Install
That writes one file:compositions/components/echo-trail.html.
Paste it into your composition
Opencompositions/components/echo-trail.html and copy what is inside into your own composition.
A component has no size or duration of its own. It takes both from the composition
you paste it into.
Variables
Every one of these has a default, so the piece works untouched. Set the ones you want to change on the element:| Variable | Default | Accepts | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
echoes | 4 | number | Ghost copy count, clamped 2 to 6. |
delta | 0.09 | number | Lag between successive ghosts in seconds, clamped 0.03 to 0.3. |
path | sweep | sweep, rise, arc | Authored traversal preset. |
accent | green | green, blue, violet | Subject accent color: green rides —brand, blue rides —accent, violet rides —accent-2. |
exit | none | none, fade, up | Optional departure. Default none: the settled element holds until the frame cuts. |
data-variable-values on the element that mounts it. These are the
defaults, so this behaves exactly like the preview above until you change one:
<div
data-composition-id="echo-trail"
data-composition-src="compositions/components/echo-trail.html"
data-variable-values='{"echoes":4,"delta":0.09,"path":"sweep","accent":"green","exit":"none"}'
></div>
Source
echo-trail.html
echo-trail.html
<!doctype html>
<!--
echo-trail: HyperFrames video primitive (trails)
The generalized onion skin: a moving element renders with N ghosted
copies of itself, each ghost showing the element where it was at
t minus i * delta, opacity stepped down per ghost. One traversal along
an authored path; as the element decelerates into rest the echoes
collapse into it and vanish, leaving a clean settled hold.
The subject is a SLOT. Callers supply content by placing an inert
template anywhere in the HOST page (templates never render, and the
runtime wipes the host clip's own children on mount, so the slot lives
at document level):
<template data-slot="echo-trail-subject"> ... </template>
Ghosts are deep clones of the subject content. With no slot, the
primitive renders a token card (surface, hairline border, accent dot,
two skeleton lines, contract tokens only).
Variables (declared in data-composition-variables below):
- echoes (number 2 to 6, default 4): ghost copy count.
- delta (number seconds, default 0.09, clamped 0.03 to 0.3): the lag
between successive ghosts.
- path ("sweep" | "rise" | "arc", default "sweep"): the authored
traversal preset.
- accent ("green" | "blue" | "violet", default "green"): green rides
--brand, blue rides --accent, violet rides --accent-2.
- exit ("none" | "fade" | "up", default "none"): frame roots own
transitions; the default holds the final frame to the last pixel.
Envelope, fixed IN and OUT with elastic HOLD only (never timeScale):
IN_BASE = TRAVEL (2.1s) + echoes * delta + 0.2s settle; the lead
rests at TRAVEL and the last ghost has converged (and is
exactly invisible) by IN
HOLD = max(0, D - IN - OUT)
OUT_BASE = 0.45s only when exit != none
If D < IN_BASE + OUT_BASE, the whole envelope compresses together.
Determinism: ghost i's position at time t is path(ease(clamp01((t -
i * delta) / TRAVEL))) and its opacity is its stepped base times a pure
function of its distance to the lead; both are recomputed from
tl.time() on every update. No Math.random, no wall clock, no
incremental state, no requestAnimationFrame. Eventful seeks
(suppressEvents=false, the engine's render path) land identical frames
in any order and either direction; at rest every ghost is coincident
with the lead at opacity exactly zero, so the HOLD is truly still.
Mount contract: the runtime clones only this template. #root fills the
host box (no data-width/data-height, container-type: size, cqmin
units), is styled via #root only, and registers one paused timeline
under the LITERAL "echo-trail" key.
