`offset-anchor` CSS property
Baseline Widely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It's been available across browsers since September 2022.
The offset-anchor CSS property specifies the point inside the box of an element traveling along an offset-path that is actually moving along the path.
Try it
offset-anchor: auto;
offset-anchor: right top;
offset-anchor: left bottom;
offset-anchor: 20% 80%;
<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
<div class="wrapper">
<div id="example-element"></div>
</div>
<button id="playback" type="button">Play</button>
</section>
#example-element {
offset-path: path("M 0,20 L 200,20");
animation: distance 3000ms infinite alternate ease-in-out;
width: 40px;
height: 40px;
background: cyan;
animation-play-state: paused;
}
#example-element.running {
animation-play-state: running;
}
.wrapper {
background-image: linear-gradient(
to bottom,
transparent,
transparent 49%,
black 50%,
black 51%,
transparent 52%
);
border: 1px solid #cccccc;
width: 90%;
}
@keyframes distance {
0% {
offset-distance: 0%;
}
100% {
offset-distance: 100%;
}
}
#playback {
position: absolute;
top: 0;
left: 0;
font-size: 1em;
}
const example = document.getElementById("example-element");
const button = document.getElementById("playback");
button.addEventListener("click", () => {
if (example.classList.contains("running")) {
example.classList.remove("running");
button.textContent = "Play";
} else {
example.classList.add("running");
button.textContent = "Pause";
}
});
Syntax
/* Keyword values */ offset-anchor: top; offset-anchor: bottom; offset-anchor: left; offset-anchor: right; offset-anchor: center; offset-anchor: auto; /* <percentage> values */ offset-anchor: 25% 75%; /* <length> values */ offset-anchor: 0 0; offset-anchor: 1cm 2cm; offset-anchor: 10ch 8em; /* Edge offsets values */ offset-anchor: bottom 10px right 20px; offset-anchor: right 3em bottom 10px; /* Global values */ offset-anchor: inherit; offset-anchor: initial; offset-anchor: revert; offset-anchor: revert-layer; offset-anchor: unset;
Values
-
auto offset-anchoris given the same value as the element'stransform-origin, unlessoffset-pathisnone, in which case it takes its value fromoffset-position.-
<position> - A
positiondefines an x/y coordinate, to place an item relative to the edges of an element's box. It can be defined using one to four values. For more specifics, see thepositionandbackground-positionreference pages. Note that the 3-value position syntax does not work for any usage of<position>, except for inbackground(-position).
Formal definition
| Initial value | auto |
|---|---|
| Applies to | transformable elements |
| Inherited | no |
| Percentages | relative to the width and the height of the element's reference box |
| Computed value | for <length> the absolute value, otherwise a percentage |
| Animation type | a <a href="/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Values/position_value#interpolation" title="Values of the <position> data type are interpolated independently for the abscissa and ordinate. As the speed is defined by the same <easing-function> for both, the point will move following a line.">position</a> |
Formal syntax
offset-anchor = auto | <position> <position> = [ [ left | center | right ] || [ top | center | bottom ] | [ left | center | right | <length-percentage> ] [ top | center | bottom | <length-percentage> ]? | [ [ left | right ] <length-percentage> ] && [ [ top | bottom ] <length-percentage> ] ] <length-percentage> = <length> | <percentage>
Examples
Setting various offset-anchor values
In the following example, we have three <div> elements nested in <section> elements. Each <div> is given the same offset-path (a horizontal line 200 pixels long) and animated to move along it. The three are then given different background-color and offset-anchor values.
Each <section> has been styled with a linear gradient to give it a horizontal line running through its center, to give you a visual display of where the <div>'s offset paths are running.
This allows you to see what effect the different offset-anchor values have — the first one, auto, causes the <div>'s center point to move along the path. The other two cause the <div>'s top-right and bottom-left points to move along the path, respectively.
HTML
<section> <div class="offset-anchor1"></div> </section> <section> <div class="offset-anchor2"></div> </section> <section> <div class="offset-anchor3"></div> </section>
CSS
div {
offset-path: path("M 0,20 L 200,20");
animation: move 3000ms infinite alternate ease-in-out;
width: 40px;
height: 40px;
}
section {
background-image: linear-gradient(
to bottom,
transparent,
transparent 49%,
black 50%,
black 51%,
transparent 52%
);
border: 1px solid #cccccc;
margin-bottom: 10px;
}
.offset-anchor1 {
offset-anchor: auto;
background: cyan;
}
.offset-anchor2 {
offset-anchor: right top;
background: purple;
}
.offset-anchor3 {
offset-anchor: left bottom;
background: magenta;
}
@keyframes move {
0% {
offset-distance: 0%;
}
100% {
offset-distance: 100%;
}
}
Result
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| Motion Path Module Level 1 # offset-anchor-property |
Browser compatibility
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Opera | Safari | Chrome Android | Firefox for Android | Opera Android | Safari on iOS | Samsung Internet | WebView Android | WebView on iOS | |
offset-anchor |
116 |
116 |
72 |
102 |
16 |
116 |
79 |
78 |
16 |
24.0 |
116 |
16 |
auto |
116 |
116 |
72 |
102 |
16 |
116 |
79 |
78 |
16 |
24.0 |
116 |
16 |
bottom |
116 |
116 |
72 |
102 |
16 |
116 |
79 |
78 |
16 |
24.0 |
116 |
16 |
center |
116 |
116 |
72 |
102 |
16 |
116 |
79 |
78 |
16 |
24.0 |
116 |
16 |
left |
116 |
116 |
72 |
102 |
16 |
116 |
79 |
78 |
16 |
24.0 |
116 |
16 |
right |
116 |
116 |
72 |
102 |
16 |
116 |
79 |
78 |
16 |
24.0 |
116 |
16 |
top |
116 |
116 |
72 |
102 |
16 |
116 |
79 |
78 |
16 |
24.0 |
116 |
16 |
x-end |
No |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
26 |
x-start |
No |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
26 |
y-end |
No |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
26 |
y-start |
No |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
No |
26 |
No |
No |
26 |
See also
© 2005–2025 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/offset-anchor