GIF

Also known as .gif, CompuServe GIF, Graphics Interchange Format

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AI overview

A GIF is a digital image format that can display either a single still picture or a sequence of images that play in a loop to create a simple animation. It matters because GIFs are widely used on the internet for sharing quick, repeating animations and memes that are easy to view across different devices and websites.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

File format.screenshot: Rotating earth (large).gif
File format.screenshot_size: 200px
File format.caption: An animated GIF of a rotating globe
File format.extension: <!-- or:
File format.extensions: -->
File format.uniform_type: com.compuserve.gif
File format.magic: GIF87a/GIF89a
File format.developer: CompuServe
File format.latest_release_version: 89a
File format.genre: lossless bitmap image format
File format.standard: <!-- or:
File format.standards: -->

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Wikidata facts

Image: Uncompressed gif file.PNG

Show 10 more facts

media type: image/gif
described at URL: raw.githubusercontent.com/wader/fq/master/format/gif/gif.go
Commons category: GIF file format
file format identification pattern: 474946
Stack Exchange tag: stackoverflow.com/tags/gif
file extension: gif
inception: 1987-00-00
exact match: rs.tdwg.org/format/values/m010
short name: GIF
name: Graphics Interchange Format

Sources (5)

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~48 min read

Article

23 sections

Contents

History
Terminology
Pronunciation
Usage
File format
Palettes
True color
Example GIF file
Image coding
Image decoding
LZW code lengths
Uncompressed GIF
Compression example
Interlacing
Animated GIF
Metadata
Alternatives
PNG
Animation formats
Uses
See also
References
External links

The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , ) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on June 15, 1987.

The format can contain up to 8 bits per pixel, allowing a single image to reference its own palette of up to 256 different colors chosen from the 24-bit RGB color space. It can also represent multiple images in a file, which can be used for animations, and allows a separate palette of up to 256 colors for each frame. These palette limitations make GIF less suitable for reproducing color photographs and other images with color gradients but well-suited for simpler images such as graphics or logos with solid areas of color.