npx skills add ...
npx skills add freshtechbro/claudedesignskills --skill locomotive-scroll
npx skills add freshtechbro/claudedesignskills --skill locomotive-scroll
Comprehensive skill for Locomotive Scroll smooth scrolling library with parallax effects, viewport detection, and scroll-driven animations. Use this skill when implementing smooth scrolling experiences, creating parallax effects, building scroll-triggered animations, or developing immersive scrolling websites. Triggers on tasks involving Locomotive Scroll, smooth scrolling, parallax, scroll detection, scroll events, sticky elements, horizontal scrolling, or GSAP ScrollTrigger integration. Integrates with GSAP for advanced scroll-driven animations.
Comprehensive guide for implementing smooth scrolling, parallax effects, and scroll-driven animations using Locomotive Scroll.
Locomotive Scroll is a JavaScript library that provides:
When to use Locomotive Scroll:
Trade-offs:
Every Locomotive Scroll implementation requires specific data attributes:
| Attribute | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
data-scroll | Enable detection | data-scroll |
data-scroll-speed | Parallax speed | data-scroll-speed="2" |
data-scroll-direction | Parallax axis | data-scroll-direction="horizontal" |
data-scroll-sticky | Sticky positioning | data-scroll-sticky |
data-scroll-target | Sticky boundary | data-scroll-target="#section" |
data-scroll-offset | Trigger offset | data-scroll-offset="20%" |
data-scroll-repeat | Repeat detection | data-scroll-repeat |
data-scroll-call | Event trigger | data-scroll-call="myFunction" |
data-scroll-id | Unique identifier | data-scroll-id="hero" |
data-scroll-class | Custom class | data-scroll-class="is-visible" |
Locomotive Scroll and GSAP ScrollTrigger work together for advanced animations:
data-scroll-section to segment long pages:Limit parallax elements - Too many can impact performance
Disable on mobile if performance is poor:
Problem: position: fixed elements break with smooth scroll
Solution: Use data-scroll-sticky instead or add fixed elements outside container:
Problem: All images load at once
Solution: Integrate with lazy loading:
Problem: Dynamic content doesn't update scroll positions
Solution: Call update() after DOM changes:
Problem: Screen readers and keyboard navigation broken
Solution: Provide disable option:
Problem: Scroll instance not cleaned up on route changes (SPAs)
Solution: Always destroy on unmount:
Problem: Parallax elements overlap incorrectly
Solution: Set explicit z-index on parallax layers:
generate_config.py - Configuration generator, integration_helper.py - GSAP integration codeapi_reference.md - Complete API, gsap_integration.md - GSAP ScrollTrigger patternsstarter_locomotive/ - Complete starter template with examples<!-- Scroll container (required) -->
<div data-scroll-container>
<!-- Scroll sections (optional, improves performance) -->
<div data-scroll-section>
<!-- Tracked elements -->
<h1 data-scroll>Basic detection</h1>
<!-- Parallax element -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-speed="2">
Moves faster than scroll
</div>
<!-- Sticky element -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-sticky>
Sticks within section
</div>
<!-- Element with ID for tracking -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-id="hero">
Accessible via JavaScript
</div>
<!-- Call event trigger -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-call="fadeIn">
Triggers custom event
</div>
</div>
</div>const scroll = new LocomotiveScroll({
el: document.querySelector('[data-scroll-container]'),
smooth: true,
lerp: 0.1, // Smoothness (0-1, lower = smoother)
multiplier: 1, // Speed multiplier
class: 'is-inview', // Class added to visible elements
repeat: false, // Repeat in-view detection
offset: [0, 0] // Global trigger offset [bottom, top]
});import LocomotiveScroll from 'locomotive-scroll';
const scroll = new LocomotiveScroll({
el: document.querySelector('[data-scroll-container]'),
smooth: true
});<div data-scroll-container>
<div data-scroll-section>
<h1>Smooth scrolling enabled</h1>
</div>
</div><!-- Slow parallax -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-speed="0.5">
Moves slower than scroll (background effect)
</div>
<!-- Fast parallax -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-speed="3">
Moves faster than scroll (foreground effect)
</div>
<!-- Reverse parallax -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-speed="-2">
Moves in opposite direction
</div>
<!-- Horizontal parallax -->
<div data-scroll data-scroll-speed="2" data-scroll-direction="horizontal">
Moves horizontally
</div>// Track scroll progress
scroll.on('scroll', (args) => {
console.log(args.scroll.y); // Current scroll position
console.log(args.speed); // Scroll speed
console.log(args.direction); // Scroll direction
// Access specific element progress
if (args.currentElements['hero']) {
const progress = args.currentElements['hero'].progress;
console.log(`Hero progress: ${progress}`); // 0 to 1
}
});
// Call events
scroll.on('call', (value, way, obj) => {
console.log(`Event triggered: ${value}`);
// value = data-scroll-call attribute value
// way = 'enter' or 'exit'
// obj = {id, el}
});<div data-scroll data-scroll-id="hero">Hero section</div>
<div data-scroll data-scroll-call="playVideo">Video section</div><!-- Stick within parent section -->
<div data-scroll-section>
<div data-scroll data-scroll-sticky>
I stick while section is in view
</div>
</div>
<!-- Stick with specific target -->
<div id="sticky-container">
<div data-scroll data-scroll-sticky data-scroll-target="#sticky-container">
I stick within #sticky-container
</div>
</div>// Scroll to element
scroll.scrollTo('#target-section');
// Scroll to top
scroll.scrollTo('top');
// Scroll to bottom
scroll.scrollTo('bottom');
// Scroll with options
scroll.scrollTo('#target', {
offset: -100, // Offset in pixels
duration: 1000, // Duration in ms
easing: [0.25, 0.0, 0.35, 1.0], // Cubic bezier
disableLerp: true, // Disable smooth lerp
callback: () => console.log('Scrolled!')
