Manim Scroll

Scroll-driven Manim animations for the web. Pre-render mathematical animations with Manim and play them back smoothly as users scroll.

Quick Start (Next.js)

The recommended approach uses the Next.js plugin for automatic build-time rendering.

1. Install the unified package:

npm install @mihirsarya/manim-scroll

2. Configure next.config.js:

const { withManimScroll } = require("@mihirsarya/manim-scroll/next");

module.exports = withManimScroll({
  manimScroll: {
    pythonPath: "python3",
    quality: "h",
    fps: 30,
    resolution: "1920x1080",
  },
});

3. Use the component:

import { ManimScroll } from "@mihirsarya/manim-scroll";

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <ManimScroll
      scene="TextScene"
      fontSize={72}
      color="#ffffff"
      scrollRange="viewport"
      style={{ height: "100vh", background: "#111" }}
    >
      Welcome to my site
    </ManimScroll>
  );
}

The plugin automatically extracts props, renders animations, and caches them.

Native Mode (No Pre-rendered Assets)

For text animations without pre-rendered video/frames, use native mode. This renders text directly in the browser using SVG, replicating Manim's Write/DrawBorderThenFill animation.

<ManimScroll
  mode="native"
  fontSize={48}
  color="#ffffff"
  scrollRange="viewport"
  style={{ height: "100vh", background: "#111" }}
>
  Currently building
</ManimScroll>

Native Mode Benefits

• No build step required - works immediately without Python/Manim
• Perfect sizing - text renders at exact pixel size (no scaling artifacts)
• Smaller bundle - no video/frame assets to download
• Authentic Manim animation - replicates Write/DrawBorderThenFill exactly:
  • Uses Manim's exact lag_ratio = min(4.0 / length, 0.2) formula
  • Two-phase animation: stroke drawing (0-50%) and fill transition (50-100%)
  • Progressive contour drawing across all characters
  • Matches Manim's linear rate function for Write animation
• Scroll-driven - same scroll progress behavior as pre-rendered mode

Custom Fonts in Native Mode

For authentic Manim typography, provide a font URL (woff, woff2, ttf, otf):

<ManimScroll
  mode="native"
  fontSize={48}
  color="#ffffff"
  fontUrl="/fonts/CMUSerif-Roman.woff2"
>
  Mathematical text
</ManimScroll>

Progress-Based Animation (No Scroll)

Animate text programmatically via progress value or duration instead of scroll.

Controlled Progress Mode

Pass progress prop (0-1) to render at exact animation state:

const [progress, setProgress] = useState(0);

<ManimScroll mode="native" progress={progress}>
  Hello World
</ManimScroll>

<input 
  type="range" 
  value={progress} 
  onChange={(e) => setProgress(+e.target.value)} 
  min={0} max={1} step={0.01} 
/>

Imperative Playback with Hook

Use useNativeAnimation for programmatic control:

import { useRef, useEffect } from "react";
import { useNativeAnimation } from "@mihirsarya/manim-scroll";

function AutoPlayDemo() {
  const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
  
  const { isReady, play, seek, setProgress, isPlaying } = useNativeAnimation({
    ref: containerRef,
    text: "Hello World",
    fontSize: 72,
    color: "#ffffff",
  });

  // Auto-play on mount
  useEffect(() => {
    if (isReady) {
      play(2000); // Play over 2 seconds
    }
  }, [isReady, play]);

  return (
    <div ref={containerRef}>
      <button onClick={() => play(1000)}>Play</button>
      <button onClick={() => seek(0.5)}>Jump to 50%</button>
      <button onClick={() => setProgress(0)}>Reset</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Playback Options

The play() method accepts options for fine-grained control:

play({
  duration: 2000,           // Animation duration in ms
  delay: 500,               // Delay before starting
  easing: "ease-in-out",    // Easing: "linear" | "ease-in" | "ease-out" | "ease-in-out" | "smooth"
  loop: true,               // Loop animation
  direction: -1,            // Reverse playback
  onComplete: () => {},     // Callback when done
});

useNativeAnimation Hook

Full programmatic control:

import { useRef } from "react";
import { useNativeAnimation } from "@mihirsarya/manim-scroll";

function NativeDemo() {
  const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
  
  const { progress, isReady, pause, resume, play, seek, setProgress, isPlaying } = useNativeAnimation({
    ref: containerRef,
    text: "Hello World",
    fontSize: 72,
    color: "#ffffff",
    scrollRange: "viewport", // Ignored when using play()/setProgress()
  });

  return (
    <div ref={containerRef} style={{ height: "100vh" }}>
      {!isReady && <div>Loading...</div>}
    </div>
  );
}

Inline Mode

For animations that flow with surrounding text (like within a paragraph):

<p>
  I'm building{" "}
  <ManimScroll
    scene="TextScene"
    fontSize={24}
    color="#667eea"
    inline
    style={{ width: "150px", height: "30px" }}
  >
    the future
  </ManimScroll>{" "}
  today.
</p>

Inline mode:

• Renders with a transparent background
• Uses display: inline-block for flow with text
• Adjusts the Manim camera to fit text tightly with minimal padding
• Outputs WebM with alpha channel (for video mode) or transparent PNGs (for frames mode)

Scroll Range Configuration

Control when the animation plays relative to scroll position.

