GSAP ScrollTrigger

Scroll-driven animations and interactions.

Quick Start

npm install gsap

import gsap from 'gsap';
import { ScrollTrigger } from 'gsap/ScrollTrigger';

gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);

gsap.to('.box', {
  x: 500,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: '.box',
    start: 'top center',
    end: 'bottom center',
    scrub: true
  }
});

Core Concepts

Basic ScrollTrigger

gsap.to('.element', {
  x: 200,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: '.element',  // Element that triggers the animation
    start: 'top center',  // When trigger hits viewport center
    end: 'bottom center', // When trigger leaves viewport center
    toggleActions: 'play pause resume reset'
  }
});

Start/End Positions

// Format: "trigger-position viewport-position"
start: 'top center'      // Trigger's top hits viewport center
start: 'top 80%'         // Trigger's top hits 80% down viewport
start: 'center center'   // Trigger's center hits viewport center
start: 'bottom top'      // Trigger's bottom hits viewport top
start: 'top top+=100'    // Trigger's top hits 100px below viewport top

Position Reference

Scrub Animations

Basic Scrub

// Animation progress tied to scroll position
gsap.to('.progress-bar', {
  scaleX: 1,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: '.content',
    start: 'top top',
    end: 'bottom bottom',
    scrub: true  // Directly linked to scroll
  }
});

Smooth Scrub

gsap.to('.element', {
  x: 500,
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: '.section',
    scrub: 1,    // 1 second smoothing
    // scrub: 0.5  // 0.5 second smoothing
    // scrub: 2    // 2 second smoothing (laggy feel)
  }
});

Scrub with Timeline

const tl = gsap.timeline({
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: '.container',
    start: 'top top',
    end: '+=3000',  // Scroll distance
    scrub: 1,
    pin: true
  }
});

tl.to('.step1', { opacity: 1 })
  .to('.step2', { opacity: 1 })
  .to('.step3', { opacity: 1 });

Pinning

Basic Pin

ScrollTrigger.create({
  trigger: '.panel',
  start: 'top top',
  end: '+=500',      // Pin for 500px of scroll
  pin: true
});

Pin with Animation

gsap.to('.content', {
  x: '-200%',
  ease: 'none',
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: '.horizontal-section',
    start: 'top top',
    end: () => '+=' + document.querySelector('.horizontal-section').offsetWidth,
    pin: true,
    scrub: 1
  }
});

Pin Spacing

ScrollTrigger.create({
  trigger: '.section',
  pin: true,
  pinSpacing: true,   // Default: adds space for pinned duration
  // pinSpacing: false  // No extra space (content overlaps)
  // pinSpacing: '500px' // Custom spacing
});

Toggle Actions

Action Syntax

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

// Common combinations:
toggleActions: 'play none none none'     // Play once
toggleActions: 'play reverse play reverse' // Toggle direction
toggleActions: 'restart none none none'  // Restart each time
toggleActions: 'play complete reverse reset'

Action Values

Snap Points

Basic Snap

ScrollTrigger.create({
  trigger: '.sections',
  start: 'top top',
  end: 'bottom bottom',
  snap: 1 / 4  // Snap to quarters
})