vid2gif

A fast and efficient CLI tool for converting videos to GIFs using ffmpeg.

Features

• Convert any video format supported by ffmpeg to GIF
• Adjustable playback speed (0.5x for slow motion, 2x for fast forward)
• Optional looping control
• Optimized GIF output with palette generation for better quality
• Automatic scaling to 640px width for reasonable file sizes
• Progress feedback and file size comparison

Prerequisites

• ffmpeg must be installed and available in your PATH
• Rust (for building from source)

Installing ffmpeg

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg

macOS:

brew install ffmpeg

Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org or use chocolatey:

choco install ffmpeg

Installation

From Source

git clone <this-repo>
cd vid2gif
cargo build --release
sudo cp target/release/vid2gif /usr/local/bin/

Using Cargo

cargo install --path .

Usage

vid2gif --input input.webm --output output.gif [OPTIONS]

Options

• --input, -i <FILE>: Input video file (required)
• --output, -o <FILE>: Output GIF file (required)
• --speed, -s <FLOAT>: Speed multiplier (default: 1.0)
  • 0.5 = half speed (slow motion)
  • 1.0 = normal speed
  • 2.0 = double speed (fast forward)
• --loop: Enable infinite looping for the GIF

Examples

Basic conversion:

vid2gif --input screencast.webm --output screencast.gif

Slow motion with looping:

vid2gif --input action.mp4 --output action.gif --speed 0.5 --loop

Fast forward:

vid2gif --input tutorial.webm --output tutorial.gif --speed 2.0

Full example:

vid2gif --loop --speed 1.5 --input "Screencast From 2025-07-15 14-38-16.webm" --output "screencast.gif"

Technical Details

The tool uses ffmpeg with optimized settings for GIF conversion:

• Frame rate: Dynamically calculated based on speed (5-30 fps range)
• Scaling: Resized to 640px width maintaining aspect ratio
• Quality: Uses Lanczos scaling and palette generation for optimal quality
• Compression: Generates optimized 255-color palette

Supported Input Formats

• WebM (.webm)
• MP4 (.mp4)
• AVI (.avi)
• MOV (.mov)
• MKV (.mkv)
• FLV (.flv)
• WMV (.wmv)
• And any other format supported by your ffmpeg installation

Error Handling

The tool provides clear error messages for common issues:

• Missing input files
• Invalid speed values
• ffmpeg not found in PATH
• Permission issues with output directory

Performance

Conversion speed depends on:

• Input video length and resolution
• Output speed setting
• System performance
• ffmpeg version and configuration

Typical conversion times:

• 10-second 1080p screencast: ~2-5 seconds
• 30-second 4K video: ~10-20 seconds

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.