What the GIF cropper does
Cropping an animated GIF is harder than cropping a still image because every frame has to be cut identically and the animation reassembled. This tool does exactly that: you set the crop rectangle (X, Y, width and height in pixels), and it decodes the GIF, crops each frame, and re-encodes a new animation with the original frame timing and loop settings. Everything runs in your browser using gifuct-js and gif.js; the file is not uploaded.
Why crop a GIF
- Remove borders and letterboxing — black bars from a video conversion, or a browser chrome captured in a screen recording.
- Focus on the subject — a reaction GIF works better tight on the face; a UI demo works better without the surrounding desktop.
- Change aspect ratio — square for a profile or story, 16:9 for a banner, 1:1 for a sticker.
- Cut watermarks or captions along an edge (only where you have the right to).
- Reduce file size — fewer pixels per frame means a smaller file. Cropping a 600 × 400 GIF to 300 × 300 removes 62% of the pixels.
Setting the crop
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| X | Pixels from the left edge to the crop's left edge |
| Y | Pixels from the top edge to the crop's top edge |
| Width | Width of the region to keep |
| Height | Height of the region to keep |
The tool shows the GIF's dimensions after loading. To crop the centre of a 600 × 400 GIF to 400 × 400: X = 100, Y = 0, width = 400, height = 400. For a preview, take a screenshot of one frame and check coordinates in any image editor, or crop generously first and tighten on a second pass.
What is preserved
- Every frame, in order, with its original delay — the animation plays at the same speed.
- Loop count (infinite or a fixed number).
- Transparency, where the GIF used it.
- Colours: the crop is re-encoded with a palette built from the cropped frames, so colours are preserved and may even improve when a distracting background is removed.
Tips
- Watch the whole animation before choosing the crop — the subject may move out of a region that looks right on the first frame.
- Leave a small margin around moving subjects to avoid clipping mid-animation.
- Combine with the GIF compressor afterwards to scale down or reduce colours if the file is still large.
- For a still image from one frame, use GIF to Frames and crop that frame with the Image Cropper.
Frequently asked questions
Can I drag a box to crop instead of typing numbers?
Not in this tool — enter pixel values. The dimensions are shown after loading so you can calculate the region.
Does cropping change the frame rate?
No. Frame delays are copied exactly.
Why is the output slightly different in colour?
Re-encoding builds a new 256-colour palette from the cropped frames. Usually the result is equal or better; heavily photographic GIFs may show minor shifts.
How large a GIF can it handle?
Frames are held in memory during processing. GIFs up to a few hundred frames at typical sizes are fine on desktop; very long or high-resolution GIFs may be slow on phones.
Can I crop to a circle?
GIF supports only rectangular frames with single-colour transparency. Crop to a square, then apply a circular mask in a tool that supports it.
Is the GIF uploaded?
No. Processing happens in your browser.