Video to GIF

Convert a video (MP4, MOV, WebM) to a GIF that's actually small and actually looks good on the surface you're posting to. Pairs naturally with /tiktok-launch-video, /reddit-launch-video, and /linkedin-launch-video for sharing renders in places where MP4 isn't supported (Slack threads, X cards, GitHub READMEs, transactional emails).

GIF is a terrible video format — but it's everywhere, so we use FFmpeg's two-pass palettegen / paletteuse flow to make it look as good as the format allows.

Usage

/video-to-gif launch.mp4 — interactive, asks the target /video-to-gif launch.mp4 slack — Slack-tuned /video-to-gif launch.mp4 reddit — Reddit-comment-tuned /video-to-gif launch.mp4 github — GitHub README–tuned /video-to-gif launch.mp4 twitter — X / Twitter–tuned /video-to-gif launch.mp4 email — transactional / newsletter–tuned

Prerequisites

ffmpeg -version | head -1   # must exist
ffprobe -version | head -1

If FFmpeg isn't installed:

# macOS
brew install ffmpeg
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install ffmpeg

Steps

1. Inspect the source

Run ffprobe to get the source's duration, dimensions, and frame rate. You need these to pick the right preset and to warn the user before producing something that won't fit.

ffprobe -v error -show_entries stream=width,height,r_frame_rate -show_entries format=duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 <input>

Capture: source width, source height, source duration (seconds), source fps.

2. Pick the preset

If the user passed a target, use the matching preset. Otherwise ask. Each preset is tuned to the surface's actual size limits and aesthetic norms:

Rules of thumb:

• If source is < 6 seconds, you can usually bump fps by ~3 without breaking the size budget.
• If source is > 12 seconds, drop fps by 2–3 and consider trimming.
• Never upscale — if source width is below the preset width, keep source width.
• Strip audio (GIF can't carry it) — saves a step and removes accidental noise from screen captures.

3. Two-pass palette render (this is the only correct way)

A single-pass GIF render produces banded, dithered, oversized garbage. The right approach is two passes:

1. Generate an optimal 256-color palette from the source.
2. Apply that palette with Floyd-Steinberg dithering.

The pipeline is FFmpeg's palettegen filter feeding paletteuse. Do it as a single command using filter splits:

ffmpeg -y -i "<input>" \
  -vf "fps=<FPS>,scale=<WIDTH>:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen=stats_mode=diff[p];[s1][p]paletteuse=dither=floyd_steinberg" \
  -loop 0 \
  "<output.gif>"

Notes on the filter chain:

• fps=<FPS> first — so palette is generated from the actual frames you'll keep.
• scale=<WIDTH>:-1 keeps aspect; -1 rounds the height. Use -2 for codecs that need even dimensions (not needed for GIF, but harmless).
• flags=lanczos is the best general-purpose downscaler.
• stats_mode=diff weights moving regions higher when picking palette colors — sharper text, cleaner UI, less banding.
• dither=floyd_steinberg is the best default. For UI / sharp edges with no gradients, try dither=bayer:bayer_scale=3 instead — slightly larger files but no dither noise on flat colors.
• -loop 0 = infinite loop. Use -loop 1 to play once. (For Slack and Twitter, infinite loop is what users expect.)

4. Render and verify

Run the command. Then verify:

# Check the file size
ls -lh "<output.gif>"

# Check the GIF's actual dimensions and frame count
ffprobe -v error -count_frames -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=width,height,nb_read_frames \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 "<output.gif>"

If the file is larger than the preset's surface cap (see table above), do one of:

1. Drop FPS by 2–3 and re-render (best quality preserved).
2. Drop width by ~80px and re-render (text may get harder to read).
3. Trim the source first (-ss <start> -t <duration>) and re-render.

Don't mix all three — change one variable at a time so you know what helped.

5. (Optional) Trim before converting

If the source is long, trim before the palette pass — the palette will be more accurate and the file smaller.

# Take 8 seconds starting at 2.5s in
ffmpeg -y -ss 2.5 -t 8 -i "<input>" -c copy "<input>.trimmed.mp4"
# then run the two-pass palette command on .trimmed.mp4

-ss before -i is keyframe-fast but slightly imprecise. For frame-accurate trims, put -ss after -i (slower).

6. Hand the file back

Print:

1. Path to the output GIF
2. Final size on disk
3. Final dimensions and frame count
4. Surface cap status: "fits Slack (50MB) ✓" / "exceeds GitHub README cap (10MB), retry with fps=12 ✗"

One-liners (for when the user knows what they want)

# Slack-tuned (480px / 12fps)
ffmpeg -y -i in.mp4 -vf "fps=12,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen=stats_mode=diff[p];[s1][p]paletteuse=dither=floyd_steinberg" -loop 0 out.gif

# Twitter-tuned (480px / 15fps)
ffmpeg -y -i in.mp4 -vf "fps=15,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen=stats_mode=diff[p];[s1][p]paletteuse=dither=floyd_steinberg" -loop 0 out.gif

# GitHub README-tuned (720px / 15fps)
ffmpeg -y -i in.mp4 -vf "fps=15,scale=720:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen=stats_mode=diff[p];[s1][p]paletteuse=dither=floyd_steinberg" -loop 0 out.gif

# Email-tuned (480px / 10fps, single loop)
ffmpeg -y -i in.mp4 -vf "fps=10,scale=480:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen=stats_mode=diff[p];[s1][p]paletteuse=dither=floyd_steinberg" -loop 0 out.gif

Common mistakes

1. Single-pass GIF render — ffmpeg -i in.mp4 out.gif produces ugly, oversized output. Always use the palette pipeline.
2. Upscaling — never scale GIFs up; they go from "bad" to "extremely bad". Match or downscale only.
3. High FPS for talking-head content — anything above 18fps is wasted on a GIF; drop to 12–15fps and put the bytes into resolution instead.
4. Including audio — GIF can't carry it. If you need audio, the surface supports MP4 and you should ship MP4 instead.
5. Long GIFs (> 15s) — if you need 30+ seconds, you probably need MP4 or WebP, not GIF. Ask the user if a different format works.
6. Sending a 40MB GIF to email — most ESPs strip the animation past 1MB, leaving the recipient with a static first frame. Use the email preset or fall back to a static PNG hero with a link.

Related

• /tiktok-launch-video, /reddit-launch-video, /linkedin-launch-video — produce the source MP4 this skill converts
• /welcome-series, /winback-engine — places where a small embedded GIF lifts engagement