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CSS animation-play-state Property

CSS animation-play-state Property specified if the animation is running or it is paused. See an example and try it yourself.

CSS animation-play-state property specifies if the animation is running or it is paused. If you resume a paused animation it will start from where it was left off at the time it was paused, rather than starting from the beginning of the animation sequence. Also, you can run the animation from paused state.

When multiple comma-separated values are specified for any animation property, they will be attached to the animations that are defined in animation-name differently.

The animation-play-state property is one of the CSS3 properties.

In JavaScript, this property can be used for pausing the animation in the middle of a cycle.

Initial Valuerunning
Applies toAll elements. It also applies to ::before and ::after pseudo-elements.
InheritedNo.
AnimatableNo.
VersionCSS3
DOM Syntaxobject.style.animationPlayState = "paused";

Syntax

Syntax of CSS animation-play-state Property

animation-play-state: paused | running | initial | inherit;

Example of the animation-play-state property with the "running" value:

Example of CSS animation-play-state Property with running value

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <style>
      div {
        width: 150px;
        height: 150px;
        background: #ccc;
        position: relative;
        animation: play 10s;
        animation-play-state: running;
      }
      @keyframes play {
        from {
          left: 0px;
        }
        to {
          left: 200px;
        }
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Animation-play-state example</h2>
    <p>Here the animation-play-state is set to "running".</p>
    <div></div>
  </body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »

In the following example, the animation will stop when you hover.

Example of the animation-play-state property with the "paused" value:

Example of CSS animation-play-state Property with paused value

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <style>
      div {
        width: 150px;
        height: 150px;
        background: #8ebf42;
        position: relative;
        animation: play 1s infinite;
      }
      div:hover {
        animation-play-state: paused;
      }
      @keyframes play {
        from {
          left: 0px;
        }
        to {
          left: 200px;
        }
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p>Hover over the green box to stop the animation.</p>
    <div></div>
  </body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »

Values

ValueDescriptionPlay it
runningIt is default value when the animation is running.Play it »
pausedThe animation is paused.Play it »
initialSets the property to its default value.
inheritInherits the property from its parent element.

Practice

Practice

What does the CSS property 'animation-play-state' do?