Web/CSS/animation-direction

The animation-direction CSS property sets whether an animation should play forward, backward, or alternate back and forth between playing the sequence forward and backward.

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

It is often convenient to use the shorthand property animation to set all animation properties at once.

Syntax

/* Single animation */
animation-direction: normal;
animation-direction: reverse;
animation-direction: alternate;
animation-direction: alternate-reverse;

/* Multiple animations */
animation-direction: normal, reverse;
animation-direction: alternate, reverse, normal;

/* Global values */
animation-direction: inherit;
animation-direction: initial;
animation-direction: unset;

Values

normal: The animation plays forwards each cycle. In other words, each time the animation cycles, the animation will reset to the beginning state and start over again. This is the default value.
reverse: The animation plays backwards each cycle. In other words, each time the animation cycles, the animation will reset to the end state and start over again. Animation steps are performed backwards, and timing functions are also reversed. For example, an ease-in timing function becomes ease-out.
alternate: The animation reverses direction each cycle, with the first iteration being played forwards. The count to determine if a cycle is even or odd starts at one.
alternate-reverse: The animation reverses direction each cycle, with the first iteration being played backwards. The count to determine if a cycle is even or odd starts at one.

Note: When you specify multiple comma-separated values on an animation-* property, they will be assigned to the animations specified in the animation-name property in different ways depending on how many there are. For more information, see Setting multiple animation property values.

Formal definition

Initial value	`normal`
Applies to	all elements, `::before` and `::after` pseudo-elements
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

<single-animation-direction>#where <single-animation-direction> = normal | reverse | alternate | alternate-reverse

Examples

The animation is playing reversed

HTML

<div class="box"></div>

CSS

.box {
  background-color: rebeccapurple;
  border-radius: 10px;
  width: 100px;
  height: 100px;
  animation-name: rotate; 
  animation-duration: 0.7s;
  animation-direction: reverse;
}

@keyframes rotate {
  0% {
    transform: rotate(0);
  }
  100% {
    transform: rotate(360deg);
  }
}

See CSS animations for examples.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS AnimationsThe definition of 'animation-direction' in that specification.	Working Draft	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`animation-direction`	Chrome Full support 43 Full support 43 Full support 3 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Edge Full support 12 Full support 12 Full support 12 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Full support 16 Full support 16 Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Full support 44 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 44: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config. Full support 5 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -moz-	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 30 Full support 30 Full support 15 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- No support 12.1 — 15 No support 12 — 15 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -o-	Safari Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 4 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	WebView Android Full support 43 Full support 43 Full support ≤37 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Chrome Android Full support 43 Full support 43 Full support 18 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Android Full support 16 Full support 16 Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Full support 44 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 44: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config. Full support 5 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -moz-	Opera Android Full support 30 Full support 30 Full support 14 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- No support 12.1 — 14 No support 12 — 14 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -o-	Safari iOS Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 3.2 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Samsung Internet Android Full support 4.0 Full support 4.0 Full support 1.0 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-
`alternate-reverse`	Chrome Full support 19	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 16	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 6	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 25	Firefox Android Full support 16	Opera Android Full support 12.1	Safari iOS Full support 6	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5
`reverse`	Chrome Full support 19	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 16	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 6	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 25	Firefox Android Full support 16	Opera Android Full support 12.1	Safari iOS Full support 6	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5

Legend

Full support: Full support
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.