X GIF Maker

Create animated GIFs and MP4s for social media posts in under 30 seconds. Features 11+ animation styles, auto-upload, and batch generation.

What's New in v2.0

•✅ MP4 Export: Export your animations as MP4 videos
•✅ Auto-Upload: One-command create & upload to catbox.moe
•✅ Comprehensive Tests: Full test coverage with pytest
•✅ Better CLI: Enhanced command-line interface

Quick Start

Create a simple GIF

python

from scripts.create_gif import GifMaker

maker = GifMaker(width=640, height=360, duration=2)
maker.create_text_gif(
    text="Hello World!",
    output_path="output.gif",
    style="fade",
    signature="🤖 @nanobot"
)

Available styles

Basic: fade, pulse, slide_up, slide_down, bounce Advanced: glow, shake, typewriter, zoom, wave, glitch

See references/styles.md for style descriptions and color palettes.

See references/templates.md for pre-configured templates.

CLI Usage

bash

python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Your text here" -o output.gif --style fade --duration 2

Common options

•-s, --style: Animation style (fade, pulse, slide_up, slide_down, bounce, glow, shake, typewriter, zoom, wave, glitch)
•--width: Width in pixels (default: 640)
•--height: Height in pixels (default: 360)
•--duration: Duration in seconds (default: 2)
•--bg: Background colors (space-separated hex codes)
•--text-color: Text color (hex)
•--signature: Signature text at bottom
•--logo: Path to logo image (PNG with transparency recommended)
•--logo-pos: Logo position (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right, center)
•--font-size: Font size for main text (default: 36)
•--quality: GIF quality 1-100, higher = better but larger (default: 85)

Examples

bash

# Product announcement
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "🚀 New Feature!" -o announcement.gif --style slide_down

# Quote with custom colors
python3 scripts/create_gif.py '"Just do it"' -o quote.gif --style fade --bg "#0f0c29" "#302b63" --text-color "#00d2ff"

# Call-to-action
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "🔥 Limited Offer!" -o cta.gif --style pulse --duration 3

# Tech announcement with glitch
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "v2.0 Released!" -o release.gif --style glitch --bg "#0f0f0f" "#1a1a1a" --text-color "#00ff88"

# With logo
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Breaking News" -o news.gif --style shake --logo logo.png --logo-pos top-right

# Typewriter effect
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "This text appears..." -o type.gif --style typewriter --bg "#2c3e50" "#34495e"

Social Media Sizes

Platform	Recommended Size	Duration	Max Size
X (Twitter)	640x360	1-3 sec	15MB
X (Twitter) Premium	1280x720	1-3 sec	15MB
Instagram Story	640x1136	2-4 sec	4MB
Instagram Feed	640x640	2-4 sec	4MB
LinkedIn	640x360	2-3 sec	5MB
Discord	480x270	1-2 sec	8MB
TikTok	720x1280	2-4 sec	4MB

MP4 Export

Export your animations as MP4 videos for better quality and smaller file sizes.

Python API

python

from scripts.create_gif import GifMaker

maker = GifMaker(width=640, height=360, duration=2)

# Create GIF first (frames are cached)
maker.create_text_gif(
    text="Hello World!",
    output_path="output.gif",
    style="fade"
)

# Export as MP4
maker.export_mp4(
    output_path="output.mp4",
    codec="libx264",  # or "libx265" for smaller files
    bitrate="2M"      # 2Mbps bitrate
)

CLI

bash

# Create GIF + MP4
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Your text" --mp4

# Custom bitrate
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Your text" --mp4 --bitrate 5M

# Use different codec
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Your text" --mp4 --codec libx265

MP4 CLI Options

•--mp4: Also export as MP4 (same filename, .mp4 extension)
•--bitrate: Video bitrate (default: 2M, e.g., 1M, 2M, 5M)
•--codec: Video codec (default: libx264, options: libx264, libx265, libvpx-vp9)

Dependencies

bash

pip install imageio imageio-ffmpeg

Auto-Upload

Automatically upload your GIFs/MP4s to catbox.moe for easy sharing.

Python API

python

from scripts.create_gif import GifMaker

maker = GifMaker(width=640, height=360, duration=2)

# Create and upload in one step
results = maker.create_and_upload(
    text="Breaking News!",
    output_path="news.gif",
    style="shake",
    upload=True,
    export_mp4=True
)

print(f"GIF URL:  {results['gif_url']}")
print(f"MP4 URL:  {results['mp4_url']}")

CLI

bash

# Auto-upload GIF
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Your text" --auto-upload

# Create + MP4 + Upload both
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Your text" --mp4 --auto-upload

# Create first, then upload separately
python3 scripts/create_gif.py "Your text" -o output.gif
python3 scripts/create_gif.py --upload -o output.gif  # Upload existing file

Upload CLI Options

•--upload: Upload file(s) to catbox.moe
•--auto-upload: Create and upload in one step (implies --upload)
•--batch --upload: Upload all batch-generated files

Upload URLs

Uploaded files are hosted on catbox.moe with temporary links:

•Direct file access via returned URL
•Files are kept permanently (no expiration for direct uploads)
•Example: https://files.catbox.moe/abc123.gif

Dependencies

bash

pip install requests

Upload Batch Files

bash

# Upload all files from batch
python3 scripts/create_gif.py --batch posts.json --upload

Batch Generation

Create multiple GIFs at once:

python

from scripts.create_gif import GifMaker

maker = GifMaker(width=640, height=360, duration=2)

