The offset-path property takes as its value an <offset-path> value, a <coord-box> value, or both, or the none keyword. The <offset-path> value is a ray() function, a <url> value, or a <basic-shape> value.

none

Specifies that the element does not follow any offset path. The none value is equivalent to the element not having any offset transform. The element's movement in this case is determined by its default position properties, such as top and left, instead of an offset path. This is the default value.

<offset-path>

A ray() function, a <url> value, or a <basic-shape> value that specifies the geometrical offset path. If omitted, the path shape for the <coord-box> value is inset(0 round X), where X is the value of border-radius of the element that establishes the containing block.

ray()

Defines a line starting at a set position, of a set length, and extending at the specified angle. The ray() function accepts up to four parameters – an <angle>, an optional size value, the optional keyword contain, and an optional at <position>.

<url>

Specifies the ID of an SVG shape element. The path is the shape of the SVG <circle>, <ellipse>, <line>, <path>, <polygon>, <polyline>, or <rect> element referenced by its id in the url() function. If the URL does not reference a shape element or is otherwise invalid, the resolved value for the offset path is path("M0,0") (which is a valid <basic-shape> value).

<basic-shape>

Specifies the offset path as the equivalent path of a CSS basic shape function, such as circle(), ellipse(), inset(), path(), or polygon(). For example, if the <basic_shape> is an ellipse() function, then the path is the outline of the ellipse, starting at the rightmost point of the ellipse, proceeding clockwise through a full rotation. For ellipse() and circle(), which accept the at <position> parameter, if the <position> is omitted, the position defaults to center unless the element has an offset-position specified. In this case, the offset-position value is used for the at <position> parameter.

<coord-box>

Specifies the size information of the reference box containing the path. The reference box is derived from the element that establishes the containing block for this element. This parameter is optional. If not specified, the default value is border-box in CSS contexts. In SVG contexts, the value is treated as view-box. If ray() or <basic-shape> is used to define the offset path, the <coord-box> value provides the reference box for the ray or the <basic-shape>, respectively. If <url> is used to define the offset path, the <coord-box> value provides the viewport and user coordinate system for the shape element, with the origin (0 0) at the top left corner and size being 1px.

The offset-path property defines a path an animated element can follow. An offset path is either a specified path with one or multiple sub-paths or the geometry of a not-styled basic shape. The element's exact position on the offset path is determined by the offset-distance property. Each shape or path must define an initial position for the computed value of 0 for offset-distance and an initial direction which specifies the rotation of the object to the initial position.

Early versions of the spec called this property motion-path. It was changed to offset-path because the property describes static positions, not motion.

offset-path = 
  none                               |
  <ray()>                            |
  <path()>                           |
  <url>                              |
  [ <basic-shape> && <coord-box>? ]  |
  <coord-box>                        

<url> = 
  url( <string> <url-modifier>* )  |
  src( <string> <url-modifier>* )  

<coord-box> = 
  content-box  |
  padding-box  |
  border-box   |
  fill-box     |
  stroke-box   |
  view-box     

This example demonstrates using various <coord-box> values in the offset-path property.

.box {
  width: 40px;
  height: 20px;
  animation: move 8000ms infinite ease-in-out;
}

.blueBox {
  background-color: blue;
  offset-path: border-box;
  offset-distance: 5%;
}

.greenBox {
  background-color: green;
  offset-path: padding-box;
  offset-distance: 8%;
}

.redBox {
  background-color: red;
  offset-path: content-box;
  offset-distance: 12%;
}

@keyframes move {
  0%,
  20% {
    offset-distance: 0%;
  }
  80%,
  100% {
    offset-distance: 100%;
  }
}

In this example, the margin, border, and padding have been purposely given large values to demonstrate the placement of the blue, green, and red rectangles on their respective <coord-box> edges: border-box, padding-box, and content-box.

Result

In this example, the <svg> element creates a house with a chimney and also defines two halves of a scissor. The house and chimney are composed of rectangles and polygons, and the scissor halves are represented by two distinct path elements. In the CSS code, the offset-path property is used to specify a path to follow for the two scissor halves. This CSS-defined path is identical to the one represented by the <path> element in the SVG, which is the outline of the house including the chimney.

