MotionMark

Markdown for Motion Graphics. Text-in, video-out.

MotionMark is a domain-specific language (DSL) for creating motion graphics and animations using simple, readable text files. Write declarative code, preview and export in browser.

Quick Start

Requirements

• Node.js

Installation

npm install
npm run build

Preview

npm run preview
# or with a specific file
npm run preview examples/showcase/trig-graphs.mmark

Open http://localhost:5175 in your browser. Edit code on the left, see live preview on the right. Export to WebM/MP4 directly from the browser.

File Format

MotionMark files use the .mmark extension.

Basic Structure

---
canvas: 1920x1080
bg: #0f0f1a
fps: 60
$accent: #e74c5c
$teal: #4ecdc4
---

rect r1 w:200 h:100 fill:#e74c5c | 0s - 3s
  x: 100 -> 500 over 2s ease-out
  y: 200
  opacity: 0 -> 1 over 0.5s

Syntax Reference

Header Block

Define canvas settings and variables at the top of your file:

---
canvas: 640x360
bg: #0f0f1a
fps: 24
$accent: #e74c5c
$teal: #4ecdc4
$speed: 80
---

Elements

Rectangle

rect id w:WIDTH h:HEIGHT fill:COLOR
  x: VALUE
  y: VALUE

Circle

circle id r:RADIUS fill:COLOR
  x: VALUE
  y: VALUE

Text

text id "Content" font:FONTNAME size:SIZE fill:COLOR
  x: VALUE
  y: VALUE

Line

line id from:(X1,Y1) to:(X2,Y2) stroke:COLOR strokeWidth:WIDTH

Path

Paths support 4 creation methods:

1. SVG d syntax (from design tools, bezier curves)

path arrow d:"M 10 50 L 90 50 L 70 30 M 90 50 L 70 70" stroke:#fff strokeWidth:2

2. Points array (manual coordinates, polygons)

path triangle [(100,200), (150,100), (200,200)] fill:#e74c5c closed:true

3. Function path fx (graphs, waves — y depends on x)

path sine fx:"200 - 50 * sin(x * 0.05)" xRange:"0-400" steps:50 stroke:#60a5fa strokeWidth:2

4. Parametric path xt/yt (circles, spirals, hearts)

path circle xt:"200 + 80 * cos(t)" yt:"200 + 80 * sin(t)" tRange:"0-6.28" steps:60 stroke:#4ade80 strokeWidth:2

When to use which:

Quick test: Can you draw it left-to-right without going backwards on x?

• Yes → use fx
• No → use xt + yt

Image

image id "filename.png" w:WIDTH h:HEIGHT
  x: VALUE
  y: VALUE

Element Lifetime

Control when elements appear and disappear:

rect r1 w:200 h:100 fill:#e74c5c | 0s - 3s    # visible from 0s to 3s
rect r2 w:200 h:100 fill:#4ecdc4 | 2s - 5s    # visible from 2s to 5s
rect r3 w:200 h:100 fill:#fff | persist        # visible entire duration

Animation

Declarative Animation (Recommended)

rect r1 w:200 h:100 fill:#e74c5c | 0s - 3s
  x: 100 -> 500 over 2s ease-out           # animate from 100 to 500
  opacity: 0 -> 1 over 0.5s                 # fade in
  scale: 1 -> 1.2 -> 1 over 1s ease-in-out  # scale up then down

Multi-step Keyframes

circle ball r:18 fill:#e74c5c | 0s - 4s
  y: 272 at 0s, 112 at 0.8s ease-out, 272 at 1.6s ease-in, 150 at 2.4s ease-out

Expression Mode (Advanced)

Use mathematical expressions with f(t) where t is time in seconds:

circle ball r:14 fill:#e74c5c | 0.8s - 4s
  x: f(t) = 74 + 80 * t
  y: f(t) = 260 - (120 * t - 35 * t^2)

Available math functions: sin, cos, tan, sqrt, abs, min, max, pow

Use degrees with the deg suffix: cos(45deg)

Easing Functions

Variables

Define in header, use with $:

---
$accent: #e74c5c
$speed: 80
---

circle ball r:20 fill:$accent
  x: f(t) = 200 + $speed * t

Scenes

Organize animations into logical sections:

= Setup | 0s - 5s =

rect title w:400 h:80 fill:#4ecdc4
  x: 100
  y: 100

= Launch | 5s - 10s =

circle ball r:20 fill:#e74c5c | 5s - 10s
  x: f(t) = 200 + 50 * t

Elements without explicit lifetime inherit their scene's time bounds.

Custom Motions (@motion)

Define reusable animation patterns:

@motion fade-in(dur=0.4s, ease=ease-out)
  opacity: 0 -> 1 over $dur $ease

@motion slide-up(from, to, dur=0.7s, ease=ease-out)
  y: $from -> $to over $dur $ease

@motion projectile(vx, vy, g, x0, y0)
  x: f(t) = $x0 + $vx * t
  y: f(t) = $y0 - ($vy * t - 0.5 * $g * t^2)

Apply motions to elements:

text title "Hello" font:Roboto size:48 fill:#fff | 0s - 4s
  x: 100
  fade-in()
  slide-up(from: 200, to: 150)

circle ball r:20 fill:#e74c5c | 2s - 8s
  projectile(vx: 160, vy: 330, g: 250, x0: 220, y0: 780)

