CSS animation-play-state Property

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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 Value	running
Applies to	All elements. It also applies to ::before and ::after pseudo-elements.
Inherited	No.
Animatable	No.
Version	CSS3
DOM Syntax	object.style.animationPlayState = "paused";

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Syntax

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

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

<!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

Value	Description	Play it
running	It is default value when the animation is running.	Play it »
paused	The animation is paused.	Play it »
initial	Sets the property to its default value.
inherit	Inherits the property from its parent element.