Gsap Scrolltrigger

GSAP & ScrollTrigger Development

Overview

GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform) is the industry-leading JavaScript animation library for creating high-performance, production-quality animations. ScrollTrigger is GSAP's powerful plugin for scroll-driven animations. Together, they enable everything from simple UI transitions to complex scroll-based storytelling experiences.

Core Concepts

The Basics: Tweens

A tween is a single animation from point A to point B.

// Animate TO a state (from current)
gsap.to(".box", {
  x: 200,
  rotation: 360,
  duration: 1,
  ease: "power2.inOut"
});

// Animate FROM a state (to current)
gsap.from(".box", {
  opacity: 0,
  y: -50,
  duration: 0.8
});

// Animate FROM-TO (define both start and end)
gsap.fromTo(".box",
  { opacity: 0, scale: 0.5 }, // FROM
  { opacity: 1, scale: 1, duration: 1 } // TO
);

Timelines: Sequencing Animations

Timelines orchestrate multiple tweens in sequence or overlap.

const tl = gsap.timeline();

// Sequential by default
tl.to(".box1", { x: 100, duration: 1 })
  .to(".box2", { y: 100, duration: 1 })
  .to(".box3", { rotation: 360, duration: 1 });

// With labels for organization
tl.addLabel("start")
  .to(".hero", { opacity: 1, duration: 1 })
  .addLabel("reveal")
  .to(".content", { y: 0, duration: 0.8 }, "reveal") // Start at "reveal" label
  .to(".cta", { scale: 1, duration: 0.5 }, "reveal+=0.5"); // 0.5s after "reveal"

Position Parameter (Timeline Timing)

Control when animations start within a timeline:

const tl = gsap.timeline();

// Default: One after another
tl.to(".box1", { x: 100 })
  .to(".box2", { x: 100 }); // Starts after box1 finishes

// Start at the same time
tl.to(".box1", { x: 100 })
  .to(".box2", { y: 100 }, 0); // Starts at 0 seconds

// Relative positioning
tl.to(".box1", { x: 100, duration: 2 })
  .to(".box2", { y: 100 }, "-=1"); // Starts 1 second before box1 ends
  .to(".box3", { rotation: 360 }, "+=0.5"); // Starts 0.5s after box2 finishes

// At a specific time
tl.to(".box1", { x: 100 }, 2.5); // Starts at 2.5 seconds

ScrollTrigger Fundamentals

Basic Scroll Animation

gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);

gsap.to(".box", {
  x: 500,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: ".box",
    start: "top center", // When top of trigger hits center of viewport
    end: "bottom center",
    markers: true, // Development only - shows start/end positions
    scrub: true, // Links animation to scrollbar
    toggleActions: "play none none reverse" // onEnter onLeave onEnterBack onLeaveBack
  }
});

Start & End Positions

Format: "[trigger position] [viewport position]"

// Common patterns
start: "top top"      // Trigger top hits viewport top
start: "top center"   // Trigger top hits viewport center (default)
start: "top bottom"   // Trigger top hits viewport bottom
start: "center center" // Trigger center hits viewport center

// With offsets
start: "top top+=100"   // 100px below viewport top
start: "top 80%"        // 80% down the viewport
end: "+=500"            // 500px after start position
end: "bottom top"       // Trigger bottom hits viewport top

Scrubbing (Scroll-Synced Animation)

// Boolean: Direct link to scrollbar (immediate)
scrub: true

// Number: Smoothing delay in seconds
scrub: 1  // Takes 1 second to "catch up" to scrollbar
scrub: 0.5 // Faster, tighter feel

Toggle Actions

Control animation at four scroll points:

toggleActions: "play pause resume reset"
// onEnter | onLeave | onEnterBack | onLeaveBack

// Actions: play, pause, resume, restart, reset, complete, reverse, none

Common patterns:

toggleActions: "play none none none"       // Play once on enter
toggleActions: "play none none reverse"    // Play forward, reverse back
toggleActions: "play complete reverse reset" // Full control
toggleActions: "restart pause resume pause"  // Restart on each enter

