GSAP Nuxt

mount → initial state → intro → settled → outro → end state → unmount

Mount and unmount belong to Vue; animation owns the five phases between them. During a Nuxt page leave, the component is torn down while its root element remains until done. The transition hooks (css: false) must own the outro independently of component cleanup.

Keep the requested look and existing project conventions. Add GSAP/plugins only as needed; do not replace the chosen animation library unless asked.

This skill decides when motion runs. For what moves, and for a feel such as premium or playful, also load the animaxxing skill when it is installed: its recipes and its guide to finding the vibe plug into this lifecycle.

Start with the project

Read repository instructions, existing animation, layouts, navigation, CSS, accessibility conventions, and checks. Then:

1. Confirm Nuxt with a pages/ directory. If the project is plain Vue with Vue Router and no Nuxt, say this skill does not cover it and use gsap-frameworks.
2. Read the installed Nuxt, Vue, and Vue Router versions from node_modules. Prefer the installed types and their JSDoc (node_modules/@nuxt/schema, node_modules/nuxt/dist, node_modules/@vue/runtime-core/dist, node_modules/vue-router/dist) and that version's docs over memory. Version gates: onPrehydrate (3.12), useRuntimeHook (3.14), the app/ source directory (4), view transition types (4.4), prefetch in the <NuxtLink custom> slot (4.5).
3. Read nuxt.config: ssr, srcDir, app.pageTransition, app.layoutTransition, app.keepalive, experimental.viewTransition, future.compatibilityVersion. Nuxt 4 puts pages/, layouts/, middleware/, plugins/, composables/, app.vue, and router.options.ts under app/; Nuxt 3 keeps them at the root. ~/ resolves to the source directory in both.

Choose the engine

Use Vue Transition CSS for simple page fades/slides, experimental.viewTransition for snapshot morphs, and GSAP JavaScript hooks for live-DOM outros, sequencing, interruption, or controlled overlap. Use one engine per element and do not run Vue hooks and a view transition on the same navigation. See View Transitions.

Read only what you need

• Invisible entrances, failed initialization, indexing, and first-load performance: Initialization and recovery, plus the framework integration.
• The hooks, done, modes, what dies when the leave starts, first load, layouts, direction, interruptions: Page transitions.
• Page keys, keepalive, Nuxt app hooks, scroll and focus, outro before navigation, back and forward, View Transitions, SSR and first paint: Navigation.
• The five phases, GSAP setup, Vue lifecycle, show and hide, layout stability, scroll, text, plugins: Lifecycle implementation.
• Lenis, ScrollSmoother, or eased page scrolling across routes: Smooth scrolling, plus the hook mapping.
• Curtains, first-visit preloaders, and shared-element morphs: Transition archetypes, plus the app.vue integration and shared elements.
• Touch, viewport changes, and device budgets: Devices and input.
• Tauri, Electron, or Wails desktop shells: Desktop webviews.
• Before calling work done: Verification.

Install the official GSAP skills alongside this repository. Load gsap-core for API details and gsap-frameworks for component setup only as needed.

Rules

• Preserve invisible intros on successful setup; recover the current incoming owner on failure. Follow the initialization contract before adding hiding rules.
• GSAP runs only on the client. Guard with import.meta.client, onMounted, or <ClientOnly>. Scope selectors. Clean up every tween, trigger, split, and listener.
• Reserve final geometry with normal CSS and a stable wrapper; overlap outgoing/incoming content without doubling layout space. Pages and layouts need a single root element or the transition does not run.
• Mount, then set initial values, then paint. onBeforeEnter runs before the incoming root is inserted and onEnter right after, before the browser paints. Successful initialization never flashes settled content before the intro.
• Clear temporary styles at settled. Use will-change only while animating; this overrides gsap-performance's static hint.
• Use capability queries for device tiers. Touch states release; controls work without hover.
• Always call done: from onComplete, from onInterrupt, and synchronously under reduced motion. A leave that never calls done leaves the old page in the DOM forever.
• The page component is unmounted, or deactivated under keepalive, when the leave starts, not when it ends. Its context revert and onUnmounted run while the outro plays. Build the outro in onLeave against el, in a context the hooks own.
• Keep outgoing pages and components in the DOM through outro and end state. Vue does this as long as done waits.
• The outro cannot start before the incoming page has resolved. Design the wait: the old page stays on screen and interactive.
• Under keepalive, a page lifecycle runs again on reactivation against DOM that already holds settled values. Never assume a fresh node.
• Back and forward run the same hooks as a click. Detect history navigation yourself and give it a quieter path. Never fake an outro that did not happen.
• Never use appear on a server-rendered page: Vue's SSR wraps the child of <Transition appear> in <template>, so the page is blank until hydration and without JavaScript.
• Keep native link behavior, focus, scroll, and no-JavaScript readability.
• Reduced motion reaches the same settled state and still calls done and every completion callback.
• Define interruption and rapid-click behavior; completion must release navigation waits exactly once.
• Verify in a real browser when practical. Use a production build for route, config, dependency, or release changes.