# Generate multiple posts
posts = [
    ("🚀 New Feature!", "feature.gif", "slide_down"),
    ("Bug Fixes!", "fix.gif", "bounce"),
    ("API Update", "api.gif", "typewriter"),
]

for text, output, style in posts:
    maker.create_text_gif(
        text=text,
        output_path=output,
        style=style,
        signature="🤖 @nanobot"
    )

bash

# CLI batch mode
python3 scripts/create_gif.py --batch posts.json

posts.json format:

json

[
    {
        "text": "🚀 New Feature!",
        "output": "feature.gif",
        "style": "slide_down"
    },
    {
        "text": "Bug Fixes!",
        "output": "fix.gif",
        "style": "bounce"
    }
]

Advanced Customization

Custom color gradients

python

maker.create_text_gif(
    text="Your text",
    output_path="output.gif",
    bg_colors=["#ff6b6b", "#feca57", "#ff9ff3"],  # 3-color gradient
    text_color="#ffffff"
)

Multi-line text

python

maker.create_text_gif(
    text="Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3",  # Use \n for newlines
    output_path="multi-line.gif"
)

Long duration (slower animation)

python

maker = GifMaker(duration=3)  # 3 seconds = 90 frames @ 30fps

Custom font

python

maker.create_text_gif(
    text="Custom Font",
    output_path="custom.gif",
    font_path="/path/to/your/font.ttf",
    font_size=48
)

Add logo/watermark

python

maker.create_text_gif(
    text="Branded Content",
    output_path="branded.gif",
    logo_path="logo.png",
    logo_position="top-right"
)

Nanobot Integration

Use from nanobot commands:

python

# In your nanobot skill
from skills.x_gif_maker import GifMaker

async def make_post_gif(text: str, style: str = "fade"):
    """Create a GIF and send it to the user."""
    maker = GifMaker(width=640, height=360, duration=2)
    output = f"/tmp/{hash(text)}.gif"
    
    maker.create_text_gif(
        text=text,
        output_path=output,
        style=style,
        signature="🤖 @nanobot"
    )
    
    # Send to user (depends on your platform)
    await send_file(output)

Slideshow Mode

Create multi-headline slideshow GIFs for news, updates, or announcements:

Python API

python

from scripts.create_slideshow_fast import FastSlideshowGifMaker

maker = FastSlideshowGifMaker(width=640, height=360)

headlines = [
    "Headline 1 goes here",
    "Headline 2 goes here",
    "Headline 3 goes here",
    "Headline 4 goes here",
]

maker.create_slideshow_gif(
    headlines=headlines,
    output_path="slideshow.gif",
    duration_per_headline=3.0,  # Seconds per headline
    bg_color="#0a0e17",
    text_color="#00d4ff",
    signature="📰 Your Brand • nanobot.srik.me",
    font_size=24
)

CLI Usage

bash

python3 scripts/create_slideshow_fast.py "Headline 1" "Headline 2" "Headline 3" -o slideshow.gif --duration 5

Slideshow Options

•-d, --duration: Seconds per headline (default: 3.0)
•--bg: Background color (single hex, no gradient for speed)
•--text-color: Text color (hex)
•--signature: Footer signature text
•--font-size: Font size (default: 28)

Example: Chennai News Slideshow

bash

python3 scripts/create_slideshow_fast.py \
    "Chennai to become global deep-tech cluster by 2040" \
    "Suburban train services cut for 45 days from Feb 20" \
    "Tamil Nadu Budget 2026: FM attacks Centre" \
    "Chennai Fintech Tower nears completion" \
    -o chennai_news.gif --duration 5 --bg "#0a0e17" --text-color "#00d4ff"

Slideshow Features

•Fade in/out transitions
•Headline numbering (1/N)
•Progress bar indicator
•Signature branding
•Fast generation (~10s for 6 headlines)

Performance Tips

•Keep GIFs under 5MB for best platform compatibility
•Use 30fps for smooth animations (single GIF mode)
•Slideshow mode uses 15fps for faster generation
•Limit to 3 colors in gradient backgrounds
•Shorter text = faster rendering
•Use --quality 75 for smaller file sizes
•For slideshows, limit to 6-8 headlines for optimal performance

Troubleshooting

"Font not found"

The script uses DejaVuSans-Bold.ttf. If missing, it falls back to default PIL font. For custom fonts:

python

maker.create_text_gif(
    text="Custom Font",
    output_path="output.gif",
    font_path="/usr/share/fonts/truetype/custom.ttf"
)

"File too large"

Reduce resolution or duration:

python

maker = GifMaker(width=480, height=270, duration=1.5)

Animation too slow/fast

Adjust fps:

python

maker = GifMaker(fps=24)  # Slower
maker = GifMaker(fps=60)  # Faster

Resources

scripts/create_gif.py

Main GIF generation script with GifMaker class.

references/styles.md

Animation style descriptions and 20+ color palettes.

references/templates.md

Pre-configured templates for 20+ common use cases.

Tips

•Keep text short and impactful (best for social media)
•Use 2-3 colors for gradient backgrounds
•Add emoji for visual interest
•Include signature for branding
•Duration of 2 seconds works best for most use cases
•Test on mobile before posting (small screens matter)
•Use high contrast colors for readability

Testing

Run the test suite to verify functionality:

bash

# Install test dependencies
pip install pytest pytest-cov

# Run all tests
pytest tests/ -v

# Run with coverage
pytest tests/ --cov=scripts --cov-report=html

# Run specific test
pytest tests/test_gif_maker.py::TestGifMakerBasics::test_initialization -v

Test Coverage

•✅ Basic functionality (initialization, color conversion)
•✅ Gradient backgrounds (1-3 colors)
•✅ All 11 animation styles
•✅ GIF creation (single, multi-line, long text)
•✅ Batch generation
•✅ MP4 export (when imageio installed)
•✅ Upload error handling
•✅ CLI interface

Test Files

•tests/test_gif_maker.py - Complete test suite for GifMaker class