How to Convert a Video to a GIF online Using an API

Learn how developers can convert videos to GIFs using a simple API call. Automate, scale, and integrate GIF creation seamlessly into your apps or workflows.

Maria Hayat

Last updated on May 01, 2025

Introduction

If you are a developer and you want to make a GIF from a video without using a bulky editor, you are reading the right post. Most people tend to use GIFs when they want to create viral content, boost their social engagement, or simply turn a video into a GIF quickly. In such cases, using a video to GIF API is the most efficient way to do it. In this blog, we will take you through the process and help you learn how to make videos into GIFs, create animated GIFs from video, and why developers and marketers alike are turning to APIs to simplify the process.

While there are many online tools and desktop editors that can help (manually) create a GIF from a video clip, this blog focuses on how to turn a video into a GIF programmatically—which is better suited for coders, builders and developers who are looking to automate, scale, or integrate this feature directly into their applications. It doesn't really matter if your focus is to make a GIF of a video, or create animated GIFs from video files, or convert a video clip to GIF via an API, we will guide you through the essentials of doing it with code.

Why Convert Video to GIF to begin with?

Yes. I know GIF can be fun. But creating a GIF from a video isn’t just that—it’s also (incredibly) practical. Some of the reasons? Well. GIFs load faster than videos to begin with, grab attention instantly, and are super easy to share on almost any platform. Anyone who has ever tried to make a GIF of a video clip already knows how powerful these short loops can be.

A video clip to GIF conversion can capture emotions, humor, or key moments in just seconds.

Using a Video to GIF API to Create Viral Content

With a video to GIF API, developers can turn videos into GIFs programmatically: Instead of manually editing the video using some software, developers (and in general people with some sort of coding skills) can automate the GIF creation process at scale—making this perfect for building and working on apps, tools, or other content platforms.

Want to make a GIF from a video of a cat doing backflips? Or create animated GIFs from video highlights of an event? A video-to-GIF API lets you do it all with just a few lines of code. This is especially useful for content creators, meme makers, or businesses wanting to boost engagement through shareable moments.

Case in point, a viral cat GIF!

GIFs for Businesses and Developers

Let's get this clear: Using a video to GIF API isn’t just for memes and cat videos (although I love those as well). Companies and brands can also create GIFs from videos for many use cases, such as highlighting their products or services, sharing tutorials with their users and community, or repurposing long-form content for their social media campaigns.

In more detail, here are some of the main use cases that we have seen developers, no coders, builders and businesses using video-to-GIF conversion:

1.Social Media Engagement

One of the major pros of GIFs is that they are quick, snackable (is that even a word?), and seem perfect for social media. With a video to GIF API, you can turn any video clip into a GIF teaser that can be the content of any social media campaign.

2. Dynamic Marketing Campaigns

That’s a cool one that we have also used at ApyHub: Making GIFs from product demo videos to create attention-grabbing previews but also to add to tutorials and help sections. These short video loops can help the users a lot, improve the click-through rates and drive users to keep exploring your website.

3. User-Generated Content

This is a use case particularly interesting for platforms that allow user generated content to be uploaded and shared. Letting users create their own GIF from a video of their own—This could be anything: travel memories, cooking highlights, museum visits. It’s super authentic, engaging, and nice when shareable.

4. Educational Content

This is for learning platforms but also for teachers and schools: They can use this API to create GIFs from videos to visualize highlights of the course or other key concepts. This, combined with full videos can definitely contribute to a great learning experience.

How to Make a GIF from a Video

Now let's get practical: There are several ways to turn a video into a GIF even if you are not a developer. Tools like Photoshop, Giphy, EZGIF, and Kapwing let you do it manually. But if you want to automate the process, the best way to go is by using a video to GIF API.

Here is an example of using the ApyHub API:

Upload a video file or provide a video URL.
Make a request to the video to GIF API with the start time, duration, and size settings.
Receive a downloadable GIF file in response.

This method works for converting anything—from YouTube clips to app tutorials—into compact, loopable GIFs.

The ApyHub Video to GIF API: A Simple Way to Automate GIF Creation

If you are a developer building an application and need to make a GIF of video content automatically, ApyHub offers an easy-to-use video to GIF API. With support for video files and URLs, it’s perfect for integrating into your workflow.

You can even test it in your browser with the API Playground and try converting a video instantly.

Converting a youtube video into GIF using the API Playground feature

Bonus: Optimize and Extend with Other APIs

Once you’ve created your GIF, you can also use ApyHub's other tools to:

These additions help keep your apps fast, smooth, and visually appealing.

Conclusion

Based on what we discussed, managing to make a GIF from a video is now quite easy and practical—especially for those that are confident with coding and can use a video to GIF API. This API is great for those building any application, those working internally in marketing initiatives or just playing around with GIFS and want to turn a video into a GIF. Using an API can have advantages in speed, consistency, and flexibility.

Give it a try and see how creating animated GIFs from video can boost your content strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What input formats are supported by ApyHub’s Video-to-GIF API?
ApyHub’s API supports a variety of video formats including MP4, WebM, AVI, and MOV. You can also use publicly accessible video URLs like YouTube links to generate GIFs.

Check the API docs fro more details on the formats

2. Can I adjust the frame rate of the resulting GIF?
Yes, the API allows you to customize the frame rate (FPS) when generating GIFs. Higher frame rates create smoother animations but may increase file size. We recommend keeping it between 15–24 FPS for optimal performance.

3. Is there a size or duration limit for video inputs?
For performance reasons, we recommend videos no longer than 15–30 seconds. Very long videos may result in larger GIFs and increased processing times. You can use the start_time and duration parameters to extract specific segments.

4. Can I convert a YouTube video directly to a GIF?
Yes! If you provide a YouTube URL, the API will handle the download and conversion process. Just specify the portion of the video you want converted using time-based parameters.

5. Is the ApyHub Video-to-GIF API free to use?
You can try the API for free with up to 5 requests per day. For higher usage, automation, or production-level access, consider upgrading to one of our paid plans.

6. Does the GIF output contain any watermarks?
No. All GIFs generated via ApyHub are watermark-free, regardless of your subscription tier.

7. Can I use the API in a mobile or web application?
Absolutely! The API is accessible via standard HTTPS calls, making it easy to integrate into any frontend or backend application, whether mobile or web-based.

8. Is there a playground to test before implementation?
Yes. ApyHub offers an API Playground where you can upload a video or paste a link and instantly preview the output GIF. No coding required!