Framer Motion Layout Animations

When to Use This Skill

Apply when implementing shared element transitions, layout animations for reordering, or coordinated mount/unmount animations. When the user asks about Framer Motion layout animations, layoutId, or AnimatePresence.

Related skills: For core animation use framer-motion-core; for variants use framer-motion-variants; for React integration use framer-motion-react.

Layout Prop

The layout prop enables automatic position animations when layout changes:

<motion.div layout>
  {items.map(item => (
    <motion.div key={item.id} layout />
  ))}
</motion.div>

Layout Modes

Mode	Behavior
true	Animate position and size
"position"	Animate only position
"size"	Animate only size

<motion.div layout="position" />
<motion.div layout="size" />

layoutId for Shared Element Transitions

layoutId enables smooth transitions between elements in different components:

Page Transitions

// Page A
function CardA() {
  return <motion.div layoutId="card" />;
}

// Page B
function CardB() {
  return <motion.div layoutId="card" />;
}

When CardA unmounts and CardB mounts with the same layoutId, Framer Motion animates the element smoothly between positions.

Modal Overlays

function ListItem({ item, onClick }) {
  return (
    <motion.div layoutId={`item-${item.id}`} onClick={onClick}>
      {item.name}
    </motion.div>
  );
}

function Modal({ item }) {
  return (
    <motion.div layoutId={`item-${item.id}`}>
      <h2>{item.name}</h2>
      <p>{item.description}</p>
    </motion.div>
  );
}

AnimatePresence for Layout

AnimatePresence enables exit animations:

import { AnimatePresence, motion } from "framer-motion";

function TodoList({ todos }) {
  return (
    <motion.ul>
      <AnimatePresence>
        {todos.map(todo => (
          <motion.li
            key={todo.id}
            layout
            initial={{ opacity: 0, x: -20 }}
            animate={{ opacity: 1, x: 0 }}
            exit={{ opacity: 0, x: 20 }}
          />
        ))}
      </AnimatePresence>
    </motion.ul>
  );
}

AnimatePresence Modes

<AnimatePresence mode="wait">
  {isOpen && <Modal key="modal" />}
</AnimatePresence>

Mode	Description
"sync"	All animations run simultaneously (default)
"wait"	Exit completes before enter starts
"popLayout"	Exiting element removed from layout immediately

Reorderable Lists

Combine layout with drag for reorderable lists:

function ReorderableList({ items, setItems }) {
  return (
    <AnimatePresence>
      {items.map(item => (
        <motion.div
          key={item.id}
          layout
          drag
          dragConstraints={{ top: 0, bottom: 0 }}
          onDragEnd={({ info, target }) => {
            // Calculate new index and update
          }}
          initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.8 }}
          animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
          exit={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.8 }}
        />
      ))}
    </AnimatePresence>
  );
}

Shared Layout with Grid

function Grid({ items }) {
  return (
    <motion.div
      layout
      style={{
        display: "grid",
        gridTemplateColumns: "repeat(auto-fill, minmax(100px, 1fr))",
        gap: 10
      }}
    >
      {items.map(item => (
        <motion.div
          key={item.id}
          layout
          style={{
            width: "100%",
            aspectRatio: 1,
            backgroundColor: item.color
          }}
        />
      ))}
    </motion.div>
  );
}

Exit Animations

Elements must have exit states for AnimatePresence:

<motion.div
  initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0 }}
  animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
  exit={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0 }}
/>

Exit with layout

<motion.div
  layout
  exit={{ opacity: 0, x: -100, transition: { duration: 0.3 } }}
/>

Crossfade with layoutId

When multiple elements share a layoutId at the same level:

function Toggle() {
  const [showA, setShowA] = useState(true);

  return (
    <AnimatePresence mode="popLayout">
      {showA ? (
        <motion.div
          key="a"
          layoutId="shape"
          style={{ backgroundColor: "red" }}
        />
      ) : (
        <motion.div
          key="b"
          layoutId="shape"
          style={{ backgroundColor: "blue", borderRadius: "50%" }}
        />
      )}
    </AnimatePresence>
  );
}

The element smoothly morphs between states including border radius.

Best practices

• ✅ Use layoutId for shared element transitions between routes/pages.
• ✅ Wrap animated lists with AnimatePresence for exit animations.
• ✅ Use layout prop for automatic position animations.
• ✅ Use AnimatePresence mode="popLayout" for smooth reordering.
• ✅ Define exit states for components using AnimatePresence.
• ✅ Use layout on parent containers when children need to animate position.

Do Not

• ❌ Forget to wrap conditionally rendered animated components with AnimatePresence.
• ❌ Use the same layoutId on multiple elements at the same level.
• ❌ Forget to define exit states for components that unmount.
• ❌ Use layout animations without proper keys on children.
• ❌ Animate too many layout elements simultaneously — group or stagger.

Learn More

https://www.framer.com/motion/layout-animations/ https://www.framer.com/motion/animate-presence/