Just a few years in the past, I wrote a tutorial in regards to the Lottie library. A reader requested if he may use the library in SwiftUI initiatives. So, on this tutorial, let’s revisit this wonderful library and see how we will use it in SwiftUI initiatives.
Lottie is a cellular library for Android and iOS that natively renders vector based mostly animations and artwork in realtime with minimal code.
If that is the very first time you heard of Lottie, Lottie is an iOS, macOS, Android, and React Native library, developed by Airbnb, that renders After Results animations in any native apps. Animations are exported as JSON recordsdata by way of an open-source After Results extension known as Bodymovin. Lottie hundreds the animation knowledge in JSON format, and renders the animation in actual time.
The cool factor about this library is you can import the Lottie animation instantly into your Xcode undertaking. With a number of strains of code, you may make the animation work in your apps. You’ll perceive what I imply shortly.
The place can you discover Lottie Animations?
You possibly can create your individual animation utilizing After Results and export it as a JSON file. Nonetheless, in case you are like me and haven’t any concepts about After Results, you may try the next web sites to obtain some free / paid animations.
LottieFiles

Web site: https://lottiefiles.com
Drawer

Web site: https://drawer.design
Including the Lottie Library with Swift Bundle Supervisor
Lottie is an open-sourced undertaking accessible on GitHub. You possibly can obtain the library at https://github.com/airbnb/lottie-ios and add it to your Xcode undertaking manually. Having that mentioned, the best means so as to add the library is through the use of Swift Bundle Supervisor.
Assuming you’ve already created a SwiftUI undertaking in Xcode, go as much as the Xcode menu and select File > Add Packages…. Then paste the repository URL (i.e. https://github.com/airbnb/lottie-ios) within the URL subject:

Click on the Add Bundle button. Xcode will then mechanically obtain the Lottie library and add it to the undertaking.

Importing Lottie Recordsdata to the Xcode Venture
I’ve downloaded the following free animation on LottieFiles.com. The Lottie animation is obtainable in a number of file codecs. Please select the Lottie JSON possibility.

As soon as downloaded, return to the Xcode undertaking. Drag the JSON file (i.e. contact-us.json
) to the undertaking navigator.

Utilizing the Lottie File in SwiftUI
It now involves the coding half. When you’ve learn my earlier Lottie tutorial, it is best to know that it takes lower than 10 strains of code to load the animation. Right here is the pattern code snippet for loading the Lottie animation:
let animationView = AnimationView() animationView.animation = Animation.named(lottieFile) animationView.play() |
Easy, proper? Nonetheless, because the Lottie library doesn’t help SwiftUI natively, we have to wrap its UIKit view with the UIViewRepresentable
protocol to make it work in SwiftUI initiatives.
Now head again to your Xcode undertaking and create a brand new file utilizing the Swift file template. Identify the file LottieView.swift
and replace its content material like this:
struct LottieView: UIViewRepresentable {
let lottieFile: String
let animationView = AnimationView()
func makeUIView(context: Context) -> some UIView {
let view = UIView(body: .zero)
animationView.animation = Animation.named(lottieFile)
animationView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit
animationView.play()
view.addSubview(animationView)
animationView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
animationView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.heightAnchor).isActive = true
animationView.widthAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.widthAnchor).isActive = true
return view
}
func updateUIView(_ uiView: UIViewType, context: Context) {
}
}
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import SwiftUI import Lottie
struct LottieView: UIViewRepresentable { let lottieFile: String
let animationView = AnimationView()
func makeUIView(context: Context) –> some UIView { let view = UIView(body: .zero)
animationView.animation = Animation.named(lottieFile) animationView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit animationView.play()
view.addSubview(animationView)
animationView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false animationView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.heightAnchor).isActive = true animationView.widthAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.widthAnchor).isActive = true
return view }
func updateUIView(_ uiView: UIViewType, context: Context) {
} } |
The LottieView
struct has a property for holding the title of the lottie file. Within the makeUIView
perform, it hundreds the JSON file and units the animation to the animation
property of the animationView
. Optionally, we set the content material mode to .scaleAspectFit
.
To play the animation, we name the play
methodology of the animation view. The remainder of the code is for configuring the structure constraints of the view.
Now let’s head again to ContentView.swift
to make use of the LottieView
. Within the physique
half, insert the next strains of code:
LottieView(lottieFile: “contact-us”) .body(width: 300, peak: 300) |
You simply have to go LottieView
the title of the Lottie file with out the file extension. Right here, it’s contact-us
. And, we set the body measurement to 300×300 factors.
That’s it! Within the preview pane, it is best to see a picture. When you click on the Play button, it renders the animation.

Customizing the Animation
Did you discover that the animation solely performed as soon as? The AnimationView
object gives a few properties for builders to customise the playback of the animation. To maintain enjoying the animation, you may set the loopMode
property to .loop
like under:
animationView.loopMode = .loop |
If you wish to auto reverse the animation, you may set the worth to .autoReverse
.
You can too management the pace of the animation by altering the worth of the animationSpeed
property:
animationView.animationSpeed = 3.0 |
It will triple the pace of the animation.
Loading the Animation Remotely
It’s not obligatory to retailer the Lottie file domestically. The Animation
object permits you to load a Lottie animation from a distant server. Right here is an instance:
animationView.animation = animation
animationView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit
animationView.loopMode = .loop
animationView.animationSpeed = 5.0
animationView.play()
}, animationCache: nil)
Animation.loadedFrom(url: URL(string: “https://assets1.lottiefiles.com/packages/lf20_kd5rzej5.json”)!, closure: { animation in
animationView.animation = animation animationView.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit animationView.loopMode = .loop animationView.animationSpeed = 5.0 animationView.play()
}, animationCache: nil) |
As a substitute of utilizing the named
methodology, you should utilize the loadedFrom
methodology of Animation
to load a distant URL. The Animation
object will deal with the file obtain and allow you to know when the animation is prepared to be used within the closure.

Abstract
The SwiftUI framework already makes it straightforward to create wonderful view animations. With the Lottie library, it’s even simpler to include lovely animations in your apps. I hope you discover this tutorial useful. When you’re desirous about studying extra about SwiftUI animations, you may try our Mastering SwiftUI guide.