manimce-best-practices

name: manimce-best-practices
description: |
Trigger when: (1) User mentions "manim" or "Manim Community" or "ManimCE", (2) Code contains from manim import *, (3) User runs manim CLI commands, (4) Working with Scene, MathTex, Create(), or ManimCE-specific classes.

Best practices for Manim Community Edition - the community-maintained Python animation engine. Covers Scene structure, animations, LaTeX/MathTex, 3D with ThreeDScene, camera control, styling, and CLI usage.

NOT for ManimGL/3b1b version (which uses manimlib imports and manimgl CLI).

How to use

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and code examples:

Core Concepts

• rules/scenes.md - Scene structure, construct method, and scene types
• rules/mobjects.md - Mobject types, VMobject, Groups, and positioning
• rules/animations.md - Animation classes, playing animations, and timing

Creation & Transformation

• rules/creation-animations.md - Create, Write, FadeIn, DrawBorderThenFill
• rules/transform-animations.md - Transform, ReplacementTransform, morphing
• rules/animation-groups.md - AnimationGroup, LaggedStart, Succession

Text & Math

• rules/text.md - Text mobjects, fonts, and styling
• rules/latex.md - MathTex, Tex, LaTeX rendering, and coloring formulas
• rules/text-animations.md - Write, AddTextLetterByLetter, TypeWithCursor

Styling & Appearance

• rules/colors.md - Color constants, gradients, and color manipulation
• rules/styling.md - Fill, stroke, opacity, and visual properties

Positioning & Layout

• rules/positioning.md - move_to, next_to, align_to, shift methods
• rules/grouping.md - VGroup, Group, arrange, and layout patterns

Coordinate Systems & Graphing

• rules/axes.md - Axes, NumberPlane, coordinate systems
• rules/graphing.md - Plotting functions, parametric curves
• rules/3d.md - ThreeDScene, 3D axes, surfaces, camera orientation

Animation Control

• rules/timing.md - Rate functions, easing, run_time, lag_ratio
• rules/updaters.md - Updaters, ValueTracker, dynamic animations
• rules/camera.md - MovingCameraScene, zoom, pan, frame manipulation

Configuration & CLI

• rules/cli.md - Command-line interface, rendering options, quality flags
• rules/config.md - Configuration system, manim.cfg, settings

Shapes & Geometry

• rules/shapes.md - Circle, Square, Rectangle, Polygon, and geometric primitives
• rules/lines.md - Line, Arrow, Vector, DashedLine, and connectors

Working Examples

Complete, tested example files demonstrating common patterns:

• examples/basic_animations.py - Shape creation, text, lagged animations, path movement
• examples/math_visualization.py - LaTeX equations, color-coded math, derivations
• examples/updater_patterns.py - ValueTracker, dynamic animations, physics simulations
• examples/graph_plotting.py - Axes, functions, areas, Riemann sums, polar plots
• examples/3d_visualization.py - ThreeDScene, surfaces, 3D camera, parametric curves

Scene Templates

Copy and modify these templates to start new projects:

• templates/basic_scene.py - Standard 2D scene template
• templates/camera_scene.py - MovingCameraScene with zoom/pan
• templates/threed_scene.py - 3D scene with surfaces and camera rotation

Quick Reference

Basic Scene Structure

from manim import *

class MyScene(Scene):
    def construct(self):
        # Create mobjects
        circle = Circle()

        # Add to scene (static)
        self.add(circle)

        # Or animate
        self.play(Create(circle))

        # Wait
        self.wait(1)

Render Command

# Basic render with preview
manim -pql scene.py MyScene

# Quality flags: -ql (low), -qm (medium), -qh (high), -qk (4k)
manim -pqh scene.py MyScene

Key Differences from 3b1b/ManimGL

Jupyter Notebook Support

Use the %%manim cell magic:

%%manim -qm MyScene
class MyScene(Scene):
    def construct(self):
        self.play(Create(Circle()))

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Version confusion - Ensure you're using manim (Community), not manimgl (3b1b version)
2. Check imports - from manim import * is ManimCE; from manimlib import * is ManimGL
3. Outdated tutorials - Video tutorials may be outdated; prefer official documentation
4. manimpango issues - If text rendering fails, check manimpango installation requirements
5. PATH issues (Windows) - If manim command not found, use python -m manim or check PATH

Installation

# Install Manim Community
pip install manim

# Check installation
manim checkhealth

Useful Commands

manim -pql scene.py Scene    # Preview low quality (development)
manim -pqh scene.py Scene    # Preview high quality
manim --format gif scene.py  # Output as GIF
manim checkhealth            # Verify installation
manim plugins -l             # List plugins