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:

• --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)

Subtitle Options

• -s, --sub NUM OLD NEW - Substitute words in a segment (repeatable). Replaced words render struck through in red, replacements in red. Segment numbers shown by preview.
• -r, --replace NUM OLD NEW - Replace words cleanly (no strikethrough). Repeatable.
• --no-subtitles - Create GIF without subtitle overlay

Output

• Default output filename is auto-derived from dialogue text (e.g., i_dont_think_so.gif) and saved to exports/
• Use -o PATH to override. Collision handling appends _2, _3, etc.

iMessage

• --send - Send created GIF to configured phone number via iMessage (macOS only)
• --send-to NUMBER - Send to a specific phone number (overrides config)

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

• 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
• Make a meme GIF with substituted words
• Add subtitles to a video clip
• Transcribe videos for searchable dialogue
• Preview what a GIF will look like before creating it
• Send a GIF via iMessage
• Remove videos from the database
• Check subtitle status for their video collection

Learn More

• GitHub: https://github.com/Coyote-git/gifhorse
• Usage Guide: https://github.com/Coyote-git/gifhorse/blob/main/USAGE_GUIDE.md
• Roadmap: https://github.com/Coyote-git/gifhorse/blob/main/ROADMAP.md

License

MIT