-->
<html
lang="en"
data-composition-id="echo-trail"
data-composition-duration="3.5"
data-composition-variables='[
{ "id": "echoes", "type": "number", "role": "style", "label": "Echoes", "description": "Ghost copy count, clamped 2 to 6.", "default": 4 },
{ "id": "delta", "type": "number", "role": "timing", "label": "Delta", "description": "Lag between successive ghosts in seconds, clamped 0.03 to 0.3.", "default": 0.09 },
{ "id": "path", "type": "enum", "role": "timing", "label": "Path", "description": "Authored traversal preset.", "default": "sweep", "options": [{ "value": "sweep", "label": "Sweep" }, { "value": "rise", "label": "Rise" }, { "value": "arc", "label": "Arc" }] },
{ "id": "accent", "type": "enum", "role": "style", "label": "Accent", "description": "Subject accent color: green rides --brand, blue rides --accent, violet rides --accent-2.", "default": "green", "options": [{ "value": "green", "label": "Green" }, { "value": "blue", "label": "Blue" }, { "value": "violet", "label": "Violet" }] },
{ "id": "exit", "type": "enum", "role": "timing", "label": "Exit", "description": "Optional departure. Default none: the settled element holds until the frame cuts.", "default": "none", "options": [{ "value": "none", "label": "None" }, { "value": "fade", "label": "Fade" }, { "value": "up", "label": "Up" }] }
]'
>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<title>Echo Trail</title>
</head>
<body>
<template>
<div id="root" data-composition-id="echo-trail" data-duration="3.5" data-fps="30">
<style>
*,
*::before,
*::after {
box-sizing: border-box;
}
#root {
position: absolute;
inset: 0;
overflow: hidden;
container-type: size;
isolation: isolate;
color: var(--fg, #f8fafc);
font-family: var(--font-display, "Inter", system-ui, sans-serif);
pointer-events: none;
}
.et-clip {
position: absolute;
inset: 0;
overflow: hidden;
background: var(--bg, transparent);
}
.et-stage {
position: absolute;
inset: 0;
will-change: transform, opacity;
}
.et-ghost,
.et-lead {
position: absolute;
left: 0;
top: 0;
will-change: opacity;
}
.et-ghost {
opacity: 0;
}
.et-lead {
opacity: 0;
}
.et-card {
width: 30cqmin;
padding: var(--space-3, 3cqmin);
display: grid;
gap: var(--space-2, 2cqmin);
border: 0.18cqmin solid var(--border, #475569);
border-radius: var(--radius, 2.4cqmin);
background: var(--surface, #14171c);
box-shadow: 0 1.6cqmin 5cqmin color-mix(in srgb, var(--bg, #000000) 30%, transparent);
}
.et-card-dot {
width: 3.2cqmin;
height: 3.2cqmin;
border-radius: 50%;
background: var(--et-accent);
}
.et-card-line {
height: 1.6cqmin;
border-radius: 0.8cqmin;
background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--fg, #f8fafc) 16%, transparent);
}
.et-card-line.short {
width: 62%;
}
</style>
<div
id="echo-trail-clip"
class="et-clip clip"
data-start="0"
data-duration="3.5"
data-track-index="0"
>
<div class="et-stage">
<div class="et-lead">
<div class="et-card">
<div class="et-card-dot"></div>
<div class="et-card-line"></div>
<div class="et-card-line short"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/gsap@3.14.2/dist/gsap.min.js"></script>
<script>
(function () {
"use strict";
var root = document.getElementById("root");
var stage = root.querySelector(".et-stage");
var lead = root.querySelector(".et-lead");
var vars =
window.__hyperframes && window.__hyperframes.getVariables
? window.__hyperframes.getVariables()
: {};
var echoesRaw = parseFloat(vars.echoes);
var echoes = isFinite(echoesRaw) ? Math.min(6, Math.max(2, Math.round(echoesRaw))) : 4;
var deltaRaw = parseFloat(vars.delta);
var deltaVar = isFinite(deltaRaw) ? Math.min(0.3, Math.max(0.03, deltaRaw)) : 0.09;
var pathName = vars.path === "rise" || vars.path === "arc" ? vars.path : "sweep";
// Each enum choice routes to a DIFFERENT contract token so the
// variable stays meaningful under a theme.
var accentColors = {
green: "var(--brand, #52525b)",
blue: "var(--accent, #52525b)",
violet: "var(--accent-2, #52525b)",
};
var accent = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(accentColors, vars.accent)
? vars.accent
: "green";
var exit = vars.exit === "fade" || vars.exit === "up" ? vars.exit : "none";
root.style.setProperty("--et-accent", accentColors[accent]);
// SLOT. Caller templates live at HOST DOCUMENT level (the mount
// wipes host-clip children, and templates never render).
var hostDoc = root.ownerDocument;
var slotTemplate = null;
try {
slotTemplate = hostDoc.querySelector('template[data-slot="echo-trail-subject"]');
} catch (error) {
slotTemplate = null;
}
if (slotTemplate) {
lead.querySelector(".et-card").remove();
lead.appendChild(hostDoc.importNode(slotTemplate.content, true));
}
// Ghosts: deep clones of the subject, inserted BEFORE the lead
// so the lead always renders on top. ghosts[0] is the nearest
// past copy (highest stepped opacity).
var ghosts = [];
for (var g = 0; g < echoes; g += 1) {
var ghost = hostDoc.createElement("div");
ghost.className = "et-ghost";
ghost.setAttribute("aria-hidden", "true");
for (var c = 0; c < lead.children.length; c += 1) {
ghost.appendChild(lead.children[c].cloneNode(true));
}
stage.insertBefore(ghost, lead);
ghosts.push(ghost);
}
// Envelope: fixed IN/OUT, elastic HOLD, never time-scaled.
