How to Generate Multiple Output Formats

Overview

Generate multiple output files from a single recording. This guide focuses on the animated raster/video formats — GIF, MP4, and WebM — but VCR# also supports SVG, PNG, and a raw frames directory (see Other Output Formats below).

Choosing a Format

Format	Best For	Trade-offs
GIF	GitHub READMEs, documentation, email	Maximum compatibility, but larger files and 256 colors max
MP4	Social media, presentations	Smaller files with better quality, requires video player
WebM	Web embedding	Smallest files, but limited support in some browsers/apps

Generate Multiple Formats

Add multiple Output commands to your tape file:

tape

Output demo.gif
Output demo.mp4
Output demo.webm
  
Set Cols 100
Set Rows 30
  
Type "echo 'Hello, World!'"
Enter
Wait

VCR# will generate all three files from a single recording.

Add Outputs from CLI

Use the --output or -o flag to add outputs without editing the tape file:

bash

vcr demo.tape -o extra.mp4 -o extra.webm

CLI outputs are appended to tape file outputs.

Optimize File Sizes

To reduce GIF size:

tape

Output demo.gif
  
Set MaxColors 128       # Reduce color palette (default: 256)
Set Cols 100            # Smaller dimensions = smaller file
Set Rows 30

Lower MaxColors values (64, 128) produce smaller GIFs but may reduce quality.

To control video quality:

tape

Output demo.mp4
  
Set Framerate 30        # Lower framerate = smaller file (default: 50)
Set PlaybackSpeed 1.5   # Faster playback = shorter video = smaller file

Example: Multiple Distribution Channels

Generate all three formats for different uses:

tape

Output readme.gif           # For GitHub README
Output social.mp4           # For Twitter/LinkedIn
Output web.webm             # For website embedding
  
Set Cols 100
Set Rows 30
Set Theme "Dracula"
  
Type "npm install VCR#"
Enter
Wait

Other Output Formats

Beyond GIF/MP4/WebM, the Output command also accepts:

.svg — an animated, text-based SVG. Lightweight, scalable, and rendered without FFmpeg.
.png — a single-frame PNG of the terminal.
A directory or extension-less path (e.g. Output frames/) — writes the raw PNG frames plus a manifest into that directory.

tape

Output demo.svg     # Animated SVG (no FFmpeg required)
Output final.png    # Single-frame PNG
Output frames/      # Raw PNG frames + manifest

Format-Specific Settings

GIF-only setting:

MaxColors - Color palette size, 1–256 (default: 256)

Timing settings (all animated formats — GIF, MP4, WebM, and SVG):

Framerate - Recording frame rate, 1–120 (default: 50)
PlaybackSpeed - Playback speed multiplier (default: 1.0; also affects SVG)

All other settings apply to every format unless noted otherwise.