> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://hyperframes.heygen.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Echo Trail

> A moving element renders with N ghosted copies of itself at t minus i times delta, opacity stepped down per ghost; one traversal, echoes collapsing into the settled element at rest.

export const InstallCommand = ({command}) => {
  const [copied, setCopied] = React.useState(false);
  const copy = async () => {
    try {
      if (navigator.clipboard && window.isSecureContext) {
        await navigator.clipboard.writeText(command);
      } else {
        const previous = document.activeElement;
        const scratch = document.createElement("textarea");
        scratch.value = command;
        scratch.setAttribute("readonly", "");
        scratch.style.position = "fixed";
        scratch.style.opacity = "0";
        document.body.appendChild(scratch);
        scratch.select();
        document.execCommand("copy");
        document.body.removeChild(scratch);
        previous?.focus?.();
      }
      setCopied(true);
      setTimeout(() => setCopied(false), 2000);
    } catch {}
  };
  return <div className="hf-install-command not-prose my-4 flex items-stretch overflow-hidden rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 bg-zinc-50 dark:border-zinc-800 dark:bg-zinc-900">
      <code className="flex-1 overflow-x-auto whitespace-nowrap border-r border-zinc-200 px-4 py-3 font-mono text-sm text-zinc-800 dark:border-zinc-800 dark:text-zinc-100">
        {command}
      </code>
      <button type="button" onClick={copy} data-copied={copied ? "true" : "false"} aria-label={`Copy ${command} to the clipboard`} className="hf-install-copy">
        <svg className="hf-install-copy-clipboard" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="1.5" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" aria-hidden="true">
          <path d="M14.25 5.25H7.25C6.14543 5.25 5.25 6.14543 5.25 7.25V14.25C5.25 15.3546 6.14543 16.25 7.25 16.25H14.25C15.3546 16.25 16.25 15.3546 16.25 14.25V7.25C16.25 6.14543 15.3546 5.25 14.25 5.25Z" />
          <path d="M2.80103 11.998L1.77203 5.07397C1.61003 3.98097 2.36403 2.96397 3.45603 2.80197L10.38 1.77297C11.313 1.63397 12.19 2.16297 12.528 3.00097" />
        </svg>
        <svg className="hf-install-copy-check" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round" aria-hidden="true">
          <path d="M2.75 9.5L6.5 13.25L15.25 4.5" />
        </svg>
      </button>
      <span className="hf-install-copy-status" role="status" aria-live="polite">
        {copied ? "Copied" : ""}
      </span>
    </div>;
};

<iframe className="w-full aspect-video rounded-xl border-0 bg-zinc-100 dark:bg-zinc-800" title="echo-trail preview" loading="lazy" srcDoc={`<!doctype html><html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><style>html,body{margin:0;height:100%;overflow:hidden;background:transparent}hyperframes-player{display:block;width:100%;height:100%}</style><script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@hyperframes/player@0.7/dist/hyperframes-player.global.js"><\/script></head><body><script>fetch("/public/catalog/components/echo-trail.json").then(function(r){return r.json()}).then(function(d){var p=document.createElement("hyperframes-player");p.setAttribute("srcdoc",d.html);p.setAttribute("controls","");p.setAttribute("autoplay","");p.setAttribute("loop","");p.setAttribute("muted","");p.setAttribute("poster","https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/docs/images/catalog/components/echo-trail.png");document.body.appendChild(p)});<\/script></body></html>`} />

## Install

<InstallCommand command="npx hyperframes add echo-trail" />

That writes one file: `compositions/components/echo-trail.html`.

## Paste it into your composition

Open `compositions/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.        |

Set them with `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:

```html wrap theme={null}
<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

<Accordion title={`echo-trail.html`}>
  ```html theme={null}
  <!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>
  ```
</Accordion>

Tagged `motion-primitive` `demonstrate` `trail` `onion-skin` `ghosts` `deterministic`.

## Related topics

* [Browse the complete Catalog](/catalog)
* [Add assets and Catalog items in Studio](/studio/assets-and-blocks)
* [Build a richer composition](/go-further)


## Related topics

- [ASCII Trail Reveal](/catalog/components/ascii-trail-reveal.md)
- [Cursor Glyph Trail](/catalog/components/cursor-glyph-trail.md)
- [Motion Blur](/catalog/components/motion-blur.md)
