Open Source Curation - Animation Components

Introduction

I usually enjoy browsing JS/TS-based open source projects posted on GitHub. When I find interesting projects, I give them a star, and I thought it would be great to share these good projects with others.

In particular, whenever I look at open source projects, I always try to find out why the project was started and what philosophy it holds. This is because most meaningful open source projects originated from problem-solving or specific beliefs. Such background stories can usually be found in the project's documentation, but many people tend to overlook them. So in this curation, I want to introduce not only the technical features of each project but also the philosophy behind them.

Starting with this post, I plan to organize the open source projects I have discovered by category and write my personal impressions of each project.

Collection of Animated Components

This post is the first in the series, introducing React-based open source projects related to animation components.

Recently, with the popularity of shadcn/ui, there has been a growing trend of reusable component collection libraries. The key feature of these libraries is that instead of installing them as npm packages, users can copy the component code directly into their projects and customize it.

In this post, I want to introduce some interesting projects that go beyond simple design systems and focus on unique interactions and animations.

Magic UI

Links

• GitHub: magicuidesign/magicui
• Website: magicui.design

About

UI Library for Design Engineers
Animated components and effects you can copy and paste into your apps. Free. Open Source.

Magic UI is a component collection for creating landing pages and marketing materials. It is convenient because you can use it immediately with just copy and paste.

Why?

This project was born from the belief that good design adds significant value to software. One of the main ways to build trust on the web is through design, and it is the first thing visitors evaluate before becoming customers.
It was inspired by Linear.app's landing page and influenced by shadcn/ui.

Review

I was impressed by the belief that "good design makes people feel that a lot of care has been put into the software, which builds trust with customers."
They showcase real services with their landing pages applied, and I liked that I could immediately imagine how I could use them.

React Bits

Links

• GitHub: DavidHDev/react-bits
• Website: reactbits.dev

About

An open source collection of animated, interactive & fully customizable React components for building stunning, memorable user interfaces.

React Bits is an animated and interactive React component library designed to simplify UI development. From simple text animations to complex 3D components, it provides everything needed to create unique and impactful websites.
It supports CLI installation through jsrepo, offering a development experience similar to shadcn/ui.

Why?

React Bits embraces simplicity as its core philosophy. It provides code that integrates naturally into projects while maintaining minimal dependencies. Most components have no dependencies at all, or use only a single animation library for smooth effects, leaving room for cleaner code and plenty of customization.

Review

Seeing that they support CLI installation through jsrepo, I thought that more open source projects providing easy customization for users would emerge in the future.

Motion-Primitives

Links

• GitHub: ibelick/motion-primitives
• Website: motion-primitives.com

About

UI kit to make beautiful, animated interfaces, faster. Customizable. Open Source.

Motion-Primitives is a collection of reusable animation components built with Motion and Tailwind CSS. It adds smooth and appealing animations to web projects, providing a more interactive and enjoyable experience. It was created for engineers, designers, and founders.

Why?

It started from the experience of struggling to find high-quality animation components suitable for real projects as a developer. Motion-Primitives was created to bridge this gap, offering ready-to-use and customizable components that can enhance marketing websites and web applications.

Review

As the maintainer mentioned, before shadcn/ui and Tailwind CSS became popular, it was difficult to find references for animation components. However, as the concepts they proposed gained popularity, many elegant design components are now being released as open source. Development has certainly become easier, but I think we now need to invest more time in properly understanding the copy-pasted code.

cult-ui

Links

• GitHub: nolly-studio/clut-ui
• Website: cult-ui.com

About

Components crafted for Design Engineers. Styled using Tailwind CSS, fully compatible with Shadcn, and easy to integrate—just copy and paste. MIT 🤌

Why?

This open source project did not have a dedicated page explaining its philosophy, but looking at the Introduction page, it appears to be structured identically to shadcn/ui, suggesting it was inspired by shadcn/ui.

Review

It claims to be fully compatible with Shadcn, but it was disappointing that most components are not actually supported and need to be added manually.

Fancy

Links

• GitHub: danielpetho/fancy
• Website: fancycomponents.dev

A growing library of fancy, fun, animated react components & microinteractions to make the web fun again. Free & Open Source.

Fancy Components is a collection of fun and unique usable components and micro-interactions. It is primarily built using React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Motion.

Why?

The standardization of web UI has brought many advantages, but at the same time, it has made the web somewhat boring. This project aims to bring fun back to the web. It recreates unique and appealing components from award-winning sites, providing them for developers to use directly or draw inspiration from.

Review

I learned the term Micro Interactions for the first time. It refers to designing small-scale interactions with users on websites or apps.
Looking at the components provided by this project, such as design changes triggered by mouse hover or clicks, I gained new insights into how interactions can be designed.

Framer ground

Links

• GitHub: code-env/Framer-ground
• Website: ground.bossadizenith.me

About

Elevate your web projects with fine, small animated components.

Framer ground is a collection of animation and interaction components ready to use in your projects. It is built with TailwindCSS, ReactJS/NextJS, Framer-motion, and TypeScript. Rather than being a UI component library, it is a collection focused on animation effects that make websites more lively.

Why?

It is a project created by a developer while learning framer-motion, started with the intention of sharing that experience with other developers who want to easily add great animations to their websites. It provides only the basic layout with TailwindCSS, allowing design elements like colors and fonts to be freely modified.

Review

I was impressed that the developer shared components created while learning framer-motion, one of the most prominent animation libraries.

Closing Thoughts

In this curation, we explored React-based animation component libraries.
It is impressive that all the introduced projects adopt the shadcn/ui-style copy-and-paste approach, yet each has its own unique philosophy and goals. Some projects specialize in marketing-oriented components, while others pursue minimal dependencies, each with their own distinct characteristics. I believe this diversity enriches the open source ecosystem.

In the next post, I will introduce open source projects on different topics.