Common Patterns

1. Fade In On Scroll

gsap.from(".fade-in", {
  opacity: 0,
  y: 50,
  duration: 1,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: ".fade-in",
    start: "top 80%",
    end: "top 50%",
    scrub: 1,
    once: true // Only animate once
  }
});

2. Pin Element While Scrolling

ScrollTrigger.create({
  trigger: ".panel",
  start: "top top",
  end: "+=500", // Pin for 500px of scrolling
  pin: true,
  pinSpacing: true // Add spacing (default true)
});

3. Horizontal Scroll Section

const sections = gsap.utils.toArray(".panel");

gsap.to(sections, {
  xPercent: -100 * (sections.length - 1),
  ease: "none",
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: ".container",
    pin: true,
    scrub: 1,
    end: () => "+=" + document.querySelector(".container").offsetWidth
  }
});

4. Parallax Effect

// Slower movement (background layer)
gsap.to(".bg", {
  y: 200,
  ease: "none",
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: ".section",
    start: "top bottom",
    end: "bottom top",
    scrub: true
  }
});

// Faster movement (foreground layer)
gsap.to(".fg", {
  y: -100,
  ease: "none",
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: ".section",
    start: "top bottom",
    end: "bottom top",
    scrub: true
  }
});

5. Scroll-Triggered Timeline

const tl = gsap.timeline({
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: ".container",
    start: "top top",
    end: "+=500",
    scrub: 1,
    pin: true,
    snap: {
      snapTo: "labels", // Snap to timeline labels
      duration: { min: 0.2, max: 3 },
      delay: 0.2,
      ease: "power1.inOut"
    }
  }
});

tl.addLabel("start")
  .from(".title", { scale: 0.3, rotation: 45, autoAlpha: 0 })
  .addLabel("color")
  .from(".box", { backgroundColor: "#28a92b" })
  .addLabel("spin")
  .to(".box", { rotation: 360 })
  .addLabel("end");

6. Batch Animations (Multiple Elements)

// Loop through multiple elements
gsap.utils.toArray(".box").forEach((box, i) => {
  gsap.from(box, {
    y: 100,
    opacity: 0,
    scrollTrigger: {
      trigger: box,
      start: "top 80%",
      end: "top 50%",
      scrub: 1
    }
  });
});

// Or use ScrollTrigger.batch
ScrollTrigger.batch(".box", {
  onEnter: batch => gsap.to(batch, { opacity: 1, y: 0, stagger: 0.15 }),
  onLeave: batch => gsap.set(batch, { opacity: 0 }),
  start: "top 80%",
  once: true
});

7. Staggered Animations

gsap.from(".item", {
  y: 50,
  opacity: 0,
  duration: 0.8,
  stagger: 0.1, // 0.1s between each item
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: ".grid",
    start: "top 80%"
  }
});

// Advanced stagger
gsap.from(".item", {
  scale: 0,
  duration: 1,
  stagger: {
    each: 0.1,
    from: "center", // "start", "center", "end", "edges", or index number
    grid: "auto", // For grid layouts
    ease: "power2.inOut"
  }
});

Integration Patterns

With Three.js / WebGL

import * as THREE from 'three';
import gsap from 'gsap';
import { ScrollTrigger } from 'gsap/ScrollTrigger';

gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);

// Animate camera
gsap.to(camera.position, {
  x: 5,
  y: 3,
  z: 10,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: "#section2",
    start: "top top",
    end: "bottom top",
    scrub: 1,
    onUpdate: () => camera.lookAt(scene.position)
  }
});

// Animate mesh rotation
gsap.to(mesh.rotation, {
  y: Math.PI * 2,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: "#section3",
    start: "top bottom",
    end: "bottom top",
    scrub: true
  }
});

// Animate material properties
gsap.to(material, {
  opacity: 0,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: "#section4",
    start: "top center",
    end: "center center",
    scrub: 1
  }
});

With React (useGSAP Hook)

import { useRef } from 'react';
import { useGSAP } from '@gsap/react';
import gsap from 'gsap';
import { ScrollTrigger } from 'gsap/ScrollTrigger';

gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);

function Component() {
  const container = useRef();
  const box = useRef();