ui-motion – Design & UI skill for AI agents

Motion Seed Applier

When to Use

Use when adapting an existing StyleSeed React component to a named motion recipe or personality/context supported by its actual installed motion library.

When NOT to use

• For general framer-motion docs or learning → use the framer-motion site
• For non-React motion (CSS-only transitions, GSAP) — this skill targets motion.X JSX only
• For full scroll-linked timelines or parallax — out of scope per DESIGN-LANGUAGE.md Rule 59
• For tweaking the existing FadeIn/FadeUp/Stagger wrappers — edit engine/components/ui/motion.tsx directly

Missing library and accessibility boundary

This tree does not bundle engine/motion, DESIGN-LANGUAGE.md, preview routes or calibrated recipes. Verify those paths and exports in the target project before copying named snippets; if absent, report the prerequisite rather than inventing library behavior. Do not assume hover/press is automatically reduced-motion-safe: explicitly honor the user/system preference for all nonessential motion, including one-shot interactions. Re-reading JSX is not a parse/build/runtime check; report actual checks and untested interactions honestly.

Vibe → Seed mapping

Translate the user's prompt to one of the five seeds before applying. Use this lookup table from engine/motion/index.ts:

| Words the user might say | Seed |

|---|---|

| bouncy, springy, playful, energetic, alive | Spring |

| smooth, silky, fluid, elegant, composed, continuous | Silk |

| snappy, quick, instant, decisive, sharp, precise | Snap |

| floaty, gentle, weightless, dreamy, ambient, drifting | Float |

| rhythmic, punchy, pulsing, heartbeat, beat | Pulse |

| "Toss style", "Arc style" | Spring (per brand default) |

| "Stripe style", "Notion style" | Silk |

| "Linear style", "Raycast style", "Vercel style" | Snap |

If the user says only a *brand* name, use that brand's default seed from BRAND_DEFAULT_SEED. If the user is explicit about a seed name (spring, silk, etc.), respect it verbatim.

Recommend mode — use-case → motion (when the user describes the *moment*, not the vibe)

If the user describes what the thing is ("a like button", "a modal", "the loading

state", "items in a feed") rather than a feeling, recommend from the use-case map

(MOTION_BY_USECASE in engine/motion/library.ts, exported from @engine/motion):

| Use case | Reach for | Why |

|---|---|---|

| Primary button / CTA press | spring · press | tactile, confident — the press should "give" |

| Modal / dialog / sheet enter | silk · entrance | smooth; never bounce serious/destructive content |

| Dropdown / popover / menu | snap · entrance | instant, precise — frequent UI shouldn't wait |

| Toast / inline notification | spring · entrance | small friendly arrival, non-blocking |

| List / feed items appearing | stagger-cascade | choreograph order, gently |

| Feature / marketing card hover | tilt-3d | depth/flair OK on content-light marketing |

| Dashboard / data card hover | snap · hover | a subtle lift only — keep dense UI calm |

| Like / favorite / reaction | like-burst | a celebratory one-shot; reward the tap |

| Live / online / recording dot | pulse-beat | looping heartbeat = "alive" |

| Loading / skeleton | shimmer | calm directional progress |

| Success / confirmation | pop-in | positive little "done" |

| Toggle / tab / segment switch | toggle-flip | distinctive, recognizable switch |

| Page / route transition | silk · entrance | smooth, minimal, get out of the way |

| Number / balance / KPI / price reveal | none | don't animate the payload — it must read instantly |

Two anti-rules override the table (state them if you deviate):

1. One seed per product. If the project already uses a seed, match it — don't introduce a second personality.

2. Never delay the payload. Don't animate a balance, price, or search result into view; motion is for affordance, not content.

