Best GIF Recorder Tools for Linux in 2019

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Best GIF Recorder Tools for Linux in 2019

Last updated January 6, 2019 By Munif Tanjim 10 Comments

 

Brief: We list the best Linux GIF recorders for Linux in this article and show you how to use these tools to record your screen as GIF in Linux.

When we talk of screen recording tools for Linux, most of us think about video recording. But, for those who don’t know, there also is another way to record your desktop session, that is animated GIF recording.

Now, (Graphics Interchange Format) GIF is a file format that is hugely popular because of its animation support. And it is widely used all over the internet.

Here we are going to see the best GIF screen recorder tools for Linux. They are separated into GUI and CLI sections for convenience.

 

Best GIF Recorders for Linux [GUI]

Since I use Ubuntu, I have included the installation steps for Ubuntu based Linux distributions. I am sure that Fedora, SUSE and Arch Linux users can find the installation way from their official web pages.

1. Peek

 

Peek has the most straightforward and intuitive user interface among the GUI GIF recorders. It’s slick in design and simple to use.

Peek User Interface

Pros

• Customizable frame-rate.
• Delay timer support.
• Polished user interface.

Cons

• Limited feature-set.
• No native support for Wayland display server protocol.

Peek GitHub Repo

Installation on Ubuntu

Peek has its own official PPA. For installing, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peek-developers/stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install peek

And you are ready to go.

Suggested read  9 Best Screen Recorders For Linux

2. Gifine

 

Gifine is a tool for recording and editing GIF animations. It offers many advanced features but has a bit of rough user interface.

Gifine User Interface

Pros

• Built-in editing and trimming support

Cons

• Not so nice and polished user interface as the alternatives.

Gifine GitHub Repo

Installation on Ubuntu

Installing Gifine is not so end-user friendly. First, you have to install various dependencies of Gifine and it’s installer luarocks. And then install Gifine via luarocks. Carefully enter the following commands in a terminal window for installing Gifine on Ubuntu:

sudo apt install ffmpeg graphicsmagick gifsicle luarockscmake \\
compiz gengetopt slop libxext-dev libimlib2-dev mesa-utils \\
libxrender-dev glew-utils libglm-dev libglu1-mesa-dev \\
libglew-dev libxrandr-dev libgirepository1.0-dev
sudo luarocks install lgi
sudo luarocks install --server=http://luarocks.org/dev gifine

Now, you can run Gifine with the command gifine.

3. SilentCast

 

SilentCast is a very lightweight tool for recording GIF. It might not feel very user-friendly while using, but it does its job quite well.

SilentCast User Interface

Pros

• Lightweight and minimal

Cons

• Not so friendly user-experience

SilentCast GitHub Repo

Installation on Ubuntu

You will have to compile SilentCast from source for installing. Enter the following commands to fetch the source, compile and then install it:

cd /tmp
wget -O silentcast.tar.gz https://api.github.com/repos/colinkeenan/silentcast/tarball
rm -rf silentcast && mkdir -p silentcast
tar -zxvf silentcast.tar.gz -C silentcast --strip-components=1
cd silentcast
make
sudo ./install
sudo apt install ffmpeg imagemagick

That’s all. Now you can start and stop your recording session with the command silentcast.

 

 

Suggested read  asciinema: A Better Way To Record & Share Linux Terminal Session

 

Best GIF Recorders for Linux [CLI]

4. Byzanz

Byzanz is a simple tool to record a running X desktop as animated GIF. It is part of the GNOME project.

Byzanz CLI Help

Pros

• Super lightweight
• Works flawlessly

Cons

• Being a CLI tool, you have to enter each options manually (meaning, no drag & select screen area for recording)

Byzanz GitHub Repo

Installation on Ubuntu

 

Installing Byzanz on Ubuntu is just one command away:

sudo apt install byzanz

Now, you can record GIFs using the byzanz-record command.

N.B.: There was also another CLI tool named Kgif on the initial list I made. But sadly, I couldn’t get it to work properly on my system. If you are interested you can give it a try too.

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That’s all for today. Which Linux gif recorder do you like the most? Do you know about another one? Let us know what you think in the comment section below. :)

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: ListTagged With: Best gif recorders Linux, byzanz, gif, Gifine, Peek, screen recorder, screencast, silentcast

About Munif Tanjim

Munif is studying Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering. He loves Open Source and uses Ubuntu as his primary OS. Technology aside, Munif is a TV Series freak and sometimes tries to do some creative writing.