Tailwind CSS Animations

Overview

Tailwind CSS includes animation utilities and the tailwindcss-animate plugin adds more. Create entrance animations, loading states, skeleton screens, and micro-interactions entirely with utility classes — no JavaScript needed for simple animations.

Instructions

Step 1: Built-in Animations

// Tailwind includes 4 animations out of the box
<div className="animate-spin">⟳</div>        // loading spinner
<div className="animate-ping">●</div>         // notification dot
<div className="animate-pulse">Loading...</div> // skeleton placeholder
<div className="animate-bounce">↓</div>       // scroll indicator

Step 2: tailwindcss-animate Plugin

npm install tailwindcss-animate

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  plugins: [require('tailwindcss-animate')],
}

// Entrance animations
<div className="animate-in fade-in slide-in-from-bottom-4 duration-500">
  Content fades and slides up
</div>

// Exit animations
<div className="animate-out fade-out slide-out-to-top-4 duration-300">
  Content fades and slides away
</div>

// With delay and fill mode
<div className="animate-in fade-in delay-200 fill-mode-backwards">
  Appears after 200ms delay
</div>

// Staggered children (combine with CSS custom properties)
{items.map((item, i) => (
  <div
    key={item.id}
    className="animate-in fade-in slide-in-from-bottom-2 duration-300 fill-mode-backwards"
    style={{ animationDelay: `${i * 100}ms` }}
  >
    {item.name}
  </div>
))}

Step 3: Custom Animations

// tailwind.config.js — Custom keyframes
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      keyframes: {
        'slide-up': {
          '0%': { transform: 'translateY(10px)', opacity: '0' },
          '100%': { transform: 'translateY(0)', opacity: '1' },
        },
        shimmer: {
          '0%': { backgroundPosition: '-200% 0' },
          '100%': { backgroundPosition: '200% 0' },
        },
      },
      animation: {
        'slide-up': 'slide-up 0.3s ease-out',
        shimmer: 'shimmer 2s infinite linear',
      },
    },
  },
}

// Skeleton loading with shimmer
<div className="h-4 w-48 rounded bg-gradient-to-r from-gray-200 via-gray-100 to-gray-200 bg-[length:200%_100%] animate-shimmer" />

Guidelines

• Use CSS animations for simple effects (fade, slide, spin) — no JS overhead.
• tailwindcss-animate pairs well with shadcn/ui — it powers dialog/dropdown animations.
• fill-mode-backwards applies initial state during delay — prevents flash of final state.
• Prefer duration-300 (300ms) for most UI transitions — feels responsive without rushing.
• Use prefers-reduced-motion media query: motion-reduce:animate-none.