We describe the design and demonstrate a two-axis tip–tilt platform stacked on a translation stage for combined x-ray and optical interferometry. The platform is electronically controlled to compensate for parasitic rotations and straightness errors. The key characteristic of the platform is the way in which it carries out translations and rotations by sliding. In spite of the potential stop-and-go motion, an x-ray interferometer was successfully operated and guiding errors were kept to within 1 nrad and 1 nm. The platform made it possible to move the x-ray interferometer by up to a couple of millimetres. In addition, the combined x-ray and optical interferometer allowed us to investigate the microdynamics of sliding.