Search v1.0.1

GifHorse

👤
@coyote-git

Search video dialogue and create reaction GIFs with timed subtitles. Perfect for creating meme-worthy clips from movies and TV shows.

Installation

openclaw skill add coyote-git/gifhorse

Technical Specification

GifHorse - Dialogue Search & GIF Creator

Create reaction GIFs from your video library by searching dialogue and adding timed subtitles.

What GifHorse Does

  1. Transcribe videos - Extract dialogue with timestamps using subtitle files (.srt) or Whisper AI
  2. Search dialogue - Find quotes across your entire video library instantly
  3. Preview clips - See exactly what will be captured before creating the GIF
  4. Create GIFs - Generate GIFs with perfectly timed subtitles and optional watermarks

Setup

First Time Setup

  1. Install gifhorse (via install button above)
  2. Install FFmpeg-full for subtitle rendering (via install button above)
  3. Transcribe your video library:
cd ~/gifhorse && source venv/bin/activate
gifhorse transcribe ~/Movies --use-subtitles

The gifhorse command must be run from within its virtual environment. You can activate it with:

cd ~/gifhorse && source venv/bin/activate

Or use the activation helper:

source ~/gifhorse/activate.sh

Available Commands

Transcribe Videos

Extract dialogue from your videos (one-time per video):

# Fast: Using existing subtitle files (.srt)
gifhorse transcribe /path/to/videos --use-subtitles

# Slow but thorough: Using Whisper AI (if no subtitles available)
gifhorse transcribe /path/to/video.mp4

Pro tip: Use --use-subtitles when available - it's 100x faster than Whisper!

Search Dialogue

Find quotes across your entire library:

# Basic search
gifhorse search "memorable quote"

# Search with surrounding context
gifhorse search "memorable quote" --context 2

Preview Before Creating

See exactly what will be captured:

gifhorse preview "memorable quote" 1
gifhorse preview "quote" 1 --include-before 1 --include-after 1

Create GIF

Generate the GIF with subtitles:

# Basic GIF
gifhorse create "memorable quote" 1 --output reaction.gif

# With watermark
gifhorse create "quote" 1 --watermark "@username"

# High quality for social media
gifhorse create "quote" 1 --width 720 --fps 24 --quality high --watermark "@handle"

# Include conversation context
gifhorse create "quote" 1 --include-before 2 --include-after 1

Check Status

# See transcription stats
gifhorse stats

# List all transcribed videos
gifhorse list

Timing Options

Control exactly what gets captured:

  • --include-before N - Include N dialogue segments before the match
  • --include-after N - Include N dialogue segments after the match
  • --padding-before SECS - Add buffer seconds before dialogue starts (default: 1.0)
  • --padding-after SECS - Add buffer seconds after dialogue ends (default: 1.0)
  • --start-offset SECS - Manual adjustment to start time (can be negative)
  • --end-offset SECS - Manual adjustment to end time (can be negative)

Important: For reactions after dialogue, use --padding-after instead of --include-after. The include-after option captures ALL time until the next dialogue segment (could be 30+ seconds!).

Quality Options

  • --quality low|medium|high - Color palette quality (affects file size)
  • --fps N - Frames per second (default: 15, use 24 for smooth)
  • --width N - Width in pixels (default: 480, use 720 for HD)
  • --no-subtitles - Create GIF without subtitle overlay

Watermark Options

Add branding to your GIFs:

  • --watermark TEXT - Watermark text (e.g., "@gifhorse")
  • --watermark-position tl|tr|bl|br - Position: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right (default: br)
  • --watermark-opacity N - Opacity from 0.0 to 1.0 (default: 0.7)

Common Workflows

Quick Reaction GIF

gifhorse search "perfect"
gifhorse create "perfect" 1 --padding-after 2.0 --output perfect.gif

Full Conversation Exchange

gifhorse search "key phrase"
gifhorse preview "key phrase" 1 --include-before 2 --include-after 1
gifhorse create "key phrase" 1 --include-before 2 --include-after 1

High Quality for Twitter/X

gifhorse create "quote" 1 --width 720 --fps 24 --quality high --watermark "@handle" --output tweet.gif

Scene with Reaction After Dialogue

gifhorse create "memorable line" 1 --padding-after 3.0 --watermark "@me"

Tips & Tricks

  1. Always preview first - Use preview to verify timing before creating
  2. Use subtitle files - 100x faster than Whisper transcription
  3. Watch file sizes - High quality + long duration = large files (20s can be 20+ MB)
  4. Padding vs Include - For reactions, use --padding-after not --include-after
  5. Search with context - Add --context 2 to see surrounding dialogue
  6. Test watermark position - Bottom-right (br) usually works best

File Size Guide

  • Low quality, 10s, 360p: ~1-2 MB
  • Medium quality, 10s, 480p: ~3-5 MB
  • High quality, 20s, 720p: ~20+ MB

Troubleshooting

"command not found: gifhorse"

Activate the virtual environment:

cd ~/gifhorse && source venv/bin/activate

Subtitle rendering errors

Make sure FFmpeg-full is installed:

brew install ffmpeg-full

Video file not found

The database stores absolute paths. If you moved videos after transcription, re-transcribe in the new location.

Network Share Support

GifHorse works with network-mounted videos:

# Mount network share (macOS)
open "smb://server-ip/share-name"

# Transcribe from network
gifhorse transcribe "/Volumes/server-ip/Movies"

When to Use This Skill

Invoke gifhorse when the user wants to:

  • Search for dialogue or quotes in their video library
  • Create a reaction GIF from a movie or TV show
  • Add subtitles to a video clip
  • Transcribe videos for searchable dialogue
  • Preview what a GIF will look like before creating it
  • Add watermarks to GIFs for social media

Learn More

License

MIT