Stitch Animation Layer

You are a motion design engineer. You add purposeful animation to existing Stitch-generated components — you don't rebuild them. Your output enhances components with the right motion for the right moment, and is always prefers-reduced-motion safe.

Run this skill AFTER component generation (stitch-nextjs-components or stitch-svelte-components), not before.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when:

• Components are generated and working, but feel static
• User mentions "animations", "transitions", "motion", "hover effects", "scroll reveal"
• The Stitch design screenshot clearly shows motion intent (overlapping elements, hero sections, dashboards)
• Adding polish to a completed component set

The three motion tiers

Analyze the design first. Assign animations by tier — don't animate everything:

Tier	What	Duration	Easing	Examples
Micro	Hover, focus, active states on interactive elements	100–200ms	ease-out	Button hover, link color, icon scale
Meso	UI elements entering or leaving the viewport	250–400ms	cubic-bezier(0,0,0.2,1)	Card reveals, sidebar slide, modal open
Macro	Full page or section transitions	400–600ms	ease-in-out	Route transitions, hero section, onboarding

Rule of thumb: If in doubt, use Micro. Over-animation is worse than no animation.

Step 1: Audit the components

Read the generated component files. For each one, identify:

1. Interactive elements that need Micro tier (buttons, links, inputs, toggles, cards with onClick)
2. Revealed elements that benefit from Meso tier (page sections, cards grids, sidebars, modals, drawers, toasts)
3. Hero or landmark elements that warrant Macro tier (the primary headline, featured images, page-level transitions)

Only animate elements that have clear purpose. If you can't explain in one sentence why an element animates, don't animate it.

Step 2: Detect the framework and choose the animation approach

Read package.json to determine the framework, then use the matching approach:

Framework	Approach
Next.js / React	CSS + optionally Framer Motion
SvelteKit / Svelte	Built-in Svelte transitions + CSS
Vanilla HTML	CSS only

---

Approach A: CSS transitions and animations (universal)

Use CSS for Micro tier and simple Meso. Zero dependencies.

Micro tier — interactive states

Add these to design-tokens.css or the component's CSS:

/* Base transition shorthand — use on all interactive elements */
.transition-base {
  transition:
    background-color var(--motion-duration-fast) var(--motion-ease-default),
    color var(--motion-duration-fast) var(--motion-ease-default),
    border-color var(--motion-duration-fast) var(--motion-ease-default),
    box-shadow var(--motion-duration-fast) var(--motion-ease-default),
    transform var(--motion-duration-fast) var(--motion-ease-default),
    opacity var(--motion-duration-fast) var(--motion-ease-default);
}

/* Button micro-interaction */
.btn {
  transition: transform 150ms ease-out, box-shadow 150ms ease-out, background-color 150ms ease-out;
}
.btn:hover { transform: translateY(-1px); box-shadow: var(--shadow-md); }
.btn:active { transform: translateY(0); box-shadow: var(--shadow-sm); }

/* Card lift */
.card {
  transition: transform 200ms ease-out, box-shadow 200ms ease-out;
}
.card:hover { transform: translateY(-4px); box-shadow: var(--shadow-lg); }

Meso tier — element reveal

Use keyframe animations with animation-fill-mode: both:

@keyframes fade-up {
  from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(16px); }
  to   { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
}

@keyframes fade-in {
  from { opacity: 0; }
  to   { opacity: 1; }
}

@keyframes slide-in-right {
  from { opacity: 0; transform: translateX(24px); }
  to   { opacity: 1; transform: translateX(0); }
}

.animate-fade-up    { animation: fade-up    var(--motion-duration-base) var(--motion-ease-out) both; }
.animate-fade-in    { animation: fade-in    var(--motion-duration-fast) var(--motion-ease-out) both; }
.animate-slide-in-r { animation: slide-in-right var(--motion-duration-base) var(--motion-ease-out) both; }

/* Stagger children with CSS custom property */
.stagger-children > * {
  animation-delay: calc(var(--stagger-index, 0) * 60ms);
}

prefers-reduced-motion (REQUIRED)

Always add this override at the end of every animation CSS block:

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  *,
  *::before,
  *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    scroll-behavior: auto !important;
  }
}

---

Approach B: Framer Motion (React / Next.js)

Use Framer Motion for Meso and Macro tier in React projects. It handles prefers-reduced-motion natively via useReducedMotion.

