Why Importing Lotties Isn’t What Rive Was Built For

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

And why native Rive workflows lead to better performance, flexibility, and developer experience.

Rive has quickly become one of the most powerful tools for real‑time, interactive animation across apps, games, and digital products. One feature that’s often misunderstood is Lottie import.

If your team has ever dragged a Lottie file into Rive expecting a seamless conversion, only to run into bloated file sizes or broken interactivity, you’re not alone. Lottie import was never designed to be a primary workflow; it was a migration tool—a bridge for teams with massive Lottie libraries to transition into Rive’s real‑time ecosystem. Over time, many teams started using it as a comparison tool or as part of their regular pipeline, and that’s where the issues begin.

What Actually Happens When You Import a Lottie?

Rive Creative Lead JC Toon ran a test comparing:

Both looked identical visually, but the underlying architecture couldn’t be more different. The imported Lottie is essentially a playback‑only clip, while the Rive‑native file is a lightweight, logic‑driven system.

Core difference
👉 Lottie imports motion. Rive designs logic.

Why Imported Lotties Cause Confusion (and Risk)

When developers test Rive by importing Lottie files, the evaluation becomes skewed. A poorly optimized Lottie file doesn’t magically improve just because it’s in Rive.

1. Performance Misconceptions

Teams often compare:

• Original Lottie → built for After Effects playback
• Imported version → still baked, still inefficient

…then mistakenly conclude that Rive is slower.

2. Structural Mismatches

Lottie doesn’t include:

• Bones
• Constraints
• Components
• Procedural motion

So once imported, making that animation interactive often requires rebuilding from scratch anyway.

Security + Reliability Concerns

Lottie is JSON‑based, and exporters vary. At scale, this can introduce:

• Inconsistent structures
• Corrupted data
• Unsafe or malformed JSON

Debugging these issues requires engineering‑level insight, which is why the importer is now Enterprise‑only.

“But Can’t I Just Import My Lotties?”

You can—but treat Lottie import as a starter, not a workflow.

Best Practices for Teams Still Using Lotties

• ✅ Audit oversized or raster‑heavy assets before import.
• ✅ Use imports to bootstrap, then rebuild rigging inside Rive.
• ✅ Replace baked motion with procedural systems (bones, constraints, components).
• ✅ Align design + dev early—don’t treat Rive like an export tool.

Rive shines when used intentionally, not as a last‑mile conversion tool.

What About Lottie’s New State Machines?

Lottie’s latest update (dotLottie with state machines) is a great improvement—but it doesn’t change the fundamentals. Most Lottie workflows still:

1. Start in After Effects.
2. Export heavy, baked keyframes.
3. Lack procedural rigging.
4. Don’t behave consistently across platforms.

Rive, meanwhile, was designed from day one for interactive logic:

• Native bones
• Constraints
• Real‑time state machines
• Cross‑platform runtime consistency

Both formats now support “states,” but they approach interactivity from opposite directions:

• Lottie → adds logic onto playback files.
• Rive → builds logic into the animation system.

Why Lottie Import Is Enterprise‑Only Now

The importer was created to help large organizations migrate thousands of legacy Lottie files—not to serve as an ongoing production pipeline. By restricting it to Enterprise:

• Teams get guided support from Rive engineers.
• Migration happens safely.
• New users avoid broken workflows.
• Focus shifts back to Rive‑native workflows (where the real benefits are).

This isn’t about locking features—it’s about ensuring the tool is used correctly.

What Happens Next?

• Voyager users already relying on Lottie import will keep access permanently.
• New customers will lose access after a future sunset date.
• Teams still dependent on Lottie should start exploring Rive‑native creation now.

Rive‑native animations are faster, cleaner, more flexible, and future‑proof for modern product development.

Why This Matters

Rive’s mission is to collapse the gap between design and development—creating a continuous loop where both work together in real time. Lottie imports break that loop by keeping teams anchored to static exports and unpredictable playback.

Moving to Rive‑native workflows means:

• Better animations
• Better performance
• Better developer experience
• Better product quality

…and ultimately, fewer surprises when shipping to users.

Need Help Transitioning or Building High‑end Rive Animations?

If your team needs expert help building Rive rigs, procedural motion, or migrating from Lottie, you can work with:

Praneeth Kawya Thathsara — Rive Animation Expert
Developer at RiveAnimation.com
Founder of UIAnimation.com
📧 Email: uiuxanimation@gmail.com

Whether you want custom Rive animations, workflow guidance, or migration support, he’s one of the best in the industry.