By default, Anima animations are configured as ‘single-shot,’ meaning the animated node is automatically removed from the scene once the animation completes. However, if you’re working with a looping animation, the node will remain in the scene even after the animation has looped indefinitely. You’re also able to force a reusable animation by using as_reusable method.

When to use reusable vs single shot

as_reusable

This method should be used when:

  1. we need to initialised the animation on _ready (see Understanding the current value)
  2. we want to animate a node out using the same animation but played backwards
  3. we want to animate an animation in loop

Single Shot

This method is useful when:

  1. When the current value needs to be used as initial values (see Understanding the current value)
  2. We want to free memory once the animation completes