npx skills add ...
npx skills add dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills --skill swiftui-animation
Implement, diagnose, or review SwiftUI motion using explicit and scoped implicit animations, springs, transitions, PhaseAnimator, KeyframeAnimator, matched geometry or navigation zoom, SF Symbol effects, and custom Animation types. Use when views should animate on state changes, insertion, removal, navigation, or multi-step choreography, or when motion must respect Reduce Motion and Swift concurrency.
npx skills add dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills --skill swiftui-animation
Review, write, and fix SwiftUI animations. Apply modern animation APIs with correct timing, transitions, and accessibility handling using Swift 6.3 patterns.
@Animatable Macro| Category | API | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| State-driven | withAnimation, .animation(_:body:), .animation(_:value:) | Explicit state changes, selective modifier animation, or simple value-bound changes |
| Multi-phase | PhaseAnimator | Sequenced multi-step animations |
| Keyframe | KeyframeAnimator | Complex multi-property choreography |
| Shared element | matchedGeometryEffect | Layout-driven hero transitions |
| Navigation | matchedTransitionSource + .navigationTransition(.zoom) | NavigationStack push/pop zoom |
| View lifecycle | .transition() | Insertion and removal |
| Text content | .contentTransition() | In-place text/number changes |
| Symbol | .symbolEffect() | SF Symbol animations |
| Custom | CustomAnimation protocol | Novel timing curves |
| Core Animation bridge | CALayer, CAAnimation, CADisplayLink | Read references/core-animation-bridge.md before advising |
Use the advanced catalog when presets do not express the intended motion.
Use withAnimation for state-mutation ownership, .animation(_:body:) for
selected modifiers, and .animation(_:value:) for simple value-bound changes.
Prefer the perceptual form or a preset. Load the advanced reference only when physical, response-based, or settling parameters are required.
Cycle through discrete phases with per-phase animation curves.
Trigger-based variant advances to the next phase on each trigger change:
Animate multiple properties along independent timelines.
Keyframe types: LinearKeyframe (linear), CubicKeyframe (smooth curve),
SpringKeyframe (spring physics), MoveKeyframe (instant jump).
Use repeating: true for looping keyframe animations.
Swift 6: keyframe closures are @Sendable; capture state/env values before the modifier.
@Animatable MacroReplaces manual AnimatableData boilerplate. Attach to any type with
animatable stored properties.
Rules:
VectorArithmetic.@AnimatableIgnored to exclude non-animatable properties.Synchronize geometry between views for shared-element animations.
Exactly one source view per ID should be visible; otherwise results are undefined.
Pair matchedTransitionSource on the source view with
.navigationTransition(.zoom(...)) on the destination.
Apply .navigationTransition on the destination view, not on inner containers.
Control how views animate on insertion and removal.
See All Transition Types
for the built-in catalog and custom Transition examples.
Asymmetric transitions:
Animate in-place content changes without insertion/removal.
Types: .identity, .interpolate, .opacity,
.numericText(countsDown:), .numericText(value:), .symbolEffect.
Animate SF Symbols with semantic effects. .bounce, .pulse, .variableColor,
.scale, .appear, .disappear, and .replace are iOS 17+; .breathe,
.rotate, and .wiggle require iOS 18+.
Scope: .byLayer, .wholeSymbol. Direction varies per effect.
Choose .monochrome, .hierarchical, .multicolor, or .palette with
.symbolRenderingMode(_:); use .foregroundStyle to supply palette colors.
Variable symbols: use Image(systemName:variableValue:) (iOS 16+) for percentage fill. Use .symbolVariableValueMode(_:) (iOS 26+) to choose .draw or .color.
Docs: SymbolRenderingMode · symbolRenderingMode(_:) · Image(systemName:variableValue:) · symbolVariableValueMode(_:)
.animation(_:) when you need precise scopekeyframeAnimator / PhaseAnimator content closures run every frame. Precompute expensive values, animate only visual properties, and capture state/env values before @Sendable keyframe closures.
For symbols, remove inherited effects; gate larger motion with reduceMotion ? .none : animation.
Only one source view per ID should be visible at a time. Multiple visible sources with the same ID cause undefined layout.
Apply .navigationTransition(.zoom(sourceID:in:)) on the outermost destination view, not inside a container.
withAnimation wraps the state change; implicit animation uses .animation(_:body:) for selective modifier scope or .animation(_:value:) with an explicit valuematchedGeometryEffect has exactly one source per ID; zoom uses matching id/namespace@Animatable macro used when synthesis fits; manual animatableData kept only when custom packing is cleareraccessibilityReduceMotion checked; no DispatchQueue/UIView.animate.transition(); contentTransition is paired with animation and uses the narrowest implicit animation scope that fitswithAnimation(.spring) { isExpanded.toggle() }
// With completion (iOS 17+)
withAnimation(.smooth(duration: 0.35), completionCriteria: .logicallyComplete) {
isExpanded = true
} completion: { loadContent() }Badge()
.foregroundStyle(isActive ? .green : .secondary)
.animation(.snappy) { content in
content
.scaleEffect(isActive ? 1.15 : 1.0)
.opacity(isActive ? 1.0 : 0.7)
}Circle()
.scaleEffect(isActive ? 1.2 : 1.0)
.opacity(isActive ? 1.0 : 0.6)
.animation(.bouncy, value: isActive)Spring(duration: 0.5, bounce: 0.3)
Spring.smooth
Spring.snappy
Spring.bouncyenum PulsePhase: CaseIterable {
case idle, grow, shrink
}
struct PulsingDot: View {
var body: some View {
PhaseAnimator(PulsePhase.allCases) { phase in
Circle()
.frame(width: 40, height: 40)
.scaleEffect(phase == .grow ? 1.4 : 1.0)
.opacity(phase == .shrink ? 0.5 : 1.0)
} animation: { phase in
switch phase {
case .idle: .easeIn(duration: 0.2)
case .grow: .spring(duration: 0.4, bounce: 0.3)
case .shrink: .easeOut(duration: 0.3)
}
}
}
}PhaseAnimator(PulsePhase.allCases, trigger: tapCount) { phase in
// ...
