Image
What is a .gif file?
A .gif is an image that can animate. It's limited to 256 colours, which is why photos look grainy as GIFs.
This extension has been used by more than one format
2 different formats have claimed .gif over the years, so two files with the same extension aren't necessarily the same kind of thing.
How to open a .gif file
- WindowsPhotos
- WindowsAny browser
- MacPreview
- MacAny browser
How to convert a .gif file
- Convert to .mp4 for much smaller animated files, or .png for a single frame.
MIME type
When a .gif file travels over the web, servers label it with this MIME type:
image/gifThe technical record
For archivists, developers and the merely curious: these are the PRONOM registry entries for .gif.
| Format name | Version | MIME type | PUID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics Interchange Format | 87a | image/gif | fmt/3 |
| Graphics Interchange Format | 89a | image/gif | fmt/4 |