gifview
View GIF images
SYNOPSIS
gifview [OPTION...] [FILE]
PARAMETERS
-a, --alpha
display transparency as checkerboard
-c, --center
center image on screen
-d, --delay=DELAY
set delay between frames to DELAY (1/100s)
-g, --geometry=GEOMETRY
set window geometry (WxH+X+Y)
-h, --halt
halt on last frame
-H, --help
display this help and exit
-l, --loop
loop forever (default)
-n, --name=NAME
set window name to NAME
-o, --once
play once and exit
-p, --pause
pause on startup
-r, --root
display image on root window
-s, --speed=FACTOR
multiply delay by FACTOR (e.g., -s4 for 4x faster)
-t, --title=TEXT
set window title to TEXT
-v, --version
output version information and exit
-w, --no-wm
ignore window manager
-z, --compress
compress colormaps (debugging)
DESCRIPTION
gifview is a simple, efficient command-line tool for displaying GIF images, particularly animated ones, on X11 window systems. Part of the gifsicle package, it excels at smooth playback of animations without the overhead of full-featured image viewers like xv or gqview. It supports transparency, speed adjustments, pausing, and looping, making it ideal for quick previews or debugging GIFs during editing with gifsicle.
Launch it with a GIF file to open a window showing the animation. Use keyboard shortcuts for control: spacebar pauses/unpauses, + and - adjust speed, mouse drag pans, wheel scrolls zoom. It handles large GIFs efficiently and can display on the root window or with custom geometry.
Unlike GUI browsers, gifview is lightweight, scriptable, and precise for frame-by-frame inspection. Install via gifsicle package on most distros. Best for X11; Wayland may require XWayland.
CAVEATS
X11-only; may need XWayland on Wayland. No multi-monitor support. Limited to GIF format.
KEYBOARD CONTROLS
Space: pause/unpause
+ / -: speed up/down by 1.2x
Mouse drag: pan
Wheel: zoom in/out
q / Esc: quit
INSTALLATION
Available in gifsicle package:
Debian/Ubuntu: apt install gifsicle
Fedora: dnf install gifsicle
Arch: pacman -S gifsicle
HISTORY
Developed by Eddie Kohler as part of gifsicle since 1997. Evolved with GIF89a support; stable in modern versions (1.92+). Widely used in Unix toolchains for GIF workflows.
