Are you a GIF enthusiast like me, wishing you could create your own animations from your favorite YouTube videos? Let me introduce you to GIFtube, a simple Bash script that allows you to precisely select the portion of the video you want to convert, adjust the resolution and frame rate, and voilà, your GIF is ready to be shared!
GIFtube uses several well-known tools among tech enthusiasts: yt-dlp to download the YouTube video, ffmpeg for encoding and GIF generation, and gifsicle for optimizing the final file. You don’t need to be a command-line expert to use GIFtube either; the script will install the necessary dependencies if they aren’t already present on your system (though this only applies if you’re on Ubuntu, Debian, or macOS—other systems might require more manual setup).
Enough talk, let’s dive into the process! Here’s how to use GIFtube:
- Download the script from https://github.com/Gords/GIFtube and save it somewhere on your computer.
- Open a terminal and navigate to the folder where the script is saved. Run it by typing
./make_gif.sh. - When prompted, paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to convert.
- Specify the number of frames per second you want for your GIF. A rate between 10 and 30 is generally a good balance between smoothness and file size.
- Enter the starting point of the GIF in seconds. For instance, if you want it to begin at 1 minute and 30 seconds, type 90.
- Indicate the duration of the GIF, also in seconds.
- Choose a name for your GIF file.
- Finally, select the resolution for your GIF: 1080p, 720p, 480p, or 240p.
And that’s it! GIFtube will take care of the rest. The script will download the video, generate an optimized color palette, encode the GIF based on your settings, and optimize it to reduce file size. In just a few moments, your GIF will be ready!
With a bit of creativity, the possibilities are endless. You can create GIFs from your favorite movie quotes to stylishly react on social media or capture key moments from a video tutorial to incorporate into a written guide.
In short, GIFtube is a handy little tool for all GIF lovers. Its command-line nature might be intimidating for those less comfortable with terminals, but I personally enjoy it 🙂
Anyway, I’ll leave you to it—I suddenly feel the urge to rewatch the entire Stargate series. I have a feeling I’ll need GIFtube to capture some iconic moments.
Happy GIF making!
