# Install ttygif with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix Converts a ttyrec file into gif files. Version 1.6.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-18. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install ttygif. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:ttygif ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install ttygif ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install ttygif ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/ttygif/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install ttygif ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: ttygif from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#ttygif ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/tt/ttygif/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:ttygif - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.6.0 - **Source summary:** Converts a ttyrec file into gif files - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-18T23:37:09Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - ttygif (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.6.0 ## Project history and usage ttygif is a small converter that turns ttyrec terminal recordings into animated GIF files. Its README describes it as a stripped-down version of ttyplay that screenshots every frame. ### Project history The project builds directly on the older ttyrec format and workflow: users first record a terminal session with `ttyrec`, then run `ttygif` on the recording. The README credits tty2gif as the source of the idea and approach. Official Git tags show ttygif releases beginning with a 1.0.8 tag in 2013 and continuing through later maintenance releases, including tags in 2016, 2020, and 2022. ### Adoption history The README documents setup paths for Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora/CentOS/RHEL, OpenSUSE, Arch Linux, and macOS through Homebrew. The supplied package facts also show packaging in Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu. ttygif became useful in the package-nerd niche because it bridges old-school terminal recording and shareable web media: a reproducible terminal transcript could be converted into a GIF for READMEs, bug reports, and demos. ### How it is used The documented workflow is intentionally short: record with `ttyrec myrecording`, finish the shell with Ctrl-D or `exit`, then convert with `ttygif myrecording`. On macOS, the README documents an optional `-f` flag to bypass cropping for terminal apps that are not full screen. The tool depends on terminal-window capture details: the README documents Terminal and iTerm support on macOS, `WINDOWID` handling on X11, and a `TTYGIF_DEBUG` environment variable for troubleshooting. ### Why package nerds care ttygif is the kind of package that survives because it composes with another tiny Unix tool. It does not replace ttyrec; it gives package maintainers and CLI authors a way to turn ttyrec artifacts into visual documentation. Its packaging value is mostly archival and demonstrative: it preserves the ttyrec lineage while producing the GIF format that GitHub-era README culture made convenient. ### Timeline - 2013: Official 1.0.8 tag in the ttygif repository. - 2016: 1.4.0 tag published after several 1.x releases. - 2022: 1.6.0 tag published. - Current README: documents ttyrec-to-GIF workflow, platform setup notes, and tty2gif credit. ### Related projects - ttyrec is the input recording format and the first step in the documented workflow. - tty2gif is credited by the README as the inspiration for ttygif's idea and approach. ### Sources - - official git tags from https://github.com/icholy/ttygif - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - ttygif - 1.5.0-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ttygif from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | generate gif animations from ttyrec terminal recordings | https://github.com/icholy/ttygif - Nix - ttygif: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/tt/ttygif/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - ttygif - 1.5.0-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: ttygif from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | generate gif animations from ttyrec terminal recordings | https://github.com/icholy/ttygif - MacPorts - ttygif: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: graphics/ttygif/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ttygif.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/ttygif.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