How do I install the Make Gif skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add gupsammy/make-gif in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Make Gif safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Make Gif?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Make Gif free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Make Gif?

gupsammy (@gupsammy) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Make Gif by gupsammy — Agent Skill

Name: Make Gif
Author: gupsammy

File contents

Video GIF

Convert a video clip to a high-quality GIF using the mandatory 2-pass palette workflow.

Single-pass GIF always produces banding and color artifacts. The palettegen → paletteuse pipeline analyzes the actual clip to build an optimal 256-color palette, then renders with it. Never skip this.

Process

1. Gather parameters

Ask for any not already provided in the request:

Start time — default 0
Duration or end time — required; warn if >30s (file size grows rapidly)
Width — default 480px; height auto-calculated to preserve aspect ratio
FPS — default 15; higher = smoother + larger file

If the user asks about aspect ratio or the source has unusual dimensions, probe first:

ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_streams "$INPUT" | \
  python3 -c "import json,sys; s=[s for s in json.load(sys.stdin)['streams'] if s['codec_type']=='video'][0]; print(s['width'], 'x', s['height'])"

2. Build the 2-pass command

Pass 1 — generate optimized palette:

ffmpeg -ss $START -t $DURATION -i "$INPUT" \
  -vf "fps=$FPS,scale=$WIDTH:-1:flags=lanczos,palettegen=stats_mode=full" \
  /tmp/palette_$$.png -y

Pass 2 — render GIF using palette:

ffmpeg -ss $START -t $DURATION -i "$INPUT" -i /tmp/palette_$$.png \
  -lavfi "fps=$FPS,scale=$WIDTH:-1:flags=lanczos [x]; [x][1:v] paletteuse=dither=bayer:bayer_scale=5" \
  "$OUTPUT" -y

Use $$ (shell PID) in the palette temp path to avoid collisions with concurrent runs.

3. Confirm before running

Show the full 2-pass command and estimated output path. Add a size warning if duration × fps is large (rough heuristic: >20s at 15fps at 480px → likely >10MB).

4. Run both passes, then clean up

rm -f /tmp/palette_$$.png

Report output path and file size.

Key Decisions

stats_mode=full on palettegen analyzes the entire clip — not just the first frame — for better palette coverage across motion.
dither=bayer:bayer_scale=5 is the sweet spot for photographic content. Use dither=none for flat-color content (illustrations, slides, screen recordings with solid backgrounds).
-ss placed before -i uses container-level fast seek. Apply to both passes for consistent start points and dramatically faster seeks on long source files.
flags=lanczos on scale gives sharper downsampling than the default bilinear.
To control loop count, add -loop $N to pass 2: 0 = infinite, 1 = play once, 2 = play twice.

---name: make-gifdescription: This skill should be used when the user asks to "make a GIF", "convert to GIF", "create a GIF from this video", "export as GIF", "turn this clip into a GIF", "make an animated GIF", or "gif this".---# Video GIFConvert a video clip to a high-quality GIF using the mandatory 2-pass palette workflow.Single-pass GIF always produces banding and color artifacts. The palettegen → paletteuse pipeline analyzes the actual clip to build an optimal 256-color palette, then renders with it. Never skip this.## Process### 1. Gather parametersAsk for any not already provided in the request:- **Start time** — default `0`- **Duration or end time** — required; warn if >30s (file size grows rapidly)- **Width** — default `480`px; height auto-calculated to preserve aspect ratio- **FPS** — default `15`; higher = smoother + larger fileIf the user asks about aspect ratio or the source has unusual dimensions, probe first:```bashffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_streams "$INPUT" | \ python3 -c "import json,sys; s=[s for s in json.load(sys.stdin)['streams'] if s['codec_type']=='video'][0]; print(s['width'], 'x', s['height'])"```### 2. Build the 2-pass command**Pass 1 — generate optimized palette:**```bashffmpeg -ss $START -t $DURATION -i "$INPUT" \ -vf "fps=$FPS,scale=$WIDTH:-1:flags=lanczos,palettegen=stats_mode=full" \ /tmp/palette_$$.png -y```**Pass 2 — render GIF using palette:**```bashffmpeg -ss $START -t $DURATION -i "$INPUT" -i /tmp/palette_$$.png \ -lavfi "fps=$FPS,scale=$WIDTH:-1:flags=lanczos [x]; [x][1:v] paletteuse=dither=bayer:bayer_scale=5" \ "$OUTPUT" -y```Use `$$` (shell PID) in the palette temp path to avoid collisions with concurrent runs.### 3. Confirm before runningShow the full 2-pass command and estimated output path. Add a size warning if `duration × fps` is large (rough heuristic: >20s at 15fps at 480px → likely >10MB).### 4. Run both passes, then clean up```bashrm -f /tmp/palette_$$.png```Report output path and file size.## Key Decisions- `stats_mode=full` on palettegen analyzes the entire clip — not just the first frame — for better palette coverage across motion.- `dither=bayer:bayer_scale=5` is the sweet spot for photographic content. Use `dither=none` for flat-color content (illustrations, slides, screen recordings with solid backgrounds).- `-ss` placed **before** `-i` uses container-level fast seek. Apply to both passes for consistent start points and dramatically faster seeks on long source files.- `flags=lanczos` on scale gives sharper downsampling than the default `bilinear`.- To control loop count, add `-loop $N` to pass 2: `0` = infinite, `1` = play once, `2` = play twice.

Frequently asked questions

Make Gif