Show HN: Vid2gif – Convert .mp4/.mov to optimized GIFs locally using FFmpeg

4 hours ago 1

Convert video files into optimized GIFs using ffmpeg — perfect for README demos and lightweight previews.

I found myself using this script often, so I made it a standalone tool — something you can drop into your $PATH and run whenever you need a clean GIF from a video.

Works entirely offline — nothing is ever uploaded
Ideal for GitHub project demos, bug reproductions or sharing animations
Easier and safer than uploading to unreliable online converters

Converts .mp4, .mov, .mkv, .webm, etc.
Uses palette generation for smaller, smoother GIFs.
Cleans up temporary files after use.
Can append timestamps to avoid overwriting output file.
Fully offline, no external dependencies besides ffmpeg.
Pure Bash implementation — portable & dependency-free (except ffmpeg)

ffmpeg must be installed and in your $PATH

brew tap mujasoft/tools brew install vid2gif

Option 2: Install globally.

chmod +x vid2gif mv vid2gif /usr/local/bin/

export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/this/repo"

./vid2gif -i input.mov ./vid2gif -i clip.mp4 -o demo.gif

Convert a video file (.mov, .mp4, etc.) to an optimized GIF using FFmpeg. Usage: ./vid2gif -i <input_file> [-o <output_basename> -t] Option(s): -h --help print this help text -i input video file (required) -o output base name (optional, default: output) -t add timestamp to output file (optional, default: false) -v --version print version Examples: ./vid2gif -i demo.mov ./vid2gif -i video.mp4 -o demo.gif -t Output: GIF will be saved as: <output>.gif or output_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.gif

Flag Description

-i	Input video file (required)
-o	Output name (optional, default: output)
-h --help	Show help message
-v --version	Show tool version
-t	Append a timestamp to output basename (Optional, default=False)