<svg
  xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
  width="700"
  height="450"
  viewBox="350 0 1400 900">
  <title>House and Scissors</title>
  <rect x="595" y="423" width="610" height="377" fill="blue" />
  <polygon points="506,423 900,190 1294,423" fill="yellow" />
  <polygon points="993,245 993,190 1086,190 1086,300" fill="red" />
  <path
    id="house"
    d="M900,190 L993,245 V201 A11,11 0 0,1 1004,190 H1075 A11,11 0 0,1 1086,201 V300 L1294,423 H1216 A11,11 0 0,0 1205,434 V789 A11,11 0 0,1 1194,800 H606 A11,11 0 0,1 595,789 V434 A11,11 0 0,0 584,423 H506 L900,190"
    fill="none"
    stroke="black"
    stroke-width="13"
    stroke-linejoin="round"
    stroke-linecap="round" />
  <path
    id="firstScissorHalf"
    class="scissorHalf"
    d="M30,0 H-10 A10,10 0 0,0 -20,10 A20,20 0 1,1 -40,-10 H20 A10,10 0 0,1 30,0 M-40,20 A10,10 1 0,0 -40,0 A10,10 1 0,0 -40,20 M0,0"
    transform="translate(0,0)"
    fill="green"
    stroke="black"
    stroke-width="5"
    stroke-linejoin="round"
    stroke-linecap="round"
    fill-rule="evenodd" />
  <path
    id="secondScissorHalf"
    class="scissorHalf"
    d="M30,0 H-10 A10,10 0 0,1 -20,-10 A20,20 0 1,0 -40,10 H20 A10,10 0 0,0 30,0 M-40,-20 A10,10 1 0,0 -40,0 A10,10 1 0,0 -40,-20 M0,0"
    transform="translate(0,0)"
    fill="forestgreen"
    stroke="black"
    stroke-width="5"
    stroke-linejoin="round"
    stroke-linecap="round"
    fill-rule="evenodd" />
</svg>

.scissorHalf {
  offset-path: path(
    "M900,190  L993,245 V201  A11,11 0 0,1 1004,190  H1075  A11,11 0 0,1 1086,201  V300  L1294,423 H1216  A11,11 0 0,0 1205,434  V789  A11,11 0 0,1 1194,800  H606  A11,11 0 0,1 595,789  V434  A11,11 0 0,0 584,423  H506 L900,190"
  );
  animation: followpath 4s linear infinite;
}

@keyframes followpath {
  to {
    offset-distance: 100%;
  }
}

Result

Without the offset-path property, the two halves of the scissors would default to the top-left corner of the canvas. However, by using offset-path, the two scissor halves are aligned with the starting point of the SVG path, allowing them to move along it.

This example illustrates how to refer to an SVG shape to define the shape of the path that an element can follow. The green circle (defined by .target) follows the path of a rectangle, which is defined by passing the SVG shape's ID (svgRect) to the offset-path property by using url().

The SVG rectangle that defines the path shape is shown here only to visually demonstrate that the green circle is indeed following the path defined by this rectangle.

<div class="outer">
  <div class="target"></div>
</div>
  <svg width="400" height="200" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" >
    <rect id="svgRect" x="50" y="50" width="200" height="100" />
  </svg>
</div>

.target {
  width: 50px;
  height: 50px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  background-color: green;
  offset-path: url(#svgRect);
  offset-anchor: auto;
  animation: move 5s linear infinite;
}

#svgRect {
  fill: antiquewhite;
  stroke: black;
  stroke-width: 2;
}

@keyframes move {
  0% {
    offset-distance: 0%;
  }
  100% {
    offset-distance: 100%;
  }
}

• offset
• offset-distance
• offset-rotate
• SVG <path>
• path()
• Other demos:
  • Examples using various shapes values on Codepen by CSS-Tricks
  • Moving a triangle along a curved path on Codepen by Eric Willigers
  • Moving a pair of scissors along the shape of a house on Codepen by Eric Willigers
  • Moving multiple pairs of eyes on JSFiddle by Eric Willigers