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Artboards are the canvas containers in Rive that hold your graphics, animations, and state machines. Each .riv file can contain multiple artboards, allowing you to organize related animations in a single file.

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Overview

The RiveArtboard class represents an instance of an artboard from a Rive file. It provides access to animations, state machines, and allows you to advance time and render content.

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Getting an Artboard

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From RiveFile

do {
    let file = try RiveFile(name: "truck")
    
    // Get the default artboard
    let artboard = try file.artboard()
    
    // Get artboard by name
    let namedArtboard = try file.artboard(fromName: "Square")
    
    // Get artboard by index
    let indexedArtboard = try file.artboard(from: 0)
} catch {
    print("Error loading artboard: \(error)")
}

​
From RiveModel

do {
    let model = try RiveModel(fileName: "truck")
    
    // Set artboard by name
    try model.setArtboard("Square")
    
    // Set artboard by index
    try model.setArtboard(0)
    
    // Set default artboard
    try model.setArtboard()
    
    // Access the artboard
    let artboard = model.artboard
} catch {
    print("Error setting artboard: \(error)")
}

​
Artboard Properties

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Dimensions

let artboard = try file.artboard()

// Get artboard dimensions
let width = artboard.width()
let height = artboard.height()
let bounds = artboard.bounds()

print("Size: \(width) x \(height)")
print("Bounds: \(bounds)")

// Resize artboard
artboard.setWidth(800)
artboard.setHeight(600)

// Reset to original size
artboard.resetArtboardSize()

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Name

let name = artboard.name()
print("Artboard name: \(name)")

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Audio Volume

// Set volume (0.0 to 1.0)
artboard.volume = 0.75

// Get current volume
let currentVolume = artboard.volume

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Working with Animations

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Accessing Animations

// Get animation count
let count = artboard.animationCount()
print("This artboard has \(count) animations")

// List all animation names
let names = artboard.animationNames()
print("Animations: \(names)")

// Get animation by name
do {
    let animation = try artboard.animation(fromName: "idle")
} catch {
    print("Animation not found")
}

// Get animation by index
do {
    let animation = try artboard.animation(from: 0)
} catch {
    print("Animation not found")
}

​
Example: Multiple Artboards

class MultipleAnimationsController: UIViewController {
    var rSquareGoAround = RiveViewModel(
        fileName: "artboard_animations",
        animationName: "goaround",
        artboardName: "Square"
    )
    
    var rCircle = RiveViewModel(
        fileName: "artboard_animations",
        artboardName: "Circle"
    )
    
    var rStar = RiveViewModel(
        fileName: "artboard_animations",
        artboardName: "Star"
    )
}

​
Working with State Machines

​
Accessing State Machines

// Get state machine count
let count = artboard.stateMachineCount()

// List all state machine names
let names = artboard.stateMachineNames()

// Get state machine by name
do {
    let sm = try artboard.stateMachine(fromName: "State Machine 1")
} catch {
    print("State machine not found")
}

// Get default state machine
if let defaultSM = artboard.defaultStateMachine() {
    print("Using default state machine")
}

​
Accessing State Machine Inputs

// Get inputs directly from artboard
let boolInput = artboard.getBool("isActive", path: "")
let numberInput = artboard.getNumber("level", path: "")
let triggerInput = artboard.getTrigger("reset", path: "")

// Use path for nested inputs
let nestedInput = artboard.getNumber("value", path: "nested/path")

​
Text Runs

Access and modify text content in your artboard: 
// Get text run by name
if let textRun = artboard.textRun("username") {
    textRun.text = "John Doe"
}

// Get text run with path
if let textRun = artboard.textRun("label", path: "header") {
    textRun.text = "Welcome"
}

​
Advancing and Drawing

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Manual Advancement

// Advance artboard time
let deltaTime = 1.0 / 60.0 // 60 FPS
artboard.advance(by: deltaTime)

// Check if artboard changed
if artboard.didChange {
    print("Artboard needs redraw")
}

​
Rendering

let context = // your CGContext
let renderer = RiveRenderer(context: context)

// Draw the artboard
artboard.draw(renderer)

​
Data Binding

Bind view model instances to artboards: 
let file = try RiveFile(name: "animation")
let artboard = try file.artboard()

if let viewModel = file.defaultViewModel(for: artboard),
   let instance = viewModel.createDefaultInstance() {
    // Bind to artboard
    artboard.bind(viewModelInstance: instance)
}

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Best Practices

You can create multiple artboard instances from a single RiveFile. Each instance maintains its own animation state.
let file = try RiveFile(name: "characters")
let character1 = try file.artboard(fromName: "Hero")
let character2 = try file.artboard(fromName: "Hero") // Independent instance
Always verify that animations or state machines exist before trying to access them by name or index.
let names = artboard.animationNames()
if names.contains("idle") {
    let animation = try artboard.animation(fromName: "idle")
}
For most use cases, RiveViewModel provides a higher-level interface that handles artboard management automatically.

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