remotion-interactivity

By writing Remotion markup in a specific way, the Remotion Studio is able to recognize the structure of the code and makes it interactive:

• Allowing items to be selected by clicking on them
• Allowing drag+drop, resizing and rotation
• Editing the CSS styles
• Making keyframes and easing values editable

If the markup is too complex for the Studio to make it interactive, then the values become grayed out.

Prefer interactive components with their own timelines

Build new compositions with Track, connected compositions, and Interactive.create().

Set layout explicitly to 'absolute-fill' for scenes or 'none' for bounded elements. Register the same exported scene and reusable element components with Composition.

Start with the complete Track + connected compositions example. It includes the element, scene, parent timeline, and root registrations.

import {Track, useVideoConfig} from 'remotion';
import {Chapter} from './Chapter';

export const MyVideo = () => {
  const {fps} = useVideoConfig();

  return (
    <Track name="Chapters">
      <Chapter
        name="Opening"
        durationInFrames={3 * fps}
        title="Introduction"
      />
      <Chapter
        name="Feature"
        from={3 * fps}
        durationInFrames={4 * fps}
        title="New features"
      />
    </Track>
  );
};

Put background and alignment styles on each scene instance, as shown in the complete example. Keep layout-only containers as plain HTML.

Choose schema fields

Each key in the schema is a prop that Studio can read and edit at the call site. Props that are not in the schema still work, but are not editable in Studio. Keys may use dot notation, such as style.color.

Type	Use for	Keyframable
string	Strings, such as a title, prompt, or code snippet	No
number	Numbers, with optional min, max, step, integer	Yes
boolean	On/off switches	Yes (hold)
color	CSS color strings	Yes
enum	A choice between variants, each with its own nested schema	Opt-in (hold)
array	Lists of numbers, colors, enums and more	No
asset	Media sources, with optional assetType	No
font-family	CSS font family	No
font-weight	Font weight	Yes
translate, scale, rotation-css, rotation-degrees, transform-origin	Transforms	Yes
uv-coordinate	A normalized [x, y] point on the element	Yes
svg-path	SVG path data	Yes
remotion-captions	Caption[] data	No
hidden	A value kept out of the controls	—

Every field needs a default and should have a description, which Studio shows as the label. Set keyframable: false to show a static control.

Expose content and per-instance appearance, such as the text and an accent color. Do not add fields for style.translate, style.scale, style.rotate, style.transformOrigin and style.opacity: Interactive.create() adds them automatically.

To make CSS properties of the root editable per instance, spread the built-in schema fragments:

const cardSchema = {
  ...Interactive.textSchema, // style.color, style.fontSize, style.fontWeight, ...
  ...Interactive.backgroundSchema, // style.backgroundColor
  ...Interactive.borderRadiusSchema, // style.borderRadius, ...
} as const satisfies InteractivitySchema;

Also available: Interactive.borderSchema, and Interactive.captionsSchema for components that accept captions. For components that accept React.ReactNode children, add ...Interactive.childrenSchema. It provides controls for children content and may evolve to support richer content. Currently, it uses a string field labeled "Text" with a default of ''. If a component requires string-only children, declare an explicit children field with type: 'string' instead. Interactive.textSchema controls typography styles; childrenSchema controls content. The children fragment is not included in baseSchema or automatically added to custom components. Nested markup and computed children are currently read-only. text-content is a deprecated alias for the string field type. See InteractivitySchema for all options.

Register reusable components as connected compositions

Register scenes and reusable elements as standalone compositions. Studio calls these connected compositions: they can be opened in their own timeline while sharing the same component implementation with the parent video.

Define required styles and load fonts inside the component so it works without its parent. See parent independence.

Register the same exported component reference that the parent renders. For the example above, use component={Chapter}, not ChapterInner or an inline wrapper. Interactive.create() provides the sequence, so no extra <Sequence> is needed for the connection.

import {Composition} from 'remotion';
import {Chapter} from './Chapter';

export const RemotionRoot = () => (
  <Composition
    id="Chapter"
    component={Chapter}
    width={1280}
    height={720}
    fps={30}
    durationInFrames={90}
    defaultProps={{
      title: 'A new perspective',
      style: {
        backgroundColor: '#111111',
        justifyContent: 'center',
        alignItems: 'center',
      },
    }}
  />
);

Choose a unique ID, representative inline defaults, and dimensions, fps, and duration suitable for previewing the component. Registration defaults do not automatically copy props from a parent instance. See connected compositions for registration and extraction details.

