oxframe vs Motion Canvas

Pick oxframe when you like the Motion Canvas model (signals, a timeline you write as code, an editor) but need server rendering, an active project and agent checks. Pick Motion Canvas when you want TypeScript and its browser editor is all the rendering you need.

At a glance

One scene in both

The scene from the Motion Canvas migration guide. Motion Canvas renders from its editor in the browser, so this page has no timed render for it.

import {Circle, Txt, makeScene2D} from '@motion-canvas/2d';
import {all, createRef, createSignal, waitFor} from '@motion-canvas/core';

export default makeScene2D(function* (view) {
  const circle = createRef<Circle>();
  const count = createSignal(0);
  view.add(
    <>
      <Circle ref={circle} size={320} fill={'#e13238'} x={-300} />
      <Txt text={() => count().toFixed(0)} fontSize={80} y={300} fill={'white'} />
    </>,
  );

  yield* circle().x(300, 1);
  yield* all(circle().fill('#68abdf', 1), circle().scale(1.5, 1));
  yield* count(100, 2);
  yield* waitFor(0.5);
});

use oxframe::prelude::*;

#[oxframe::scene]
pub async fn hello(view: View) {
    let circle = view.add(Circle::new().size(320.0).fill(color!("#e13238")).x(-300.0));
    let count = Signal::new(0.0);
    let label = view.add(Txt::new().font_size(80.0).y(300.0));
    label.text().bind({
        let count = count.clone();
        move || format!("{:.0}", count.get())
    });

    circle.x().to(300.0, 1.0).await;
    all((
        circle.fill().to(color!("#68abdf"), 1.0),
        circle.scale().to(Vec2::new(1.5, 1.5), 1.0),
    ))
    .await;
    count.to(100.0, 2.0).await;
    wait_for(0.5).await;
}

pub fn project() -> Project {
    Project::new("hello").scene(hello())
}

Familiar code, a different runtime

How the code maps

What does not carry over

When to pick Motion Canvas

• You want TypeScript and the browser editor, and render by hand from it.
• You already have a Motion Canvas project and it does what you need.

When to pick oxframe

• You want the same model with rendering in CI and on a server.
• An agent writes the scenes and should check its own frames.
• You want a mixer, voice lines synced to words, video clips and 3D in the scene.
• You want a project with regular releases.

Moving from Motion Canvas

The Motion Canvas migration guide maps makeScene2D, yield*, refs, signals and all to oxframe, and the motion-canvas-to-oxframe skill ports a scene for an agent.

FAQ

Is Motion Canvas still maintained?

Its last release is v3.17.2 from December 2024, and its main branch has had one commit (a docs domain change in July 2026) since February 2025. The Canvas Commons fork continues it.

Can Motion Canvas render on a server?

Its README describes a library and an editor with a real-time preview, and no headless render. Revideo, a fork, added headless rendering. oxframe renders from the CLI.

How close is the oxframe API to Motion Canvas?

Close: signals, all, waitFor as wait_for, refs as handles. Generators become async functions, and yield* becomes .await.

Does oxframe have an editor like Motion Canvas?

Yes: oxframe dev shows the video with a timeline, markers you drag to retime it and tunables you change while it plays.

Do I have to learn Rust?

Some. Scenes read like the TypeScript you know, and the playground runs them in the browser. An agent with the oxframe skill writes most of the Rust for you.

Sources

Checked on October 22, 2026. Found something out of date? Open an issue on oxframe-web.

• Motion Canvas on GitHub
• Motion Canvas releases
• Motion Canvas commits
• Canvas Commons
• oxframe license and what leaves your machine
• oxframe-sdk on GitHub

Other comparisons

• oxframe vs Remotion
• oxframe vs HyperFrames
• oxframe vs fframes
• oxframe vs Manim
• oxframe vs Revideo
• oxframe vs cloud video APIs
• Remotion alternatives

Get started with oxframe