What you get back
Each frame as a full PNG, numbered in order, in a single zip. PNG rather than GIF because a single frame has no reason to be limited to 256 colours, and because you are probably about to edit it.
The per-frame delays are shown too. GIF stores a delay for every frame individually, so an animation can pause on one image and race through others — worth knowing before you rebuild it at a uniform rate.
Disposal, and why a frame may look wrong alone
GIF frames are often partial: instead of storing a whole new picture, a frame records only the rectangle that changed and a rule for what to do with the previous one. Extracting naively gives you fragments on transparent backgrounds.
The frames here are composited the way a viewer would show them, so each PNG is the complete picture at that moment rather than the delta.
Getting one frame out
If you want a single still — a thumbnail, a reaction image — splitting and picking is the reliable route. Screenshotting a playing GIF catches whatever frame happened to be showing, usually not the one you wanted.
Frequently asked questions
What format are the frames?
PNG, losslessly. A single frame has no reason to carry GIF’s 256-colour limit, and PNG is what an editor expects.
Why do some frames look identical?
GIF holds a delay per frame, so a long pause is often stored as several frames with the same picture. The delays are listed so you can see which are which.
Can I get just one frame?
Split it and take the one you want from the zip. That is more reliable than screenshotting a playing GIF, which catches an arbitrary moment.
Is my GIF uploaded?
No — it is decoded frame by frame in your browser and the zip is assembled there too.
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