Gif Clipper

A cross-platform screen capture to GIF application. Select a region, record your screen, and get a shareable link.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Java 21
• Docker and Docker Compose

Running Locally

1. Start PostgreSQL

docker-compose up -d

This starts PostgreSQL on port 5433 with database gifclipper.

2. Start the Backend

cd backend

# First time only: copy the example config
cp src/main/resources/application-local.yml.example src/main/resources/application-local.yml

# Start the backend
./gradlew bootRun --args='--spring.profiles.active=local'

The API will be available at http://localhost:8080.

3. Start the Desktop App

cd desktop-app
npm install
npm run start

The Electron app will launch with hot reload enabled.

Usage

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+G (or Cmd+Shift+G on macOS) to start a capture
2. Click and drag to select a screen region
3. Wait for the countdown
4. Recording starts automatically (max 30 seconds)
5. Press Escape to cancel at any point

Project Structure

gif-clipper/
├── backend/          # Spring Boot API (Kotlin)
├── desktop-app/      # Electron app (TypeScript + React)
└── terraform/        # Infrastructure as code

Stopping Services

# Stop PostgreSQL
docker-compose down

# Stop and remove data
docker-compose down -v

License

MIT