macos-create-gif

A Finder Quick Action that turns selected images into an animated GIF. Select images → right-click → Quick Actions → Create GIF.

• No dependencies: uses only built-in macOS frameworks (ImageIO via JavaScript for Automation).
• Frames are ordered by file name (natural sort, so 2.png comes before 10.png).
• Asks for the delay per frame (default 0.5 s).
• Frames are scaled to at most 800 px on the longest side, respecting EXIF orientation.
• The GIF loops forever and is saved as animation.gif next to the first image (animation 2.gif, … if it already exists).
• Works with any image format macOS can read (PNG, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, …).

Installation

Option 1: install script

git clone https://github.com/jcohenadad/macos-create-gif.git
cd macos-create-gif
./install.sh

Option 2: manual

Download the ZIP, unzip it, and double-click Create GIF.workflow. macOS asks whether to install the Quick Action; click Install. You can also copy Create GIF.workflow into ~/Library/Services/ yourself.

Enable the Quick Action

If Create GIF doesn't show up in the right-click menu, open System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions, scroll to Extensions, click By Category → Finder, and switch on Create GIF.

Usage

1. In Finder, select two or more images.
2. Right-click → Quick Actions → Create GIF.
3. Enter the number of seconds per frame and click Create.
4. animation.gif appears in the same folder.

The first time you use it in a protected folder (Desktop, Documents, Downloads), macOS may ask for permission.

Customization

Open ~/Library/Services/Create GIF.workflow in Automator to edit the script. Useful settings in the script:

Variable	Default	Meaning
delay	0.5	Default seconds per frame shown in the dialog
maxPx	800	Maximum width/height of each frame, in pixels

The same script is available on its own in src/create-gif.sh, which you can run from the terminal:

./src/create-gif.sh frame1.png frame2.png frame3.png

Uninstall

rm -rf ~/Library/Services/"Create GIF.workflow"

License

MIT