# Install gifsicle with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper, scoop

GIF image/animation creator/editor. Version 1.96 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install gifsicle.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:gifsicle
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install gifsicle
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install gifsicle
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/gifsicle/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add gifsicle
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: gifsicle from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install gifsicle
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: gifsicle from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install gifsicle
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: gifsicle from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#gifsicle
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gi/gifsicle/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S gifsicle
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: gifsicle from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install gifsicle
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: gifsicle from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst

### Windows

- Scoop (92%):

```sh
scoop install main/gifsicle
```

  Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/gifsicle.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:gifsicle
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.96
- **Source summary:** GIF image/animation creator/editor
- **Homepage:** <https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/kohler/gifsicle>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- gifdiff (alias)
- gifsicle (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.96
## Project history and usage

Gifsicle is Eddie Kohler's command-line toolkit for creating, editing, inspecting, comparing, and optimizing GIF images and animations.

### Project history

Gifsicle's official change log records a first public release on June 12, 1997. The tool quickly added output naming, cropping, frame selection, colormap controls, dithering, optimization, gifview, and gifdiff, turning it from an animation assembler into a broad GIF manipulation suite.

The project kept evolving with portable source releases, Windows and DOS build support, BSD ports, MacPorts, and Homebrew. Later releases added deeper optimization heuristics, resizing, gamma-aware color selection, threading and SIMD for resizing, lossy optimization, security fixes, and newer color-space work.

### Adoption history

Gifsicle became a standard command-line GIF optimizer because it handles details simple animation joiners do not: frame extraction, batch edits, logical screen handling, disposal methods, transparency, colormap shrinking, and multi-level optimization. The official page lists Debian, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Homebrew, MacPorts, DOS, and Windows package routes.

### How it is used

Practitioners use gifsicle to merge still GIFs into animations, extract frames, replace or delete animation frames, interlace files, inspect comments and metadata, shrink colormaps, and optimize animations by storing only changed frame regions. In build scripts it often appears as the final asset-shrinking step for generated GIFs.

### Why package nerds care

Gifsicle is one of the canonical small C command-line tools in the GIF ecosystem. It is portable, scriptable, and exact enough that downstream image pipelines and package tests can depend on its visual-equivalence behavior.

### Timeline

- 1997: First public release.
- 1998: Optimization engine improved and gifdiff added.
- 2013: Color selection and dithering improvements added.
- 2017: SIMD and thread support for resizing added.
- 2019: Lossy optimization option added.
- 2025: Version 1.96 released with Oklab and Atkinson dithering support.

### Related projects

- The official page compares Gifsicle with Whirlgif, GIFMerge, Giftool, and web-based optimizers. It complements GIFLIB by focusing on end-user animation editing and optimization rather than a reusable C GIF library.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/kohler/gifsicle>
- <https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/>
- <https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/changes.html>
- <https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/man.html>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - gifsicle - 1.96-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: gifsicle from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Tool for manipulating GIF images | http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- Nix - gifsicle: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gi/gifsicle/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - gifsicle - 1.94-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: gifsicle from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Tool for manipulating GIF images | http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- apk - gifsicle - 1.96-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: gifsicle from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Command-line tool for making, editing and getting information about GIF animations | https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- apk - gifsicle-doc - 1.96-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: gifsicle-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Command-line tool for making, editing and getting information about GIF animations (documentation) | https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- dnf - gifsicle - 1.96-5.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: gifsicle from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Powerful program for manipulating GIF images and animations | http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- dnf - gifview - 1.96-5.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: gifview from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Lightweight animated-GIF viewer | http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- pacman - gifsicle - 1.96-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: gifsicle from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Command-line tool for creating, editing, and getting information about GIF images and animations | https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- zypper - gifsicle - 1.96-1.6: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: gifsicle from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Creating and editing GIF images and animations | https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
- MacPorts - gifsicle: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: graphics/gifsicle/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Scoop - main/gifsicle: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/gifsicle.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/gifsicle.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/gifsicle.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph