Skill v1.0.0
currentAutomated scan100/100version: "1.0.0" name: rive-interactive description: State machine-based vector animation with runtime interactivity and web integration. Use this skill when creating interactive animations, state-driven UI, animated components with logic, or designer-created animations with runtime control. Triggers on tasks involving Rive, state machines, interactive vector animations, animation with input handling, ViewModel data binding, or React Rive integration. Alternative to Lottie for animations requiring state machines and two-way interactivity.
Rive Interactive - State Machine-Based Vector Animation
Overview
Rive is a state machine-based animation platform that enables designers to create interactive vector animations with complex logic and runtime interactivity. Unlike timeline-only animation tools (like Lottie), Rive supports state machines, input handling, and two-way data binding between application code and animations.
Key Features:
- State machine system for complex interactive logic
- ViewModel API for two-way data binding
- Input handling (boolean, number, trigger inputs)
- Custom events for animation-to-code communication
- Runtime property control (colors, strings, numbers, enums)
- Cross-platform support (Web, React, React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter)
- Small file sizes with vector graphics
When to Use This Skill:
- Creating UI animations with complex state transitions
- Building interactive animated components (buttons, toggles, loaders)
- Implementing game-like UI with state-driven animations
- Binding real-time data to animated visualizations
- Creating animations that respond to user input
- Working with designer-created animations requiring runtime control
Alternatives:
- Lottie (lottie-animations): For simpler timeline-based animations without state machines
- Framer Motion (motion-framer): For code-first React animations with spring physics
- GSAP (gsap-scrolltrigger): For timeline-based web animations with precise control
Core Concepts
1. State Machines
State machines define animation behavior with states and transitions:
- States: Different animation states (e.g., idle, hover, pressed)
- Inputs: Variables that control transitions (boolean, number, trigger)
- Transitions: Rules for moving between states
- Listeners: React hooks to respond to state changes
2. Inputs
Three input types control state machine behavior:
- Boolean: On/off states (e.g., isHovered, isActive)
- Number: Numeric values (e.g., progress, volume)
- Trigger: One-time events (e.g., click, submit)
3. ViewModels
Data binding system for dynamic properties:
- String Properties: Text content (e.g., username, title)
- Number Properties: Numeric data (e.g., stock price, score)
- Color Properties: Dynamic colors (hex values)
- Enum Properties: Selection from predefined options
- Trigger Properties: Animation events
4. Events
Custom events emitted from animations:
- General Events: Custom named events
- Event Properties: Data attached to events
- Event Listeners: React hooks to handle events
Common Patterns
Pattern 1: Basic Rive Animation
Use Case: Display a simple Rive animation in React
Implementation:
# Installationnpm install rive-react
import Rive from 'rive-react';export default function SimpleAnimation() {return (<Rivesrc="animation.riv"artboard="Main"animations="idle"layout={{ fit: "contain", alignment: "center" }}style={{ width: '400px', height: '400px' }}/>);}
Key Points:
src: Path to .riv fileartboard: Which artboard to displayanimations: Which animation timeline to playlayout: How animation fits in container
Pattern 2: State Machine Control with Inputs
Use Case: Control animation states based on user interaction
Implementation:
import { useRive, useStateMachineInput } from 'rive-react';export default function InteractiveButton() {const { rive, RiveComponent } = useRive({src: 'button.riv',stateMachines: 'Button State Machine',autoplay: true,});// Get state machine inputsconst hoverInput = useStateMachineInput(rive,'Button State Machine','isHovered',false);const clickInput = useStateMachineInput(rive,'Button State Machine','isClicked',false);return (<divonMouseEnter={() => hoverInput && (hoverInput.value = true)}onMouseLeave={() => hoverInput && (hoverInput.value = false)}onClick={() => clickInput && clickInput.fire()} // Trigger inputstyle={{ cursor: 'pointer' }}><RiveComponent style={{ width: '200px', height: '100px' }} /></div>);}
Input Types:
- Boolean:
input.value = true/false - Number:
input.value = 50 - Trigger:
input.fire()
Pattern 3: ViewModel Data Binding
Use Case: Bind application data to animation properties
Implementation:
import { useRive, useViewModel, useViewModelInstance,useViewModelInstanceString, useViewModelInstanceNumber } from 'rive-react';import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';export default function Dashboard() {const [stockPrice, setStockPrice] = useState(150.0);const { rive, RiveComponent } = useRive({src: 'dashboard.riv',autoplay: true,autoBind: false, // Manual binding for ViewModels});// Get ViewModel and instanceconst viewModel = useViewModel(rive, { name: 'Dashboard' });const viewModelInstance = useViewModelInstance(viewModel, { rive });// Bind propertiesconst { setValue: setTitle } = useViewModelInstanceString('title',viewModelInstance);const { setValue: setPrice } = useViewModelInstanceNumber('stockPrice',viewModelInstance);useEffect(() => {if (setTitle) setTitle('Stock Dashboard');}, [setTitle]);useEffect(() => {if (setPrice) setPrice(stockPrice);}, [setPrice, stockPrice]);// Simulate real-time updatesuseEffect(() => {const interval = setInterval(() => {setStockPrice((prev) => prev + (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10);}, 1000);return () => clearInterval(interval);}, []);return <RiveComponent style={{ width: '800px', height: '600px' }} />;}
ViewModel Property Hooks:
useViewModelInstanceString- Text propertiesuseViewModelInstanceNumber- Numeric propertiesuseViewModelInstanceColor- Color properties (hex)useViewModelInstanceEnum- Enum selectionuseViewModelInstanceTrigger- Animation triggers
Pattern 4: Handling Rive Events
Use Case: React to events emitted from Rive animation
Implementation:
import { useRive, EventType, RiveEventType } from 'rive-react';import { useEffect } from 'react';export default function InteractiveRating() {const { rive, RiveComponent } = useRive({src: 'rating.riv',stateMachines: 'State Machine 1',autoplay: true,automaticallyHandleEvents: true,});useEffect(() => {if (!rive) return;const onRiveEvent = (event) => {const eventData = event.data;if (eventData.type === RiveEventType.General) {console.log('Event:', eventData.name);// Access event propertiesconst rating = eventData.properties.rating;const message = eventData.properties.message;if (rating >= 4) {alert(`Thanks for ${rating} stars: ${message}`);}}};rive.on(EventType.RiveEvent, onRiveEvent);return () => {rive.off(EventType.RiveEvent, onRiveEvent);};}, [rive]);return <RiveComponent style={{ width: '400px', height: '300px' }} />;}
Pattern 5: Preloading Rive Files
Use Case: Optimize load times by preloading animations
Implementation:
import { useRiveFile, useRive } from 'rive-react';export default function PreloadedAnimation() {const { riveFile, status } = useRiveFile({src: 'large-animation.riv',});const { RiveComponent } = useRive({riveFile: riveFile,artboard: 'Main',autoplay: true,});if (status === 'loading') {return <div>Loading animation...</div>;}if (status === 'failed') {return <div>Failed to load animation</div>;}return <RiveComponent style={{ width: '600px', height: '400px' }} />;}
Pattern 6: Controlled Animation with Refs
Use Case: Control animation from parent component
Implementation:
import { useRive, useViewModel, useViewModelInstance,useViewModelInstanceTrigger } from 'rive-react';import { useImperativeHandle, forwardRef } from 'react';const AnimatedComponent = forwardRef((props, ref) => {const { rive, RiveComponent } = useRive({src: 'logo.riv',autoplay: true,autoBind: false,});const viewModel = useViewModel(rive, { useDefault: true });const viewModelInstance = useViewModelInstance(viewModel, { rive });const { trigger: spinTrigger } = useViewModelInstanceTrigger('triggerSpin',viewModelInstance);// Expose methods to parentuseImperativeHandle(ref, () => ({spin: () => spinTrigger && spinTrigger(),pause: () => rive && rive.pause(),play: () => rive && rive.play(),}));return <RiveComponent style={{ width: '200px', height: '200px' }} />;});export default function App() {const animationRef = useRef();return (<div><AnimatedComponent ref={animationRef} /><button onClick={() => animationRef.current?.spin()}>Spin</button><button onClick={() => animationRef.current?.pause()}>Pause</button></div>);}
Pattern 7: Multi-Property ViewModel Updates
Use Case: Update multiple animation properties from complex data
Implementation:
import { useRive, useViewModel, useViewModelInstance,useViewModelInstanceString, useViewModelInstanceNumber,useViewModelInstanceColor } from 'rive-react';import { useEffect } from 'react';export default function UserProfile({ user }) {const { rive, RiveComponent } = useRive({src: 'profile.riv',autoplay: true,autoBind: false,});const viewModel = useViewModel(rive, { useDefault: true });const viewModelInstance = useViewModelInstance(viewModel, { rive });// Bind all propertiesconst { setValue: setName } = useViewModelInstanceString('name', viewModelInstance);const { setValue: setScore } = useViewModelInstanceNumber('score', viewModelInstance);const { setValue: setColor } = useViewModelInstanceColor('avatarColor', viewModelInstance);useEffect(() => {if (user && setName && setScore && setColor) {setName(user.name);setScore(user.score);setColor(parseInt(user.color.substring(1), 16)); // Convert hex to number}}, [user, setName, setScore, setColor]);return <RiveComponent style={{ width: '300px', height: '300px' }} />;}
