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Lottie animations can be synchronized with Helios by loading them with autoplay disabled and manually seeking to specific time positions based on Helios frame updates.

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Installation

Install Lottie Web alongside Helios: 
npm install lottie-web @helios-project/core

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Basic integration

The integration involves:
  1. Loading a Lottie animation with autoplay: false and loop: false
  2. Subscribing to Helios updates
  3. Converting frame numbers to milliseconds
  4. Seeking the Lottie animation to the exact time
import { Helios } from '@helios-project/core';
import lottie from 'lottie-web';
import animationData from './animation.json';

const helios = new Helios({
  duration: 2, // 60 frames @ 30fps = 2s
  fps: 30,
});

const container = document.getElementById('lottie-container');

if (container) {
    const anim = lottie.loadAnimation({
      container,
      renderer: 'svg',
      loop: false,
      autoplay: false,
      animationData: animationData,
    });

    helios.subscribe(({ currentFrame, fps }) => {
      // Convert frame to milliseconds
      const timeMs = (currentFrame / fps) * 1000;
      // Seek Lottie (isFrame = false means time in ms)
      anim.goToAndStop(timeMs, false);
    });
}

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Integration pattern

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Load animation without autoplay

Disable automatic playback so Helios can control the animation: 
const anim = lottie.loadAnimation({
  container: element,
  renderer: 'svg', // or 'canvas', 'html'
  loop: false,
  autoplay: false,
  animationData: animationData,
});

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Frame to time conversion

Convert Helios frame numbers to milliseconds: 
const timeMs = (currentFrame / fps) * 1000;

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Seek to exact position

Use goToAndStop with time in milliseconds: 
// Second parameter false means first parameter is time (ms)
anim.goToAndStop(timeMs, false);

// If you want to use frame numbers instead:
// anim.goToAndStop(frameNumber, true);

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Renderer options

Lottie supports multiple renderers:

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SVG renderer

renderer: 'svg'
Best for:
  • Scalable vector graphics
  • High quality at any resolution
  • Complex paths and shapes

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Canvas renderer

renderer: 'canvas'
Best for:
  • Better performance with many elements
  • Raster effects
  • Particle systems

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HTML renderer

renderer: 'html'
Best for:
  • DOM-based animations
  • Text animations
  • CSS filter effects

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HTML structure

Provide a container element for the Lottie animation: 
<div id="lottie-container" style="width: 400px; height: 400px;"></div>

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Why this works

By disabling autoplay and manually seeking the Lottie animation, Helios can:
  • Ensure deterministic frame-by-frame rendering
  • Enable scrubbing through the animation
  • Support export to video formats
  • Maintain synchronization with other animated elements
This pattern works with any Lottie animation exported from After Effects or other tools that support the Lottie format.

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