Presets (Recommended)

<ManimScroll scrollRange="viewport">...</ManimScroll>  // Default: plays as element crosses viewport
<ManimScroll scrollRange="element">...</ManimScroll>   // Tied to element's own scroll position
<ManimScroll scrollRange="full">...</ManimScroll>      // Spans entire document scroll

Relative Units

<ManimScroll scrollRange={["100vh", "-50%"]}>...</ManimScroll>
<ManimScroll scrollRange={["80vh", "-100%"]}>...</ManimScroll>

Supported units:

• vh - viewport height percentage
• % - element height percentage
• px - pixels
• Plain numbers - treated as pixels

Pixel Values (Legacy)

<ManimScroll scrollRange={{ start: 800, end: -400 }}>...</ManimScroll>
<ManimScroll scrollRange={[800, -400]}>...</ManimScroll>

useManimScroll Hook

For advanced use cases requiring custom control:

import { useRef } from "react";
import { useManimScroll } from "@mihirsarya/manim-scroll";

function CustomAnimation() {
  const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);

  const { progress, isReady, error, pause, resume, seek, isPaused } = useManimScroll({
    ref: containerRef,
    manifestUrl: "/assets/scene/manifest.json",
    scrollRange: "viewport",
  });

  return (
    <div ref={containerRef} style={{ height: "100vh" }}>
      {!isReady && <div>Loading...</div>}
      <div>Progress: {Math.round(progress * 100)}%</div>
      <button onClick={pause}>Pause</button>
      <button onClick={resume}>Resume</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Auto-Resolution Mode

When using with the Next.js plugin, you can let the hook resolve the manifest automatically:

const { progress, isReady } = useManimScroll({
  ref: containerRef,
  scene: "TextScene",
  animationProps: { text: "Hello", fontSize: 72, color: "#fff" },
});

Vanilla JS Usage

Pre-rendered Animations

import { registerScrollAnimation } from "@mihirsarya/manim-scroll-runtime";

const container = document.querySelector("#hero") as HTMLElement;

registerScrollAnimation({
  container,
  manifestUrl: "/dist/scene/manifest.json",
  mode: "auto",
  scrollRange: "viewport",
  onReady: () => console.log("ready"),
  onProgress: (progress) => console.log(progress),
});

Native Text Animations

import { registerNativeAnimation } from "@mihirsarya/manim-scroll-runtime";

const container = document.querySelector("#hero") as HTMLElement;

registerNativeAnimation({
  container,
  text: "Animate this",
  fontSize: 72,
  color: "#ffffff",
  scrollRange: "viewport",
  onReady: () => console.log("ready"),
});

Manual Rendering (Non-Next.js)

For custom workflows, use the Python CLI directly:

python render/cli.py \
  --scene-file path/to/scene.py \
  --scene-name MyScene \
  --output-dir ./dist/scene \
  --format both \
  --fps 30 \
  --resolution 1920x1080 \
  --quality k

Render Text with Props

echo '{"text": "Hello World", "fontSize": 72, "color": "#ffffff"}' > props.json

python render/cli.py \
  --scene-file render/templates/text_scene.py \
  --scene-name TextScene \
  --props props.json \
  --output-dir ./dist/scene \
  --format both

CLI Options

Option	Default	Description
--scene-file	(required)	Path to the Manim scene file
--scene-name	(required)	Scene class name to render
--output-dir	(required)	Directory for render outputs
--format	both	Output format: frames, video, or both
--fps	30	Frames per second
--resolution	1920x1080	Resolution as WxH
--quality	k	Manim quality: l, m, h, k
--props	-	Path to JSON props file
--transparent	false	Render with transparent background

Package Structure

Package	npm	Description
packages/manim-scroll/	@mihirsarya/manim-scroll	Unified package (recommended)
react/	@mihirsarya/manim-scroll-react	React component and hooks
next/	@mihirsarya/manim-scroll-next	Next.js build plugin
runtime/	@mihirsarya/manim-scroll-runtime	Core scroll runtime
render/	-	Python CLI for Manim rendering

Next.js Plugin Configuration

Option	Default	Description
pythonPath	"python3"	Path to Python executable
quality	"h"	Manim quality preset (l, m, h, k)
fps	30	Frames per second
resolution	"1920x1080"	Output resolution
format	"both"	Output format (frames, video, both)
concurrency	CPU count - 1	Max parallel renders
verbose	false	Enable verbose logging
cleanOrphans	true	Remove unused cached assets

Component Props Reference

Prop	Type	Description
scene	string	Scene name (default: "TextScene")
fontSize	number	Font size for text animations
color	string	Color as hex string (e.g., "#ffffff")
font	string	Font family for text
inline	boolean	Enable inline mode with transparent background
padding	number	Padding around text in inline mode (Manim units, default: 0.2)
manifestUrl	string	Explicit manifest URL (overrides auto-resolution)
mode	"auto" | "video" | "frames" | "native"	Playback mode
fontUrl	string	URL to font file for native mode
strokeWidth	number	Stroke width for native mode (default: 2)
scrollRange	ScrollRangeValue	Scroll range: preset, tuple, or object
onReady	() => void	Called when animation is loaded
onProgress	(progress: number) => void	Called on scroll progress
className	string	CSS class for the container
style	CSSProperties	Inline styles for the container
children	ReactNode	Text content (becomes text prop)

Requirements

• Python 3.8+ with Manim installed (for pre-rendered mode)
• Node.js 18+
• Next.js 13+ (for the plugin)

Additional Resources

• See references/ARCHITECTURE.md for package internals and diagrams
• See references/API.md for complete type definitions
• See references/CUSTOM_SCENES.md for creating custom Manim scenes
• See references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues and solutions