GIF
A lossless indexed-color format supporting up to 256 colors with frame animation, widely used for short looping clips.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) was developed by CompuServe in 1987. It uses LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) lossless compression with an indexed color model, selecting up to 256 colors from a palette to represent each frame of the image.
Its defining feature is multi-frame animation support within a single file. Each frame specifies a display duration and disposal method, and browsers render the animation natively without plugins. This simplicity has kept GIF relevant as the default format for short looping clips shared on social media and messaging platforms.
- Transparency: One palette entry can be designated as transparent, but partial transparency (alpha blending) is not supported
- Interlacing: A 4-pass progressive display mode improves perceived loading speed on slow connections
- LZW compression: Achieves high efficiency on flat-color images with repetitive patterns
The 256-color limitation makes GIF unsuitable for photographs or smooth gradients, where dithering artifacts become visible. For animation use cases, WebP and AVIF offer full-color support with significantly better compression ratios. However, GIF's universal compatibility ensures continued use in email signatures, legacy systems, and contexts where broad client support outweighs file size concerns.