var TRAVEL_BASE = 2.1;
var IN_BASE = TRAVEL_BASE + echoes * deltaVar + 0.2;
var OUT_BASE = exit === "none" ? 0 : 0.45;
var duration = Math.max(0.001, parseFloat(root.dataset.duration || "3.5"));
var totalBase = Math.max(0.001, IN_BASE + OUT_BASE);
var scale = duration < totalBase ? duration / totalBase : 1;
var TRAVEL = TRAVEL_BASE * scale;
var delta = deltaVar * scale;
var IN = IN_BASE * scale;
var OUT = OUT_BASE * scale;
var HOLD = Math.max(0, duration - (IN + OUT));
var OUT_START = IN + HOLD;
// Path presets in percent-of-stage coordinates; the subject is
// centered on the point via a one-time -50%/-50% translate.
function pathPoint(u) {
if (pathName === "rise") {
return { x: 50 + 6 * Math.sin(Math.PI * u), y: 76 - 44 * u };
}
if (pathName === "arc") {
return { x: 16 + 68 * u, y: 64 - 34 * Math.sin(Math.PI * u) };
}
// sweep: a shallow S from left to right through center.
return { x: 18 + 64 * u, y: 50 + 10 * Math.cos(Math.PI * u) };
}
function easeInOut(t) {
return t < 0.5 ? 2 * t * t : 1 - 2 * (1 - t) * (1 - t);
}
function clamp01(v) {
return v < 0 ? 0 : v > 1 ? 1 : v;
}
function posAt(timeSeconds) {
var u = easeInOut(clamp01(TRAVEL > 0 ? timeSeconds / TRAVEL : 1));
return pathPoint(u);
}
// One-time static transforms: center anchor plus a slight
// per-ghost scale step for depth. GSAP owns the transform, the
// per-update writes touch only left/top/opacity.
gsap.set(lead, { xPercent: -50, yPercent: -50 });
for (var i = 0; i < ghosts.length; i += 1) {
gsap.set(ghosts[i], {
xPercent: -50,
yPercent: -50,
scale: 1 - 0.015 * (i + 1),
});
}
// Stepped ghost bases: nearest past copy strongest.
var bases = [];
for (var b = 0; b < echoes; b += 1) {
bases.push(0.55 * (1 - b / echoes));
}
// Pure per-update apply: every position and every ghost alpha
// is a function of tl.time() alone. Ghost alpha is its stepped
// base times a separation ramp, so echoes are invisible before
// motion starts and collapse to exactly zero at rest. Writes
// are idempotent, so the HOLD repaints identically.
function applyTime(timeSeconds) {
var leadPos = posAt(timeSeconds);
gsap.set(lead, {
left: leadPos.x.toFixed(4) + "%",
top: leadPos.y.toFixed(4) + "%",
});
for (var n = 0; n < ghosts.length; n += 1) {
var p = posAt(timeSeconds - (n + 1) * delta);
var dist = Math.hypot(p.x - leadPos.x, p.y - leadPos.y);
var alpha = bases[n] * clamp01(dist / 2.2);
gsap.set(ghosts[n], {
left: p.x.toFixed(4) + "%",
top: p.y.toFixed(4) + "%",
opacity: alpha < 0.002 ? 0 : alpha,
});
}
}
gsap.set(stage, { opacity: 1, y: "0cqh" });
var tl = gsap.timeline({
paused: true,
onUpdate: function () {
applyTime(tl.time());
},
});
// Anchor tween: an inert plain-object tween spanning the full
// authored duration so the timeline covers [0, D], onUpdate
// fires for every eventful seek, and holds never clamp short.
tl.to({ p: 0 }, { p: 1, duration: duration, ease: "none" }, 0);
// Lead entrance: both endpoints authored. Ghosts need no
// entrance; the separation ramp keeps them at zero until the
// traversal opens a gap.
tl.fromTo(
lead,
{ opacity: 0 },
{ opacity: 1, duration: 0.22 * scale, ease: "power2.out" },
0,
);
// HOLD: truly still. The lead rests at path(1) and every ghost
// is coincident at opacity exactly zero.
// OUT: optional departure; exit none holds until the frame cuts.
if (exit === "up") {
tl.to(stage, { y: "-4cqh", duration: OUT, ease: "power2.in" }, OUT_START);
tl.to(stage, { opacity: 0, duration: OUT, ease: "power2.in" }, OUT_START);
} else if (exit === "fade") {
tl.to(stage, { opacity: 0, duration: OUT, ease: "power2.in" }, OUT_START);
}
tl.seek(0);
applyTime(0);
window.__timelines = window.__timelines || {};
window.__timelines["echo-trail"] = tl;
})();
</script>
</div>
</template>
</body>
</html>
motion-primitive demonstrate trail onion-skin ghosts deterministic.