FFmpeg - Convert MP4 video to GIF

FFmpeg command to convert an MP4 video to a GIF file:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
    -filter_complex \
    "[0:v] fps=10,scale=320:-1,split [a][b];[a] palettegen [p];[b][p] paletteuse" \
    output.gif

This will create a GIF with a maximum width of 320 pixels and a maximum height proportional to the input aspect ratio, with a frame rate of 10 frames per second.

• -i input.mp4: Specifies the input video file.
• -filter_complex: For using complex filtergraphs to modify the video stream.
• "[0:v] fps=10,scale=320:-1,split [a][b];[a] palettegen [p];[b][p] paletteuse": This filtergraph does the following:
  • [0:v]: Specifies the video stream from the input file.
  • fps=10: Sets the output frame rate to 10 frames per second.
  • scale=320:-1: Resizes the video to a maximum width of 320 pixels, while preserving the aspect ratio.
  • split [a][b]: Splits the video stream into two copies, named [a] and [b].
  • [a] palettegen [p]: Generates a color palette for the GIF based on the frames in [a], and saves it to a temporary file named [p].
  • [b][p] paletteuse: Applies the color palette generated in - [p] to the frames in [b], and outputs the final GIF frames.
• output.gif: output file.

See all notes