react-spring is a declarative animation framework for React that drives visual transitions through state-driven declarations. It functions as a motion engine where animations are defined as target values pursued by a physics engine based on application state.
The library utilizes a spring physics engine to calculate natural movements by simulating mass, tension, and friction instead of relying on fixed durations. To maintain high frame rates, it updates DOM elements directly via references to bypass the standard React render cycle.
The framework covers physics-based motion and state-driven transitions for interactive user interface elements. It supports both declarative and imperative controls for visual transitions and provides tools for mapping numerical spring outputs to complex visual properties.