  sharedTransitionTag={`image-${item.id}`}
  style={{ width: '100%', aspectRatio: 1 }}
/>

Use containedTransparentModal presentation for the detail screen.

The Magic Button

This is what a memorable animation looks like. Scale, rotating gradient, blur — all on tap.

const isTouched = useSharedValue(false);

const scale = useDerivedValue(() => {
  return withSpring(isTouched.get() ? 1.2 : 1);
});

const rotate = useDerivedValue(() => {
  return withTiming(isTouched.get() ? Math.PI * 2 : 0, { duration: 1000 });
});

<Canvas style={{ width: realWidth, height: realHeight }}>
  <Group origin={vec(centerX, centerY)} transform={[{ rotate: rotate.get() }]}>
    <RoundedRect x={realX} y={realY} width={width} height={height} r={width / 2}>
      <SweepGradient c={center} colors={['cyan', 'magenta', 'yellow', 'cyan']} />
      <BlurMask blur={20} style="solid" />
    </RoundedRect>
  </Group>
</Canvas>

Functional animations confirm touches. Memorable animations surprise. The magic button does both.

Functional vs Memorable

Functional animations are what the user expects. Tap a button, get feedback. They're essential — without them, the app feels broken. But they don't make users remember your app.

Memorable animations are what the user doesn't expect. A gradient that glows and rotates. A 3D flip. These animations surprise.

Build the functional first. Then add the memorable.

Philosophy

Every Animation Needs a Job

If you can't name the job, delete the animation.

Match Intensity to Frequency

The more often something happens, the more subtle it should be.

// Happens constantly: clean, no bounce
const buttonScale = withSpring(pressed ? 0.97 : 1, {
  dampingRatio: 1,
});

Pick Constraints Early

• Three spring configs for the whole app
• Scale and opacity only for touch feedback
• One easing curve for all timing animations

Decisions made once, applied everywhere. The app feels cohesive because it is.

Reference Files

• springs.md - Physics, dampingRatio, velocity
• easings.md - Curves for opacity and colors
• gestures.md - Pan, tap, context pattern, pressto
• scroll-animations.md - Parallax, progress, interpolate
• skia-patterns.md - Canvas, shaders, paths, blur
• sequences.md - Layout animations, keyframes, stagger
• text-animations.md - ReText, AnimateableText, Skia Text
• worklets.md - Threading, scheduleOnRN
• design-engineering.md - Philosophy, craft

Resources

• Reanimated Docs
• React Native Skia
• pressto - Animated touchables
• Redash - ReText, utilities
• AnimateableText - Shared value text