# States
States define how your animation plays when the state machine is in a given mode. Link states to timeline segments, set playback options, and add entry/exit actions.
## State types
**Playback State** – standard state linked to a segment; controls autoplay, loop, speed, direction, entry/exit actions.
Playback States can also be denoted as Initial or Final.
**Initial** – the state the machine originally starts in (one per machine).
**Final (optional)** – terminal state; no outgoing transitions.
**Global State** – transitions are evaluated from any state; use sparingly for global escape/redirect logic.
Each state has Entry and Exit nodes, represented as green and red dots. These are the connection points to other States.
## Add and configure states
States are the nodal representation of Segments. You can think of them as essentially the same thing. That means in order to create a state, you must create a segment.
1. From Animate Mode, define a segment.
2. Go to State Machines Mode and drag your segment onto the State Canvas. This creates a State.
3. You can rename the State and create multiple instances of the same state.
4. (Optional) Add entry/exit actions to set inputs, fire events, or control playback.
5. Click and drag the entry or exit nodes to connect to other States.
Tip: Use descriptive names (`Default`, `Hover`, `Pressed`, `Error`) so the graph is easy to read.
## Actions
**On complete actions:** run when the state finishes all loops and is ready to transition out. This will run even if
the conditions for exiting have not yet been met.
**On loop complete actions:** run when a loop has completed. If set to loop a number of times, then this action will
run each time.
**Entry actions:** run when the state begins, usually immediately after it has been transitioned into from another
state (or at the start of the state machine if Initial State).
**Exit actions:** run when leaving the state, meaning it will only run when all conditions for transitioning to
another state have been met. Note: Actions run in order from top to bottom.
## Tips and Tricks
Global State should be used when you want the machine to choose between multiple outcomes in parallel.
States should be properly named to avoid confusion.
In a list of actions on a state, if an action triggers the conditions to transition to another state, then actions
that are set after it in the list may not run.
**Applies to:** Lottie Creator (Web), dotLottie state machines