Put timing directly on the component

Avoid a separate <Sequence> around one component that already accepts timing props. Built-in interactive components and custom components made with Interactive.create() can receive name, from, durationInFrames, trimBefore, and playbackRate directly.

<Chapter
  name="Opening scene"
  from={30}
  durationInFrames={90}
  style={{opacity: 0.9}}
  title="A new perspective"
/>

For shared scene timing, group the content in a component made with Interactive.create() and time that instance. Managed roots also accept width and height for useVideoConfig().

Use <Track> to put items on the same Studio timeline row. Use <TransitionSeries> when scenes are sequential.

Give every independently editable item its own JSX node

The Studio edits the JSX source node that created an item. If multiple runtime items come from the same JSX node, they share one source-editing target.

For every composition registration, clip, scene, layer or sequence that should be editable on its own, write a separate JSX node and keep its editable props on that node. This applies to <Composition>, <Still>, built-in media components, <Sequence>, <TransitionSeries.Sequence> and custom components.

For example, author an editable timeline like this:

import { Track } from "remotion";

<Track name="Scenes">
  <Introduction name="Introduction" durationInFrames={90} />
  <Demo name="Demo" from={90} durationInFrames={150} />
</Track>

A .map() or another programmatic loop would create multiple runtime items from one JSX source node. That is appropriate for repeated output that is intentionally controlled as one template, such as visualization bars or particles. It is not appropriate when the instances need independent IDs or names, props, metadata, timing, ordering, deletion or duplication in the Studio.

Make an HTML element interactive using Interactive

Every HTML and SVG element (except <Img>, it already is interactive) such as <div> can be turned interactive using Interactive:

<Interactive.Div
  name="Greeting card"
  style={{fontSize: 80, padding: 24}}
>
  Hello
</Interactive.Div>

This allows styles and keyframes to be set in the Studio. Be sensible, if a component has many elements, the timeline might get messy.

Prefer inline text

If text is fixed and only used once, write it directly inside the interactive element instead of extracting it into a constant.

// 👍 Fixed copy stays editable
<Interactive.Div name="Title">
  Remotion Best Practices
</Interactive.Div>

Use a prop or variable only when the text is dynamic or reused.

Give interactive elements a descriptive name

Add a name prop to elements to make them easily identifyable. Avoid computed names, hardcode them.

<>
  <Interactive.Div name="Hero title" style={{fontSize: 80}}>
    Launch day
  </Interactive.Div>
  <Img name="Avatar" src="https://remotion.media/image.jpeg" />
  <Video name="Background" src="https://remotion.media/video.mp4" />
  <Interactive.Div name="Title">
    Launch day
  </Interactive.Div>
</>

Keep all CSS styles inline

The best way is to just pass a plain object to style - no referring to constants, no object spreading, no math.

<Interactive.Div
  style={{
    fontSize: 80,
    color: 'red',
  }}
>
  Hello World!
</Interactive.Div>

const baseStyle = useMemo(() => {
  return {
    fontSize: 12 // ❌ Non-inline styles are not supported
  }
}, []);

<Interactive.Div
  style={{
    ...baseStyle, // ❌ Spreading is not supported
    color: RED, // ❌ Referring to constants is not supported
    scale: frame * 10 // ❌ Math is not supported
  }}
>
  Hello World!
</Interactive.Div>

Animate using interpolate()

Write animations as inline interpolate() calls on the property that changes.
The output range, easing, extrapolation and output property should use hardcoded values.

The input range may additionally use durationInFrames, fps, width and height destructured directly from useVideoConfig(). Bare identifiers such as durationInFrames, multiplication with a number such as 2 * fps or fps * 2, and subtraction of a number such as durationInFrames - 1 are supported.

const {fps, durationInFrames} = useVideoConfig();

// 👍 Inline values can be standardized and keyframed
<Interactive.Div
  name="Product card"
  style={{
    color: 'white',
    fontSize: 80,
    scale: interpolate(frame, [0, fps], [0, 1], {
      easing: Easing.spring({damping: 200}),
      output: 'perceptual-scale',
      extrapolateLeft: 'clamp',
      extrapolateRight: 'clamp'
    }),
    rotate: interpolate(frame, [0, 1 * fps], ['0deg', '20deg'], {
      easing: Easing.spring({damping: 200}),
      extrapolateLeft: 'clamp',
      extrapolateRight: 'clamp'
    }),
    translate: interpolate(
      frame,
      [durationInFrames - 30, durationInFrames],
      ['0px 0px', '0px 120px'],
      {
        easing: Easing.spring({damping: 200}),
        output: 'perceptual-scale',
        extrapolateLeft: 'clamp',
        extrapolateRight: 'clamp'
      }
    ),
  }}
/>

const translateY = interpolate(frame, [0, 30], [0, 120]); // ❌ Math should be directly in the markup

