CSS Animation Previewer

Paste keyframe CSS, watch it play, and tweak speed or pause while you refine timing. Useful before you wire the same code into components.

CSS Animation Previewer

Paste or write CSS animation code and preview it in real-time

CSS Code

Playback Speed: 1x

Animation Info

Name: example

Properties: example 2s ease-in-out infinite

How to use

Paste your CSS animation code into the editor.
Watch the preview update as the snippet parses.
Pause, resume, or change playback speed to inspect details.
Adjust timing functions and durations until the motion feels right.
Copy the final CSS into your stylesheet or design system tokens.

What to watch for

Keyframes mark styles at percentages through the run. The animation shorthand packs duration, easing, delay, iteration count, direction, fill mode, and play state into one declaration.

Easing changes the feel more than most people expect. Default ease accelerates then settles; custom cubic-bezier curves can make entrances snappier or softer. Use the previewer to compare curves on the same keyframes.

Prefer transform and opacity for motion that needs to stay smooth on phones. If you must animate layout properties, keep the element small and the duration short, then verify on a mid-range device.

Common places this helps

Loading spinners and staggered skeleton reveals
Button and card micro-interactions
Modal and drawer entrances before you attach them to real UI state
Scroll-triggered keyframes you will later hook to Intersection Observer

Keep product motion consistent: pick a small set of durations and easings and reuse them. Generating one-off curves for every component makes the UI feel uneven.

Frequently asked questions

What CSS should I paste into the previewer?

Include your @keyframes block and the animation properties that apply it (duration, timing-function, iteration-count, and so on). Incomplete snippets may not run until both pieces are present.

Why does my animation feel different in the app?

Parent transforms, reduced-motion settings, and device performance all change the look. Use this tool to iterate, then recheck on a real phone and with prefers-reduced-motion enabled.

How long should most UI animations last?

Many micro-interactions land around 200–500ms. Longer runs can feel slow; very short ones can feel abrupt. Slow the previewer down when you need to inspect a fast effect.

Which properties should I animate for performance?

Stick to transform and opacity when you can. Layout properties like width, height, top, and margin are costlier and more likely to jank on mobile.

How do I handle reduced motion?

Gate decorative motion with @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce). Offer a static or shorter alternative so the interface still works without the flourish.

Starting from scratch? Use the CSS Animation Generator to build keyframes, then paste them here for playback tests.