Claude Official Skill: slack-gif-creator
Knowledge and utilities for creating animated GIFs optimized for Slack. Provides constraints, validation tools, and animation concepts. Use when users request animated GIFs for ...
What it is
The slack-gif-creator is an official Claude Code skill that equips Claude with the knowledge and utilities needed to create animated GIFs specifically optimized for Slack. It bundles size constraints, validation tooling, and animation design concepts into a reusable skill that Claude loads when users request animated GIFs for workplace communication.
This skill is aimed at developers and team leads who want to create custom animated content for Slack channels without learning GIF optimization toolchains from scratch.
How it saves time or tokens
Without this skill, creating Slack-compatible GIFs requires trial-and-error with file size limits, frame rate tuning, and palette optimization. The skill encodes these constraints directly so Claude generates compliant GIFs on the first attempt. Estimated token cost per invocation is around 500 tokens for the skill context loading.
How to use
- Install or enable the slack-gif-creator skill in your Claude Code environment by adding it to your project's skill configuration.
- Ask Claude to create an animated GIF for Slack, describing the content and style you want.
- Claude applies the skill's constraints (file size limits, dimensions, frame rate) automatically and generates or guides you through creating a compliant GIF.
Example
# Prompt to Claude Code with the skill active:
Create an animated GIF showing a loading spinner
with our brand colors (#4A90D9, #2C3E50).
It should loop seamlessly and stay under Slack's
file size limit for inline preview.
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- Prompt library — Browse reusable prompts and skills for AI coding assistants
- Automation tools — Tools that streamline repetitive developer tasks
Common pitfalls
- Slack's inline GIF preview has a file size threshold. GIFs over ~4MB may not auto-play and require users to click to view. Keep frame counts low and dimensions reasonable.
- High-resolution GIFs balloon in size quickly. The skill recommends specific dimension caps, but overriding them defeats the purpose.
- Color palette complexity directly affects GIF file size. Gradients and photo-realistic content compress poorly in the GIF format. Stick to flat colors and simple shapes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Slack auto-plays GIFs that are roughly under 4MB in the message view. Larger files still upload and can be viewed by clicking, but they lose the inline preview that makes GIFs effective in chat. The skill targets this threshold automatically.
The skill provides constraints and validation logic. When paired with Claude Code's ability to write and execute code, it can generate GIFs using libraries like Pillow or ImageMagick. The skill ensures the output meets Slack's requirements.
The skill focuses specifically on the GIF format since that is what Slack reliably previews inline. APNG support in Slack is inconsistent across desktop and mobile clients, so GIF remains the safer choice.
Skills are added to your Claude Code project configuration, typically in .claude/skills/ directory or via the skill installation command. Once present, Claude automatically loads the skill when it matches the task context.
The skill is Slack-specific in its default constraints. You could fork the skill and modify the size limits and dimension recommendations to match Discord or Microsoft Teams requirements, which differ from Slack's thresholds.
Citations (3)
- Anthropic Claude Code Docs— Claude Code skills provide reusable context for specialized tasks
- Slack API Documentation— Slack file upload and preview behavior
- web.dev (Google)— GIF format optimization techniques
Related on TokRepo
Source & Thanks
Created by Anthropic. Licensed under MIT. anthropics/skills