# state The current state of a custom animation. ``` var state: AnimationState ``` ## Discussion An instance of [`CustomAnimation`](/documentation/SwiftUI/CustomAnimation) uses this property to read and write state values as the animation runs. An alternative to using the `state` property in a custom animation is to create an [`AnimationStateKey`](/documentation/SwiftUI/AnimationStateKey) type and extend [`AnimationContext`](/documentation/SwiftUI/AnimationContext) with a custom property that returns the state as a custom type. For example, the following code creates a state key named `PausableState`. It’s convenient to store state values in the key type, so the `PausableState` structure includes properties for the stored state values `paused` and `pauseTime`. ``` private struct PausableState: AnimationStateKey { var paused = false var pauseTime: TimeInterval = 0.0 static var defaultValue: Self { .init() } } ``` To provide access to the pausable state, the following code extends `AnimationContext` to include the `pausableState` property. This property returns an instance of the custom `PausableState` structure stored in [`state`](/documentation/SwiftUI/AnimationContext/state), and it can also store a new `PausableState` instance in `state`. ``` extension AnimationContext { fileprivate var pausableState: PausableState { get { state[PausableState.self] } set { state[PausableState.self] = newValue } } } ``` Now a custom animation can use the `pausableState` property instead of the [`state`](/documentation/SwiftUI/AnimationContext/state) property as a convenient way to read and write state values as the animation runs. ``` struct PausableAnimation: CustomAnimation { func animate(value: V, time: TimeInterval, context: inout AnimationContext) -> V? where V : VectorArithmetic { let pausableState = context.pausableState var pauseTime = pausableState.pauseTime ... } } ``` --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)