Named motion keywords (distinctive moves)

Seeds set a *personality* (how a fade/scale feels). The motion library in

engine/motion/library.ts adds *distinctive moves* — a flip, a curtain wipe, a

morph — each behind a unique keyword. Prefer a keyword when the user wants a

specific, recognizable motion rather than a generic feel.

engine/motion/library.ts (exported as MOTION_LIBRARY / MOTION_BY_KEY from

@engine/motion) is the single source of truth — every keyword carries its

own runnable snippet. Pull the snippet from there; never hand-write the params.

| Keyword | Move | Say it when the user wants… |

|---|---|---|

| toggle-flip | 3D Y-axis card flip | a switch/toggle to flip between two faces |

| toggle-slide | slide-stack swap | a value to slide out and the next to slide in |

| toggle-morph | pill ⇄ circle morph | a control to change shape on toggle |

| toggle-curtain | top→bottom clip-path wipe | a panel to reveal like a curtain |

| reveal-blur | blur(12px)→0 focus-in | content to focus-pull into place |

| reveal-rise | masked clip-path text rise | a headline/text to climb into view |

| reveal-unfold | scaleY from top edge | an accordion/panel to unfold |

| pop-in | spring overshoot from 0 | a badge/checkmark to pop in bouncily |

| press-squish | scale-down + skew | a button to feel jelly/tactile on tap |

| tap-ripple | radial ripple from tap | Material-style press feedback |

| pulse-beat | looping scale pulse | a live/recording/heartbeat indicator |

| wiggle | quick horizontal shake | error / invalid-input feedback |

| shimmer | skeleton loading sweep | a loading placeholder |

| stagger-cascade | children fade-up in sequence | a list to animate in one-by-one |

Applying a keyword:

1. Read the exact recipe from engine/motion/library.ts — find the entry whose

key matches, copy its snippet verbatim (it is calibrated and runnable).

2. Adapt only the element/content to the user's JSX; keep the transition values.

3. If the keyword is stateful (toggles, ripple), wire the useState shown in the

snippet. If it's a one-shot reveal, a key bump replays it.

4. Tell the user the keyword you applied so they can reuse it elsewhere for

consistency, and point them at /motion to preview/Copy others.

If the user describes a move but no exact keyword fits, fall back to a seed +

context. If they say a keyword that doesn't exist, suggest the closest real one

from the table — never invent a keyword.

Context detection

Infer one of the five contexts from the prompt:

• "on hover" / "when hovered" → hover
• "on press" / "on tap" / "on click" → press
• "when it appears" / "on mount" / "entering" → entrance
• "when it leaves" / "on close" / "exiting" → exit (requires <AnimatePresence>)
• "when layout changes" / "FLIP" / "rearranging" → layout

If ambiguous, default to entrance. If multiple contexts are reasonable (e.g., a button needs both hover and press), apply both.

Application steps

Apply seed: $0 · Context: $1 · Target: $ARGUMENTS

1. Read the target file at the path given (or, if no path was given, ask the user which file). Locate the JSX element the user is talking about — usually a <button>, <div>, <Card>, or similar.

2. Confirm the import paths. The component file must be able to import:

• motion (and AnimatePresence for exit) from "framer-motion"
• the chosen seed from "@engine/motion" — in a project that doesn't use the @engine/* alias, use a relative path to engine/motion

3. Replace the target tag with a <motion.X> and spread the seed's recipe:

   // hover example
   <motion.button {...spring.hover}>Save</motion.button>

   // press + hover combined
   <motion.button {...spring.press} {...spring.hover}>Save</motion.button>

   // entrance (mount)
   <motion.div {...silk.entrance}>...</motion.div>

   // exit (requires AnimatePresence wrapper somewhere up the tree)
   <AnimatePresence>
     {open && <motion.div {...silk.entrance} {...silk.exit} />}
   </AnimatePresence>

   // layout (FLIP)
   <motion.div {...snap.layout}>...</motion.div>
   

4. Do NOT inline the params. The whole point of the seed is that the values come from one source. Never expand { type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 18 } into the JSX — always spread the recipe.

5. Respect prefers-reduced-motion in long-running surfaces. For one-off interactions (hover/press), framer-motion already throttles. For mount/exit/layout sequences in a long-lived page, import usePrefersReducedMotion and REDUCED_TRANSITION from @engine/motion and override the transition when reduced motion is on.

6. Validate by re-reading the file and confirming the JSX still parses (matching brackets, motion tag closed, AnimatePresence in place if exit was used).

7. Tell the user which seed and context you applied, and offer one related context they might want next ("Want press too so it feels clickable?").

D

… (full content is in the download package)