Installation

npm install framer-motion

Scroll-triggered reveals (most common use case)

'use client'

import { motion, useReducedMotion } from 'framer-motion'

/**
 * Wraps children in a scroll-triggered fade+rise animation.
 * Automatically disables animation when prefers-reduced-motion is active.
 */
export function RevealOnScroll({ children, delay = 0 }: {
  children: React.ReactNode
  delay?: number
}) {
  const shouldReduce = useReducedMotion()

  return (
    <motion.div
      initial={shouldReduce ? false : { opacity: 0, y: 20 }}
      whileInView={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
      viewport={{ once: true, margin: '-50px' }}
      transition={{
        duration: 0.4,
        ease: [0, 0, 0.2, 1],
        delay,
      }}
    >
      {children}
    </motion.div>
  )
}

Staggered card grid

'use client'

import { motion, useReducedMotion } from 'framer-motion'

const container = {
  hidden: { opacity: 0 },
  show: {
    opacity: 1,
    transition: { staggerChildren: 0.08 }
  }
}

const item = {
  hidden: { opacity: 0, y: 16 },
  show: { opacity: 1, y: 0, transition: { ease: [0, 0, 0.2, 1], duration: 0.35 } }
}

export function AnimatedGrid({ cards }: { cards: CardProps[] }) {
  const shouldReduce = useReducedMotion()

  if (shouldReduce) {
    return <div className="grid">{cards.map(c => <Card key={c.id} {...c} />)}</div>
  }

  return (
    <motion.div className="grid" variants={container} initial="hidden" whileInView="show" viewport={{ once: true }}>
      {cards.map(c => (
        <motion.div key={c.id} variants={item}>
          <Card {...c} />
        </motion.div>
      ))}
    </motion.div>
  )
}

Page transition wrapper (App Router)

// app/template.tsx — wraps every page with a transition
'use client'

import { motion } from 'framer-motion'

export default function Template({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <motion.div
      initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
      animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
      exit={{ opacity: 0 }}
      transition={{ duration: 0.2 }}
    >
      {children}
    </motion.div>
  )
}

---

Approach C: Svelte transitions (Svelte / SvelteKit)

Svelte's built-in transitions are the cleanest option for Svelte projects — zero dependencies.

Intersection Observer for scroll reveals

Svelte doesn't have a built-in scroll reveal, but the use: directive makes this clean:

<script lang="ts">
  import { fade, fly } from 'svelte/transition'
  import { cubicOut } from 'svelte/easing'

  /**
   * Svelte action that triggers a fade-up animation when the element
   * enters the viewport. Respects prefers-reduced-motion.
   */
  function revealOnScroll(node: HTMLElement) {
    const prefersReduced = window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches

    if (prefersReduced) return {}

    node.style.opacity = '0'
    node.style.transform = 'translateY(16px)'

    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(
      (entries) => {
        if (entries[0].isIntersecting) {
          node.style.transition = `opacity 400ms cubic-bezier(0,0,0.2,1), transform 400ms cubic-bezier(0,0,0.2,1)`
          node.style.opacity = '1'
          node.style.transform = 'translateY(0)'
          observer.unobserve(node)
        }
      },
      { threshold: 0.1, rootMargin: '-50px' }
    )
    observer.observe(node)

    return {
      destroy() { observer.disconnect() }
    }
  }
</script>

<!-- Use on any element -->
<section use:revealOnScroll>
  <h2>This section fades in on scroll</h2>
</section>

Animated list entries

<script lang="ts">
  import { fly } from 'svelte/transition'
  import { quintOut } from 'svelte/easing'

  let items = $state<Item[]>([...])
</script>

{#each items as item, i (item.id)}
  <div
    in:fly={{ y: 16, duration: 300, delay: i * 60, easing: quintOut }}
    out:fade={{ duration: 150 }}
  >
    <ItemCard {...item} />
  </div>
{/each}

Modal/drawer with enter/exit

<script lang="ts">
  import { fade, fly } from 'svelte/transition'
  let { isOpen = false } = $props()
</script>

{#if isOpen}
  <!-- Backdrop -->
  <div
    class="backdrop"
    transition:fade={{ duration: 200 }}
    role="presentation"
  />

  <!-- Drawer -->
  <aside
    class="drawer"
    transition:fly={{ x: 320, duration: 300, easing: cubicOut }}
    role="dialog"
    aria-modal="true"
  >
    {@render children()}
  </aside>
{/if}

Step 3: Apply animations to existing components

When modifying existing files:

1. Read each component file first — understand the current structure
2. Add CSS classes for Micro tier only (never change the component's logic for Micro)
3. Wrap with motion components for Meso/Macro (React) or add transition directives (Svelte)
4. Add the reduced-motion override to the main CSS file if not already present
5. Test both states — with and without animation (use browser DevTools to simulate reduced motion)

What NOT to animate

• Navigation links — stick to color/underline transitions only
• Scrolling behavior — only scroll-behavior: smooth where appropriate, and even that needs the reduced-motion override
• Data tables — distract from reading; use subtle row hover only
• Every element on a page — choose 2-3 anchor animations per screen

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
Animation not playing	Check the element is in the DOM before the animation fires
Framer Motion hydration error	Ensure component has 'use client' directive
Svelte transition plays twice	Check for double-render in dev mode (StrictMode equivalent)
Animation jank/lag	Add will-change: transform, opacity sparingly to animated elements
Reduced motion not stopping animation	Ensure @media (prefers-reduced-motion) is loaded AFTER animation CSS

References

• resources/animation-patterns.md — Catalog of copy-paste ready patterns for common UI components