Gifle

Gifle is a command line node script that provides a very simple means of configuring the output of video files to optimised animated GIFs, using the source filename to set output options.

Install gifle

$ npm install gifle -g

Requirements

• Node + npm
• FFmpeg
• Imagemagick
• Gifsicle: only requried for 'crush' command or restricting the color palette

Instructions

Gifle uses the source video filename to configure its output to an animated gif.

Rename your source video to include desired configuration settings:
Eg. Change my-movie.mov to my-movie-3loops-2speed-18fps-55cols-300x.mov

Command line: Run gifle in command line with the source file as the only argument:

$ cd path/to/
$ gifle my-movie-3loops-2speed-18fps-55cols-300x.mov

or

$ gifle ~/abs/path/to/my-movie-3loops-2speed-18fps-55cols-300x.mov

An animated gif called my-movie.gif will be saved to same directory as the source with the following settings:

• Loop 3 times
• Double source speed
• 18 frames per second
• Color palette restricted to 55 colors
• Resized proportionally to a 300px width

Why?

• One source file
  Having the configuration in the filename means that if you ever want to re-output or optimise an existing asset you don't need to remember or guess the previous settings.
• Readability
  The filename format is readable enough to understand the output settings at a glance.
• Ease of use
  Just rename source file and re-output gif to get the best optimisation result for any given source file.

Documentation

Check out the example filenames in /example/ dir to see gifle output options.

Filename configuration###

Separate each option element in the filename with any of these characters:
(space), - or _.

Settings (all optional):

• dimensions: %width%x%height%
  Sets the output dimensions of the gif, in integer pixel units. Usually set width or height, though always include the x char. Eg. my-movie-x350.mov will resize proportionally to 350px height. my-movie-222x.mov will resize proportionally to 222px width. Setting both dimensions is not recommended as it will stretch the output unless they are the same aspect ratio as the source. Will use source dimensions if not set.
• frame rate %rate%fps
  Set the resultant frame rate in frames per second. If not set will default to 22.
• file size optimisation crush
  Include the term 'crush' eg. my-movie-12fps-crush.mov to attempt to further optimise the output gif to reduce the file size. Uses gifsicle. This is done automatically if you limit the color palette.
• color palette %count%cols
  Limit the color palette eg. my-movie-100cols-12fps.mov to reduce the file size. Provide an integer between 2 and 256. Uses gifsicle which will choose an adaptive group of colors based on the source video.
• playback speed %modifier%speed
  Adjust the playback speed with a modifier float value. Eg. my-movie-1.5speed.mov will be 1.5 times as fast as the original. If not set will default to 1.0, same as source.
• looping %count%loops
  Sets how many times the gif will loop. Set to 0 to loop forever (default).

## Release History

• v1.0.1 - Updated dependencies