});
// Scroll to pixel value
scroll.scrollTo(500);const scroll = new LocomotiveScroll({
el: document.querySelector('[data-scroll-container]'),
smooth: true,
direction: 'horizontal'
});<div data-scroll-container>
<div data-scroll-section style="display: flex; width: 300vw;">
<div>Section 1</div>
<div>Section 2</div>
<div>Section 3</div>
</div>
</div>const scroll = new LocomotiveScroll({
el: document.querySelector('[data-scroll-container]'),
smooth: true,
// Tablet settings
tablet: {
smooth: true,
breakpoint: 1024
},
// Smartphone settings
smartphone: {
smooth: false, // Disable on mobile for performance
breakpoint: 768
}
});import LocomotiveScroll from 'locomotive-scroll';
import { gsap } from 'gsap';
import { ScrollTrigger } from 'gsap/ScrollTrigger';
gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);
const locoScroll = new LocomotiveScroll({
el: document.querySelector('[data-scroll-container]'),
smooth: true
});
// Sync Locomotive Scroll with ScrollTrigger
locoScroll.on('scroll', ScrollTrigger.update);
ScrollTrigger.scrollerProxy('[data-scroll-container]', {
scrollTop(value) {
return arguments.length
? locoScroll.scrollTo(value, 0, 0)
: locoScroll.scroll.instance.scroll.y;
},
getBoundingClientRect() {
return {
top: 0,
left: 0,
width: window.innerWidth,
height: window.innerHeight
};
},
pinType: document.querySelector('[data-scroll-container]').style.transform
? 'transform'
: 'fixed'
});
// GSAP animation with ScrollTrigger
gsap.to('.fade-in', {
scrollTrigger: {
trigger: '.fade-in',
scroller: '[data-scroll-container]',
start: 'top bottom',
end: 'top center',
scrub: true
},
opacity: 1,
y: 0
});
// Update ScrollTrigger when Locomotive updates
ScrollTrigger.addEventListener('refresh', () => locoScroll.update());
ScrollTrigger.refresh();const scroll = new LocomotiveScroll();
// Lifecycle
scroll.init(); // Reinitialize
scroll.update(); // Refresh element positions
scroll.destroy(); // Clean up
scroll.start(); // Resume scrolling
scroll.stop(); // Pause scrolling
// Navigation
scroll.scrollTo(target, options);
scroll.setScroll(x, y);
// Events
scroll.on('scroll', callback);
scroll.on('call', callback);
scroll.off('scroll', callback);<div data-scroll-container>
<div data-scroll-section>Section 1</div>
<div data-scroll-section>Section 2</div>
<div data-scroll-section>Section 3</div>
</div>smartphone: { smooth: false }window.addEventListener('resize', () => {
scroll.update();
});scroll.destroy();<!-- Fixed nav outside container -->
<nav style="position: fixed;">Navigation</nav>
<div data-scroll-container>
<!-- Page content -->
</div><img data-scroll data-src="image.jpg" class="lazy">scroll.on('call', (func) => {
if (func === 'lazyLoad') {
// Trigger lazy load
}
});// After adding content
addDynamicContent();
scroll.update();const prefersReducedMotion = window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches;
const scroll = new LocomotiveScroll({
smooth: !prefersReducedMotion
});// React example
useEffect(() => {
const scroll = new LocomotiveScroll();
return () => scroll.destroy();
}, []);[data-scroll-speed] {
position: relative;
z-index: var(--layer-depth);
}