# Why is my Rive animation static or not playing?

> A Rive animation that shows but does not move usually means the wrong state machine or animation is selected, the entry state has no animation, nothing has set the input that starts it, or the widget has no size. In Flutter on iOS, also test with --no-enable-impeller, and make sure your runtime version supports the features your editor file uses.

Updated November 2026. Source: https://www.exodeui.com/questions/rive-animation-not-playing-flutter/

## Key takeaways

- Check the artboard and state machine names your code selects
- Open the file in the Rive editor and confirm the entry state animates
- An idle state waiting for an input looks "static" until you set it
- Give the widget or canvas a real width and height
- Upgrade the runtime if the file uses newer editor features

## Frequently asked questions

### Why does my Rive file play in the editor but not in my app?

Usually a different state machine is selected, or the runtime is older than the editor features used.

### Why is my Rive animation blank?

Check that the file loaded (watch for load errors), the artboard name is correct and the widget has a size.

### Does autoplay matter?

On the web, autoplay must be true or you must call play(). In Flutter, the controller plays the selected state machine.

### What does flutter clean fix?

It clears cached native libraries, which helps after upgrading rive or rive_native.

## Related

- [How to use a Rive state machine in Flutter](https://www.exodeui.com/questions/how-to-use-rive-state-machine-in-flutter)
- [Rive APK size in Flutter](https://www.exodeui.com/questions/rive-flutter-apk-size)
- [ExodeUI vs Rive](https://www.exodeui.com/compare/exodeui-vs-rive)
- [Debug UI animation states with AI](https://www.exodeui.com/learn/debug-ui-animation-states-with-ai)