Standard Library Motions

@motion fade-in(dur=0.5s, ease=ease-out)
@motion fade-out(dur=0.5s, ease=ease-in)
@motion slide-right(from, to, dur=1s, ease=ease-out)
@motion slide-left(from, to, dur=1s, ease=ease-out)
@motion slide-down(from, to, dur=1s, ease=ease-out)
@motion slide-up(from, to, dur=1s, ease=ease-out)
@motion scale-in(dur=0.5s, ease=ease-out)
@motion scale-out(dur=0.5s, ease=ease-in)
@motion pulse(dur=0.8s, ease=ease-in-out)
@motion drift-x(speed)

Audio Tracks

Add independent audio elements to your animation timeline:

audio "bg-music.mp3" | 0s - end volume:0.3 fade-in:2000 fade-out:1000
audio "whoosh.wav" | 1.5s - 2.5s volume:0.8

Audio files are resolved relative to the .mmark file's directory.

Masking

Apply rectangular masks to elements:

rect panel w:440 h:150 fill:#e74c5c | 0s - 4s
  x: 100
  y: 112
  mask: rect(100, 112, 0, 150)

Examples

Bouncing Ball

---
canvas: 640x360
bg: #0f0f1a
fps: 24
$accent: #e74c5c
---

@motion fade-in(dur=0.3s, ease=ease-out)
  opacity: 0 -> 1 over $dur $ease

text title "Bouncing Ball" font:Roboto size:28 fill:#ffffff | 0s - 4s
  x: 36
  y: 54
  fade-in()

line floor from:(40,304) to:(600,304) stroke:#ffffff55 strokeWidth:3 | persist

circle ball r:18 fill:$accent | 0s - 4s
  x: 80 -> 520 over 4s linear
  y: 272 at 0s, 112 at 0.8s ease-out, 272 at 1.6s ease-in, 150 at 2.4s ease-out, 272 at 3.2s ease-in

Product Intro

---
canvas: 640x360
bg: #111827
fps: 24
$accent: #e74c5c
$teal: #4ecdc4
---

@motion fade-in(dur=0.4s, ease=ease-out)
  opacity: 0 -> 1 over $dur $ease

@motion slide-up(from, to, dur=0.7s, ease=ease-out)
  y: $from -> $to over $dur $ease

rect logo w:72 h:72 fill:$accent | 0s - 4s
  x: 70
  y: 110
  opacity: 0 -> 1 over 0.4s

text brand "MotionMark" font:Roboto size:42 fill:#ffffff | 0.25s - 4s
  x: 170
  slide-up(from: 164, to: 142)
  fade-in(0.5s)

text tagline "Markdown for motion graphics" font:Roboto size:22 fill:#cbd5e1 | 0.8s - 4s
  x: 174
  slide-up(from: 216, to: 194, dur: 0.55s)
  fade-in(0.45s)

Physics Simulation

@motion projectile(vx, vy, g, x0, y0)
  x: f(t) = $x0 + $vx * t
  y: f(t) = $y0 - ($vy * t - 0.5 * $g * t^2)

circle ball r:20 fill:#e74c5c | 2s - 8s
  projectile(vx: 160, vy: 330, g: 250, x0: 220, y0: 780)
  opacity: 0 -> 1 over 0.2s

Properties Reference

Common Properties

Shape-specific Properties

Architecture

.mmark file (DSL)
       |
       v
   PARSER (DSL -> Scene IR)
       |
       v
   SCENE IR (JSON) ─── audioTracks[]
       |                     |
       v                     v
   ENGINE (IR + time)    Web Audio API
       |                     |
       v                     v
   CANVAS 2D ──────────> MediaRecorder / WebCodecs
       |
       v
   WebM / MP4 (browser export)

Project Structure

motion-mark/
  packages/
    schema/     # IR JSON schema + TypeScript types
    parser/     # DSL tokenizer, AST, compiler
    engine/     # IR + time -> frame state
    renderer/   # Frame rendering
    exporter/   # Headless render -> MP4
    validator/  # DSL validation
    ai/         # NL -> DSL pipeline
  stdlib/
    motion/     # Standard @motion marks
  examples/     # Example .mmark files
  tests/        # Test suite

Draw Animation

Reveal elements progressively with the draw property (0-1):

line arrow x1:0 y1:100 x2:200 y2:100 stroke:#fff strokeWidth:2 | 0s - 3s
  draw: 0 -> 1 over 2s ease-out

circle ring r:50 fill:none stroke:#4ecdc4 strokeWidth:3 | 0s - 3s
  x: 300
  y: 100
  draw: 0 -> 1 over 1.5s ease-out

text title "Hello" font:Roboto size:32 fill:#fff | 0s - 3s
  x: 200
  y: 200
  draw: 0 -> 1 over 2s linear

path curve fx:"100 - 30 * sin(x * 0.05)" xRange:"0-300" steps:50 stroke:#e74c5c strokeWidth:2 | 0s - 3s
  draw: 0 -> 1 over 2s ease-out

Tips

1. Z-order: Elements are rendered in declaration order. Later elements appear on top.

2. Time is relative: In expressions, t starts at 0 when the element appears, not global time.

3. Use variables: Define colors and values once in the header for easy theming.

4. Compose motions: Apply multiple @motion definitions to a single element.

5. Start simple: Begin with static elements, then add animation progressively.

License

See LICENSE file for details.