Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/paulmcauley/klassy/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

​
Overview

Klassy includes smooth, polished animations for window decorations, buttons, scrollbars, and application elements. Animations can be customized or disabled entirely based on your preferences.

​
Window Decoration Animations

Animations for window decorations (titlebars, buttons, etc.) are configured separately from application style animations.

​
Enable/Disable

Toggle all window decoration animations: 
AnimationsEnabled=true  # Default: enabled
Disabling animations completely removes transition effects for button hover states, opacity changes, and window outline effects.

​
Animation Speed

Adjust animation speed relative to the system setting: 
AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=0  # -10 to +10
  • 0 - Use system animation speed (default)
  • Negative values - Faster animations (-10 is fastest)
  • Positive values - Slower animations (+10 is slowest)
Each increment is approximately 10% faster or slower.
Window decoration animation speed is relative to your system’s global animation speed setting in System Settings → Appearance → Animations.

​
Application Style Animations

Animations for application elements (widgets, scrollbars, etc.) have separate controls.

​
Enable/Disable

Toggle application style animations: 
AnimationsEnabled=true  # In the Style group

​
Animation Duration

Set the base duration for application animations: 
AnimationsDuration=100  # Milliseconds (default: 100ms)
This sets the base duration for most widget animations. Individual effects may use multiples of this value.

​
Animation Steps

Control animation smoothness: 
AnimationSteps=10  # Default: 10 steps
More steps create smoother animations but use slightly more CPU. Fewer steps create choppier but more performant animations.

​
Specific Animation Types

​
Button Animations

Button hover and press effects are controlled by window decoration animation settings:
  • Hover transitions - Smooth fade-in of button backgrounds and outlines
  • Press effects - Quick response to button clicks
  • Color variations - Smooth color transitions based on VaryColor* settings
Button animation speed follows AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem for window decoration.

​
Scrollbar Animations

Scrollbar thickness changes on hover: 
ScrollBarSliderThicknessMouseOver=8
ScrollBarSliderThicknessMouseNotOverPercent=75
The transition between these sizes is animated. See the Scrollbars page for details.

​
Progress Bar Animations

Busy/indeterminate progress bars can animate: 
ProgressBarAnimated=true  # Default: animated
ProgressBarBusyStepDuration=800  # Milliseconds per step

​
Stacked Widget Transitions

Animations when switching between stacked widgets: 
StackedWidgetTransitionsEnabled=false  # Default: disabled
Stacked widget transitions can sometimes interfere with application behavior and are disabled by default.

​
Animation Performance

​
Hardware Considerations

Recommended Settings:
AnimationsEnabled=true
AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=0
AnimationSteps=10
ProgressBarAnimated=true
Modern GPUs handle Klassy animations with negligible performance impact.

​
Compositor Requirements

Some animation effects require KWin’s compositor to be enabled:
  • Titlebar opacity transitions
  • Window outline animations
  • Blur effects on transparent elements
The compositor is usually enabled by default in KDE Plasma. Check System Settings → Display and Monitor → Compositor.

​
Coordinating Animation Settings

For a cohesive experience, coordinate animation settings across different components:

​
Consistent Speed

Match animation speeds: 
# Window decorations
AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=0

# Application style
AnimationsDuration=100

# System settings (System Settings → Appearance → Animations)
# Set to "Normal" or your preference

​
Accessibility Considerations

Some users prefer reduced motion:
For users sensitive to motion:
AnimationsEnabled=true
AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=-8  # Very fast (brief)
AnimationSteps=3
StackedWidgetTransitionsEnabled=false
This keeps animations enabled for visual polish but makes them very brief.
For users who need no motion:
AnimationsEnabled=false
ProgressBarAnimated=false
StackedWidgetTransitionsEnabled=false
Additionally, disable system animations in System Settings.

​
Animation Examples

​
Button Hover Animation

Integrated button dark animation Default button hover shows:
  1. Background fade-in (60% opacity)
  2. Outline appearance
  3. Color shift based on VaryColor* settings
  4. Smooth transition in ~150ms

​
Traffic Lights Animation

Traffic lights animation Traffic light buttons animate color transitions:
  • Close: Red background on hover
  • Maximize: Yellow background on hover
  • Minimize: Green background on hover

​
Scrollbar Hover

Scrollbar mouseover Scrollbar expands smoothly from 75% to 100% thickness on hover.

​
Troubleshooting

Possible causes:
  1. Compositor disabled - Enable in System Settings → Display and Monitor → Compositor
  2. Low FPS - Check compositor rendering backend (OpenGL recommended)
  3. High animation steps - Reduce AnimationSteps to 5-6
  4. System overload - Close other applications
Quick fix: Try AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=-5 to make animations finish faster.
Check these settings:
  1. AnimationsEnabled=true in Klassy Settings
  2. System Settings → Appearance → Animations is not “Instant”
  3. Compositor is enabled
  4. Restart applications after changing settings
Solution:
AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=-5  # Much faster
# or
AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=-10  # Fastest
Or adjust global animation speed in System Settings → Appearance → Animations.
Solution:Some applications may have their own animation settings that conflict. Check the application’s preferences.For Qt applications, animations should always be smooth. For GTK applications, Klassy animations don’t apply (GTK uses its own theme engine).

​
Best Practices

​
Testing Animation Changes

  1. Change settings in Klassy Settings
  2. Click Apply
  3. Test on a window (hover buttons, resize, etc.)
  4. Fine-tune values
  5. Apply again
Some animations may require restarting applications to take full effect, though most apply immediately.

​
Matching Desktop Environment

For consistency, match Klassy animation speed to your desktop:
  1. Set System Settings → Appearance → Animations to your preference
  2. Leave AnimationsSpeedRelativeSystem=0 in Klassy
  3. This ensures all animations feel consistent

​
Custom Profiles

Create presets for different use cases:
  • Presentation mode - Faster animations (-8) to feel snappy during demos
  • Everyday use - Normal animations (0)
  • Power saving - Disabled animations to reduce GPU usage

​
Next Steps

Button Customization

Configure button behavior that animations apply to

Scrollbars

Configure scrollbar appearance and animations

Window Decorations

Set up window elements that animate

Presets

Load presets with pre-configured animation settings

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us