} animation: { _ in .spring(duration: 0.4) }struct AnimValues {
var scale: Double = 1.0
var yOffset: Double = 0.0
var opacity: Double = 1.0
}
struct BounceView: View {
@State private var trigger = false
var body: some View {
Button { trigger.toggle() } label: {
Image(systemName: "star.fill")
.font(.largeTitle)
.keyframeAnimator(
initialValue: AnimValues(),
trigger: trigger
) { content, value in
content
.scaleEffect(value.scale)
.offset(y: value.yOffset)
.opacity(value.opacity)
} keyframes: { _ in
KeyframeTrack(\.scale) {
SpringKeyframe(1.5, duration: 0.3)
CubicKeyframe(1.0, duration: 0.4)
}
KeyframeTrack(\.yOffset) {
CubicKeyframe(-30, duration: 0.2)
CubicKeyframe(0, duration: 0.4)
}
KeyframeTrack(\.opacity) {
LinearKeyframe(0.6, duration: 0.15)
LinearKeyframe(1.0, duration: 0.25)
}
}
}
.buttonStyle(.plain)
}
}@Animatable
struct WaveShape: Shape {
var frequency: Double
var amplitude: Double
var phase: Double
@AnimatableIgnored var lineWidth: CGFloat
func path(in rect: CGRect) -> Path {
// draw wave using frequency, amplitude, phase
}
}struct HeroView: View {
@Namespace private var heroSpace
@State private var isExpanded = false
var body: some View {
Group {
if isExpanded {
Button {
withAnimation(.spring(duration: 0.4, bounce: 0.2)) {
isExpanded = false
}
} label: {
DetailCard()
.matchedGeometryEffect(id: "card", in: heroSpace)
}
} else {
Button {
withAnimation(.spring(duration: 0.4, bounce: 0.2)) {
isExpanded = true
}
} label: {
ThumbnailCard()
.matchedGeometryEffect(id: "card", in: heroSpace)
}
}
}
.buttonStyle(.plain)
}
}struct GalleryView: View {
@Namespace private var zoomSpace
let items: [GalleryItem]
var body: some View {
NavigationStack {
ScrollView {
LazyVGrid(columns: [GridItem(.adaptive(minimum: 100))]) {
ForEach(items) { item in
NavigationLink {
GalleryDetail(item: item)
.navigationTransition(
.zoom(sourceID: item.id, in: zoomSpace)
)
} label: {
ItemThumbnail(item: item)
.matchedTransitionSource(
id: item.id, in: zoomSpace
)
}
}
}
}
}
}
}if showBanner {
BannerView()
.transition(.move(edge: .top).combined(with: .opacity))
}.transition(.asymmetric(
insertion: .push(from: .bottom),
removal: .opacity
))Text("\(score)")
.contentTransition(.numericText(countsDown: false))
.animation(.snappy, value: score)
// For SF Symbols
Image(systemName: isMuted ? "speaker.slash" : "speaker.wave.3")
.contentTransition(.symbolEffect(.replace.downUp))// Discrete (triggers on value change)
Image(systemName: "bell.fill").symbolEffect(.bounce, value: notificationCount)
// iOS 18+
Image(systemName: "arrow.clockwise")
.symbolEffect(.wiggle.clockwise, value: refreshCount)
// Indefinite (active while condition holds)
Image(systemName: "wifi").symbolEffect(.pulse, isActive: isSearching)
// iOS 18+
Image(systemName: "mic.fill")
.symbolEffect(.breathe, isActive: isRecording)
// Variable color with chaining
Image(systemName: "speaker.wave.3.fill")
.symbolEffect(
.variableColor.iterative.reversing.dimInactiveLayers,
options: .repeating,
isActive: isPlaying
)Image(systemName: "wifi", variableValue: signalStrength) // 0.0...1.0
.symbolVariableValueMode(.draw) // iOS 26+// TOO BROAD — applies when the view changes
.animation(.easeIn)
.animation(.easeIn, value: isVisible) // CORRECT: value-bound
// CORRECT — scope animation to selected modifiers
.animation(.easeIn) { content in
content.opacity(isVisible ? 1.0 : 0.0)
}
withAnimation(.easeIn) { isVisible.toggle() } // CORRECT: own mutation@Environment(\.accessibilityReduceMotion) private var reduceMotion
Image(systemName: "wifi").symbolEffect(.pulse, isActive: isSearching).symbolEffectsRemoved(reduceMotion)// WRONG
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.5) { withAnimation { isVisible = true } }
// CORRECT
withAnimation(.spring.delay(0.5)) { isVisible = true }// WRONG — no animation, content transition has no effect
Text("\(count)").contentTransition(.numericText(countsDown: true))
// CORRECT — pair with animation
Text("\(count)")
.contentTransition(.numericText(countsDown: true))
.animation(.snappy, value: count)