Turn a video into a GIF on Mac, offline
Short answer. Paperlane for Mac converts video to GIF offline. Open a clip, set its start and length, choose the width and frame rate, and turn looping on or off. GIFs can be up to 60 seconds long. It runs offline with no watermark, and several clips can be converted with the same settings in one job.
Three ways to do it
In the app
Open Video to GIF, drop clips, set start, length, width and frame rate, and run.
From Finder
There is no dedicated Quick Action for this tool; drop the files on the Paperlane icon in the Dock or on the menu bar shelf and pick the tool.
With Shortcuts
Use the Run Paperlane Tool action with Video to GIF, for example right after a screen recording.
Steps
- Open Video to GIF and drop in the clip.
- Set the start and length so the GIF stays short.
- Choose a width and frame rate that balance size and smoothness.
- Run and preview the loop before sharing.
At a glance
- Engine
- AVFoundation frame extraction
- Output
- Animated GIF, looping or once
- Controls
- Start, length, width, 1 to 30 fps
- Maximum length
- 60 seconds
- Watermark
- None
Honest limitations
- GIF is limited to 256 colours per frame, so gradients can band.
- Long or wide clips make very large GIFs; keep them short and narrow.
Need just one file?
Do one file free in your browser: Video to GIF
Questions
Is there a watermark?
No. Output carries no watermark.
Why is my GIF so large?
GIF stores every frame with little compression. Lower the width, frame rate or length.
Does the audio carry over?
No. GIFs have no sound.