GifHorse - Dialogue Search & GIF Creator

---

name: gifhorse

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

homepage: https://github.com/Coyote-git/gifhorse

metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🐴","requires":{"bins":["gifhorse","ffmpeg"]},"install":[{"id":"gifhorse-setup","kind":"shell","command":"git clone https://github.com/Coyote-git/gifhorse.git ~/gifhorse && cd ~/gifhorse && python3 -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate && pip install -e .","bins":["gifhorse"],"label":"Install gifhorse CLI tool"},{"id":"ffmpeg-full","kind":"shell","command":"brew install ffmpeg-full","bins":["ffmpeg"],"label":"Install FFmpeg-full (macOS)"}],"config":{"examples":[{"GIFHORSE_DB":"~/gifhorse/transcriptions.db"}]}}}

---

# 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 by downloading subtitles, using local .srt files, 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 (downloads subtitles automatically):

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

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):

# Default: downloads subtitles from online providers (fast, recommended)
gifhorse transcribe /path/to/videos

# Use only local .srt files (no downloading, no Whisper)
gifhorse transcribe /path/to/videos --use-subtitles

# Use Whisper AI (slow but works for any video)
gifhorse transcribe /path/to/video.mp4 --use-whisper

# Re-transcribe videos already in database
gifhorse transcribe /path/to/videos --force

Download Subtitles Only

Download .srt files without storing in the database:

gifhorse fetch-subtitles /path/to/videos
gifhorse fetch-subtitles /path/to/videos --skip-existing

Search Dialogue

Find quotes across your entire library:

# Basic search
gifhorse search "memorable quote"

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

# Show all results (no limit)
gifhorse search "memorable quote" --all

# Custom result limit (default: 100)
gifhorse search "memorable quote" --limit 50

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 (auto-named from dialogue, saved to exports/)
gifhorse create "memorable quote" 1

# Explicit output path
gifhorse create "memorable quote" 1 -o reaction.gif

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

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

# Substitute words in subtitles (repeatable, target segments by number from preview)
gifhorse create "the age of men" 1 --include-after 1 \
  -s 1 "men" "standardized software" \
  -s 2 "orc" "custom applications"

# Clean replace (no strikethrough)
gifhorse create "quote" 1 -r 1 "old word" "new word"

# Create and send via iMessage
gifhorse create "quote" 1 --send
gifhorse create "quote" 1 --send-to "+15551234567"

Manage Database

# Remove videos by path pattern (SQL LIKE wildcards)
gifhorse remove "%Adventure Time%"
gifhorse remove "%S01%" --yes

# Check subtitle status for a directory
gifhorse subtitle-status ~/Videos
gifhorse subtitle-status ~/Videos --missing-only

Check Status

# See transcription stats
gifhorse stats

# List all transcribed videos
gifhorse list

Configuration

# Set phone number for iMessage sending
gifhorse config --set-phone "+15551234567"

# Show current configuration
gifhorse config --show

Timing Options

Control exactly what gets captured:

**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

Subtitle Options

Output

iMessage

**Note:** All GIFs automatically include a subtle "gifhorse" watermark in the bottom-right corner.

Common Workflows

Quick Reaction GIF

gifhorse search "perfect"
gifhorse create "perfect" 1 --padding-after 2.0

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

Meme with Word Substitution

gifhorse preview "the age of men" 1 --include-after 1
gifhorse create "the age of men" 1 --include-after 1 \
  -s 1 "men" "standardized software" \
  -s 2 "orc" "custom applications"

High Quality for Twitter/X

gifhorse create "quote" 1 --width 720 --fps 24 --quality high -o tweet.gif

Scene with Reaction After Dialogue

gifhorse create "memorable line" 1 --padding-after 3.0

Create and Send via iMessage

gifhorse config --set-phone "+15551234567"
gifhorse create "quote" 1 --send

Tips & Tricks

1. **Always preview first** - Use `preview` to verify timing before creating

2. **Default downloads subtitles** - Just run `gifhorse transcribe` and subtitles are fetched automatically

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. **Re-transcribe with --force** - Use `--force` to update transcriptions after getting better subtitles

7. **Check subtitle coverage** - Use `subtitle-status` to see which videos need subtitles

File Size Guide

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:

Learn More

License

MIT