Framer Code Development Skill

Framer Code Development

Code Components vs Code Overrides

Code Components: Custom React components added to canvas. Support addPropertyControls.

Code Overrides: Higher-order components wrapping existing canvas elements. Do NOT support addPropertyControls.

Required Annotations

Always include at minimum:

/**
 * @framerDisableUnlink
 * @framerIntrinsicWidth 100
 * @framerIntrinsicHeight 100
 */

Full set:

@framerDisableUnlink — Prevents unlinking when modified
@framerIntrinsicWidth / @framerIntrinsicHeight — Default dimensions
@framerSupportedLayoutWidth / @framerSupportedLayoutHeight — any, auto, fixed, any-prefer-fixed

Code Override Pattern

import type { ComponentType } from "react"
import { useState, useEffect } from "react"

/**
 * @framerDisableUnlink
 */
export function withFeatureName(Component): ComponentType {
    return (props) => {
        // State and logic here
        return <Component {...props} />
    }
}

Naming: Always use withFeatureName prefix.

Code Component Pattern

import { motion } from "framer-motion"
import { addPropertyControls, ControlType } from "framer"

/**
 * @framerDisableUnlink
 * @framerIntrinsicWidth 300
 * @framerIntrinsicHeight 200
 */
export default function MyComponent(props) {
    const { style } = props
    return <motion.div style={{ ...style }}>{/* content */}</motion.div>
}

MyComponent.defaultProps = {
    // Always define defaults
}

addPropertyControls(MyComponent, {
    // Controls here
})

Critical: Font Handling

Never access font properties individually. Always spread the entire font object.

// ❌ BROKEN - Will not work
style={{
    fontFamily: props.font.fontFamily,
    fontSize: props.font.fontSize,
}}

// ✅ CORRECT - Spread entire object
style={{
    ...props.font,
}}

Font control definition:

font: {
    type: ControlType.Font,
    controls: "extended",
    defaultValue: {
        fontFamily: "Inter",
        fontWeight: 500,
        fontSize: 16,
        lineHeight: "1.5em",
    },
}

Critical: Wrap State Updates in startTransition

All React state updates in Framer must be wrapped in startTransition():

import { startTransition } from "react"

// ❌ WRONG - May cause issues in Framer's rendering pipeline
setCount(count + 1)

// ✅ CORRECT - Always wrap state updates
startTransition(() => {
    setCount(count + 1)
})

This is Framer-specific and prevents performance issues with concurrent rendering.

Critical: Hydration Safety

Framer pre-renders on server. Browser APIs unavailable during SSR.

Two-phase rendering pattern:

const [isClient, setIsClient] = useState(false)

useEffect(() => {
    setIsClient(true)
}, [])

if (!isClient) {
    return <Component {...props} /> // SSR-safe fallback
}

// Client-only logic here

Never access directly at render time:

window, document, navigator
localStorage, sessionStorage
window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight

Critical: Canvas vs Preview Detection

import { RenderTarget } from "framer"

const isOnCanvas = RenderTarget.current() === RenderTarget.canvas

// Show debug only in editor
{isOnCanvas && <DebugOverlay />}

Use for:

Debug overlays
Disabling heavy effects in editor
Preview toggles

Property Controls Reference

See references/property-controls.md for complete control types and patterns.

Common Patterns

See references/patterns.md for implementations: shared state, keyboard detection, show-once logic, scroll effects, magnetic hover, animation triggers.

Variant Control in Overrides

Cannot read variant names from props (may be hashed). Manage internally:

export function withVariantControl(Component): ComponentType {
    return (props) => {
        const [currentVariant, setCurrentVariant] = useState("variant-1")

        // Logic to change variant
        setCurrentVariant("variant-2")

        return <Component {...props} variant={currentVariant} />
    }
}

Scroll Detection Constraint

Framer's scroll detection uses viewport-based IntersectionObserver. Applying overflow: scroll to containers breaks this detection.

For scroll-triggered animations, use:

const observer = new IntersectionObserver(
    (entries) => {
        entries.forEach((entry) => {
            if (entry.isIntersecting && !hasEntered) {
                setHasEntered(true)
            }
        })
    },
    { threshold: 0.1 }
)

WebGL in Framer

See references/webgl-shaders.md for shader implementation patterns including transparency handling.

NPM Package Imports

Standard import (preferred):

import { Component } from "package-name"

Force specific version via CDN when Framer cache is stuck:

import { Component } from "https://esm.sh/package-name@1.2.3?external=react,react-dom"

Always include ?external=react,react-dom for React components.

Common Pitfalls

| Issue | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | Font styles not applying | Accessing font props individually | Spread entire font object: ...props.font | | Hydration mismatch | Browser API in render | Use isClient state pattern | | Override props undefined | Expecting property controls | Overrides don't support addPropertyControls | | Scroll animation broken | overflow: scroll on container | Use IntersectionObserver on viewport | | Shader attach error | Null shader from compilation failure | Check createShader() return before attachShader() | | Component display name | Need custom name in Framer UI | Component.displayName = "Name" | | TypeScript Timeout errors | Using NodeJS.Timeout type | Use number instead — browser environment | | Overlay stuck under content | Stacking context from parent | Use React Portal to render at document.body level | | Easing feels same for all curves | Not tracking initial distance | Track initialDiff when target changes for progress calculation |

Mobile Optimization

For particle systems and heavy animations:

Implement resize debouncing (500ms default)
Add size change threshold (15% minimum)
Handle orientation changes with dedicated listener
Use touchAction: "none" to prevent scroll interference