<Interactive.Div
  name="Product card"
  style={{
    translate: translateY, // ❌ Only inline interpolate() calls are supported,
    rotate: interpolate(frame, [start, start + 10], [0, Math.PI]), // ❌ Cannot use math with arbitrary variables, cannot use constants
    scale: interpolate(anyVariable, [0, 30], [0, 1]) // ❌ Can only interpret the `frame` variable.
  }}
/>

Keep SVG paths editable with Interactive.Path

Use <Interactive.Path> from remotion instead of <path> inside an SVG to make the path visually editable.

Install @remotion/paths for path interpolation and Studio path keyframes:

bunx remotion add @remotion/paths

If the geometry is meant to be static, put the path string directly in the d prop. Do not extract it into a constant.

import {Interactive} from 'remotion';

<Interactive.Svg width={300} height={300} viewBox="0 0 300 300">
  <Interactive.Path
    name="Triangle"
    d="M 40 40 L 260 40 L 150 260 Z"
    fill="#0b84f3"
  />
</Interactive.Svg>

Morph paths using inline interpolatePaths()

Use interpolatePaths() from @remotion/paths directly in d.
It accepts a frame, an input range, an equally sized array of path strings, and options for easing, extrapolation, and posterization. Keep the output paths, ranges, and options inline, following the same input-range rules as interpolate() above.
Do not use interpolatePath() API or extract the interpolated result into a variable when the path keyframes should remain editable in Studio.

import {interpolatePaths} from '@remotion/paths';
import {Easing, Interactive, useCurrentFrame} from 'remotion';

export const MorphingPath = () => {
  const frame = useCurrentFrame();

  return (
    <Interactive.Svg width={300} height={300} viewBox="0 0 300 300">
      <Interactive.Path
        name="Morphing triangle"
        d={interpolatePaths(
          frame,
          [0, 30, 60],
          [
            'M 40 40 L 260 40 L 150 260 Z',
            'M 40 150 L 150 40 L 260 150 Z',
            'M 40 260 L 150 40 L 260 260 Z',
          ],
          {
            easing: Easing.bezier(0.42, 0, 0.58, 1),
            extrapolateLeft: 'clamp',
            extrapolateRight: 'clamp',
          },
        )}
        fill="#0b84f3"
      />
    </Interactive.Svg>
  );
};

Studio can edit the path at the current frame, add or move keyframes, and adjust their easing.
Use strokeDasharray and strokeDashoffset to evolve paths.

Use scale, translate, rotate CSS properties

Avoid the transform CSS property.
If possible, use scale, rotate and translate instead because only they are interactively editable.

Keep composition metadata inline

When scaffolding a composition, use a JSX string literal for id, keep width, height, fps, durationInFrames and defaultProps inline and make no type assertions.

The Props editor can save visual edits back to your code when defaultProps is an inline object literal on <Composition> or <Still>.

// 👍 Static values are in <Composition>, dynamic values are in calculateMetadata()
const calculateMetadata = useMemo(async () => {
  const dimensions = await getDimensions(); // just an example
  return {width: dimensions.width, height: dimensions.height};
});

<Composition
  id="my-video"
  component={MyComponent}
  durationInFrames={150}
  fps={30}
  calculateMetadata={calculateMetadata}
  defaultProps={{title: 'Hello', color: '#0b84ff'}}
/>

const defaultProps = {title: 'Hello', color: '#0b84ff'}; // ❌ Don't extract defaultProps, must be inline
const calculateMetadata = useMemo(() => {
  // ❌ Unnecessary because no calculation is being done,
  return {durationInFrames: 150, fps: 30, width: 1920, height: 1080};
});

<Composition
  id="my-video"
  component={MyComponent}
  calculateMetadata={calculateMetadata}
  defaultProps={{
    title: 'Hello',
  } as Props} // ❌ Don't have type assertions, instead type MyComponent correctly
/>

Use only calculateMetadata() for the part of the metadata that is dynamic.

Effects should be inline too

Keep effect arrays and parameters inline so their shape and keyframes remain editable. See Inline effects for examples.

Making your own component interactive

To make a custom userland component interactive, use: Make a component interactive

Video editing

If a Remotion component mainly consists of video and audio clips, see Video editing for best practices on how to structure Remotion markup so the clips are interactively editable in the timeline.