Integration Patterns
With Framer Motion (motion-framer)
Animate container while Rive handles interactive content:
import { motion } from 'framer-motion';import Rive from 'rive-react';export default function AnimatedCard() {return (<motion.divinitial={{ opacity: 0, y: 20 }}animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}whileHover={{ scale: 1.05 }}><Rivesrc="card.riv"stateMachines="Card State Machine"style={{ width: '300px', height: '400px' }}/></motion.div>);}
With GSAP ScrollTrigger (gsap-scrolltrigger)
Trigger Rive animations on scroll:
import { useRive, useStateMachineInput } from 'rive-react';import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';import gsap from 'gsap';import ScrollTrigger from 'gsap/ScrollTrigger';gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);export default function ScrollRive() {const containerRef = useRef();const { rive, RiveComponent } = useRive({src: 'scroll-animation.riv',stateMachines: 'State Machine 1',autoplay: true,});const trigger = useStateMachineInput(rive, 'State Machine 1', 'trigger');useEffect(() => {if (!trigger) return;ScrollTrigger.create({trigger: containerRef.current,start: 'top center',onEnter: () => trigger.fire(),});}, [trigger]);return (<div ref={containerRef}><RiveComponent style={{ width: '100%', height: '600px' }} /></div>);}
Performance Optimization
1. Use Off-Screen Renderer
<Rivesrc="animation.riv"useOffscreenRenderer={true} // Better performance/>
2. Optimize Rive Files
In Rive Editor:
- Keep artboards under 2MB
- Use vector graphics (avoid raster images when possible)
- Minimize number of bones in skeletal animations
- Reduce complexity of state machines
3. Preload Critical Animations
const { riveFile } = useRiveFile({ src: 'critical.riv' });// Preload during app initialization
4. Disable Automatic Event Handling
<Rivesrc="animation.riv"automaticallyHandleEvents={false} // Manual control/>
Common Pitfalls and Solutions
Pitfall 1: State Machine Input Not Found
Problem: useStateMachineInput returns null
Solution:
// ❌ Wrong: Incorrect input nameconst input = useStateMachineInput(rive, 'State Machine', 'wrongName');// ✅ Correct: Match exact name from Rive editorconst input = useStateMachineInput(rive, 'State Machine', 'isHovered');// Always check if input exists before usingif (input) {input.value = true;}
Pitfall 2: ViewModel Property Not Updating
Problem: ViewModel property doesn't update animation
Solution:
// ❌ Wrong: autoBind enabledconst { rive } = useRive({src: 'dashboard.riv',autoplay: true,// autoBind: true (default)});// ✅ Correct: Disable autoBind for ViewModelsconst { rive } = useRive({src: 'dashboard.riv',autoplay: true,autoBind: false, // Required for manual ViewModel control});
Pitfall 3: Event Listener Not Firing
Problem: Rive events not triggering callback
Solution:
// ❌ Wrong: Missing automaticallyHandleEventsconst { rive } = useRive({src: 'rating.riv',stateMachines: 'State Machine 1',autoplay: true,});// ✅ Correct: Enable event handlingconst { rive } = useRive({src: 'rating.riv',stateMachines: 'State Machine 1',autoplay: true,automaticallyHandleEvents: true, // Required for events});
Resources
Official Documentation
- Rive Docs: https://rive.app/docs
- React Rive GitHub: https://github.com/rive-app/rive-react
- Rive Community: https://rive.app/community
Rive Editor
- Web Editor: https://rive.app/community
- Desktop App: Available for macOS, Windows
Learning Resources
- Tutorials: https://rive.app/learn
- Examples: https://rive.app/community/files
- State Machine Guide: https://rive.app/docs/state-machine
Related Skills
- lottie-animations: For simpler timeline-based animations without state machines
- motion-framer: For code-first React animations with gestures
- gsap-scrolltrigger: For scroll-driven animations
- spline-interactive: For 3D interactive animations
Scripts
This skill includes utility scripts:
component_generator.py- Generate Rive React component boilerplateviewmodel_builder.py- Build ViewModel property bindings
Run scripts from the skill directory:
./scripts/component_generator.py./scripts/viewmodel_builder.py
Assets
Starter templates and examples:
starter_rive/- Complete React + Rive templateexamples/- Real-world integration patterns