CMS Content Timing

CMS content loads asynchronously after hydration. Processing sequence:

SSR: Placeholder content
Hydration: React attaches
CMS Load: Real content (~50-200ms)

Add delay before processing CMS data:

useEffect(() => {
    if (isClient && props.children) {
        const timer = setTimeout(() => {
            processContent(props.children)
        }, 100)
        return () => clearTimeout(timer)
    }
}, [isClient, props.children])

Text Manipulation in Overrides

Framer text uses deeply nested structure. Process recursively:

const processChildren = (children) => {
    if (typeof children === "string") {
        return processText(children)
    }
    if (isValidElement(children)) {
        return cloneElement(children, {
            ...children.props,
            children: processChildren(children.props.children)
        })
    }
    if (Array.isArray(children)) {
        return children.map(child => processChildren(child))
    }
    return children
}

Animation Best Practices

Separate positioning from animation:

<motion.div
    style={{
        position: "absolute",
        left: `${offset}px`,  // Static positioning
        x: animatedValue,     // Animation transform
    }}
/>

Split animation phases for natural motion:

// Up: snappy pop
transition={{ duration: 0.15, ease: [0, 0, 0.39, 2.99] }}

// Down: smooth settle
transition={{ duration: 0.15, ease: [0.25, 0.46, 0.45, 0.94] }}

Safari SVG Fix

Force GPU acceleration for smooth SVG animations:

style={{
    willChange: "transform",
    transform: "translateZ(0)",
    backfaceVisibility: "hidden",
}}

Z-Index Stacking Context & React Portals

Problem: Components with position: absolute inherit their parent's stacking context. Even with z-index: 9999, they can't appear above elements outside the parent.

Solution: Use React Portal to render at document.body level:

import { createPortal } from "react-dom"

export default function ComponentWithOverlay(props) {
    const [showOverlay, setShowOverlay] = useState(false)

    return (
        <div style={{ position: "relative" }}>
            {/* Main component content */}

            {/* Overlay rendered outside parent hierarchy */}
            {showOverlay && createPortal(
                <div style={{
                    position: "fixed",  // Fixed to viewport
                    inset: 0,
                    zIndex: 9999,
                    background: "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)",
                }}>
                    {/* Overlay content */}
                </div>,
                document.body
            )}
        </div>
    )
}

Key differences:

position: "fixed" positions relative to viewport, not parent
Portal breaks out of component's DOM hierarchy and stacking context
Works for modals, tooltips, popovers, loading overlays

Canvas vs Published: Portals work in both canvas editor and published site. No RenderTarget check needed.

Loading States with Scroll Lock

Pattern: Show loading overlay and prevent page scroll until content is ready.

const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true)
const [fadeOut, setFadeOut] = useState(false)

// Prevent scroll while loading (published site only)
useEffect(() => {
    const isPublished = RenderTarget.current() !== "CANVAS"
    if (!isPublished || !isLoading) return

    const originalOverflow = document.body.style.overflow
    document.body.style.overflow = "hidden"

    return () => {
        document.body.style.overflow = originalOverflow
    }
}, [isLoading])

// Two-phase hide: fade-out → remove from DOM
const hideLoader = () => {
    setFadeOut(true)
    setTimeout(() => setIsLoading(false), 300) // Match CSS transition
}

Scroll to top on load (fixes variant sequence issues):

useEffect(() => {
    const isPublished = RenderTarget.current() !== "CANVAS"
    if (isPublished) {
        window.scrollTo(0, 0)
    }
}, [])

Easing Curves with Lerp Animations

Problem: Exponential lerp (value += diff * speed) naturally gives ease-out. Need to track initial distance to implement other curves.

Solution: Track initialDiff when animation starts:

const animated = useRef({
    property: {
        current: 0,
        target: 0,
        initialDiff: 0,  // Track for easing calculations
    }
})

// When target changes, store initial distance
const updateTarget = (newTarget) => {
    const entry = animated.current.property
    entry.initialDiff = Math.abs(newTarget - entry.current)
    entry.target = newTarget
}

// Apply easing in animation loop
const applyEasing = (easingCurve) => {
    const v = animated.current.property
    const diff = v.target - v.current
    let speed = 0.05  // Base speed

    if (easingCurve !== "ease-out") {
        // Calculate progress: 0 at start, 1 near target
        const diffMagnitude = Math.abs(diff)
        const progress = v.initialDiff > 0
            ? Math.max(0, Math.min(1, 1 - (diffMagnitude / v.initialDiff)))
            : 1

        if (easingCurve === "ease-in") {
            // Start slow, end fast (cubic)
            speed *= (0.05 + Math.pow(progress, 3) * 10)
        } else if (easingCurve === "ease-in-out") {
            // Slow-fast-slow (smootherstep)
            const smoothed = progress * progress * progress *
                (progress * (progress * 6 - 15) + 10)
            speed *= (0.2 + smoothed * 3)
        }
    }
    // ease-out: use default exponential decay

    v.current += diff * speed
}

Why aggressive curves? Exponential lerp naturally slows down approaching target. To create noticeable ease-in, need extreme multipliers (0.05x → 10x) to overcome the natural decay.

Property control:

easingCurve: {
    type: ControlType.Enum,
    title: "Easing Curve",
    options: ["ease-out", "ease-in", "ease-in-out"],
    optionTitles: ["Ease Out", "Ease In", "Ease In/Out"],
    defaultValue: "ease-out",
}

Agent Skills: Framer Code Development

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