vid2gif 0.1.0

A CLI tool for converting videos to GIFs using ffmpeg
vid2gif-0.1.0 is not a library.

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.