XCF to Video

How to Convert XCF to Video Online

1. Upload Your XCF Files: Drag and drop one or more GIMP project files, or click "+ Add Files" to select them. Flatten layered projects in GIMP first (Image → Flatten Image, then re-save the .xcf) — one layer of a multi-layer XCF is what becomes the frame, not the merged canvas. Batch upload is supported — turn a whole folder of XCF designs into a single slideshow or render one video per file.
2. Pick Output Format and Codec: Choose your target video container from the format dropdown (MP4, WEBM, MOV, AVI, MKV, GIF and more), then open Advanced Options to set the Video Codec (H.264, H.265/HEVC, VP9, AV1, MPEG-4, MJPEG). H.264 plays everywhere; H.265 and AV1 give roughly 40–50% smaller files at the cost of older-device compatibility.
3. Set Merge Strategy, Duration, Resolution, and Quality (Optional): Under Merge Strategy pick "Merge images" for one combined slideshow or "Video per image" for a separate clip per file. Under Image Duration pick a preset (1/24, 1/30, 1/60 second for animation; 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 seconds for slideshows). Under Video Resolution keep original, pick a preset (2160p, 1440p, 1080p, 720p, 1080×1080 square, 1080×1920 vertical), or enter custom width × height. Under File Compression pick a Quality Preset (Highest → Lowest), set a Target File Size as % or exact MB, or fine-tune with Constant Bitrate, Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality (CRF), or Constraint Quality. Use Background Color to fill any letterbox area when XCF aspect ratios don't match your output frame.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert." Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared. Download each output individually or grab the whole batch as a ZIP.

Why Convert XCF to Video?

XCF is GIMP's native project format, first released on December 15, 1997 and named after UC Berkeley's eXperimental Computing Facility where GIMP was born. It stores layers, masks, channels, paths, guides, and selections in compressed form — everything you need to keep editing — but very little outside the GIMP / Photopea / Krita ecosystem can play it back. GIMP itself only exports animations to GIF, WebP, and the legacy MNG format; native video export is not part of GIMP. Converting XCF to a video container turns each project into a frame and stitches those frames into a clip that any browser, phone, or NLE can read — flatten each project in GIMP first and the frames match your canvases exactly.

• Design portfolio reels — Render fifteen to twenty XCF mockups at five seconds each into a single 1080p MP4 you can post on Behance, LinkedIn, or your portfolio site without forcing visitors to download GIMP.
• Social media slideshows — Use the 1080×1080 square preset for Instagram feed posts or 1080×1920 vertical for Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. Two- to three-second image durations match the platforms' fast-scroll pacing.
• Animation drafts and storyboards — If each XCF holds one frame of a hand-drawn sequence, "Merge images" with a 1/24-second duration gives you a true 24 fps animatic. The Image Duration dropdown supports 1/10, 1/24, 1/30, and 1/60 second for animation work.
• Client review videos — Send a single MP4 instead of asking the client to install GIMP for an XCF preview. Add a black or branded Background Color so transparent areas of your design don't render as random noise.
• Tutorial and walk-through clips — Export progressive snapshots of an illustration as XCF, sequence them into a "before / mid / after" video for YouTube or a course platform.
• Archive playback — Decade-old XCF files often outlive the active GIMP installs that wrote them; rendering them to MP4 or WEBM is a low-effort way to make the artwork viewable forever without depending on a specific GIMP version.

XCF vs Common Video Containers

Codec and Quality Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't GIMP just export my XCF directly to MP4?

GIMP's animation export is intentionally limited to GIF, WebP, and MNG — there is no built-in H.264, H.265, or VP9 encoder in GIMP. The official workaround is to export every layer as a numbered PNG sequence and feed it to FFmpeg by hand. This page does the encoding half of that work on our servers: each XCF becomes a frame, frames are sequenced, and FFmpeg-grade encoders produce the final video container. The one step still worth doing in GIMP is Image → Flatten Image, because the converter reads a single layer per file rather than compositing the stack.

What happens to my GIMP layers, masks, and paths when I convert to video?

Only one layer of each XCF becomes the frame. The file is read as a multi-page image — one page per layer — and the stack is not composited the way GIMP's canvas composites it, so artwork on the other layers is missing and the regions it covered arrive transparent, then fill with your chosen Background Color (default white). In our testing with a three-layer GIMP project, the render kept only the bottom layer. Run Image → Flatten Image in GIMP and re-save the .xcf before uploading and every frame matches your canvas. Either way the output is rasterized video, not an editable project — masks, vector paths, guides, and saved selections are not carried as separate tracks, so keep the layered XCF and convert a copy.

Can I make a true frame-by-frame animation, not a slideshow?

Yes. Set Image Duration to 1/24 second (24 fps cinema), 1/30 second (30 fps web/TV), or 1/60 second (60 fps) and choose "Merge images." If your XCFs are named in numeric order (frame_001.xcf, frame_002.xcf …) they're combined in that order. For a 5-second 24 fps clip you'll need 120 XCF files.

What's the difference between "Merge images" and "Video per image"?

"Merge images" creates one video that plays through every uploaded XCF in order — pick this for slideshows, animatics, and reels. "Video per image" renders one separate video per XCF, useful when you have ten unrelated artworks and want ten short clips you can post individually. The other settings (codec, resolution, duration) apply to both modes.

Which output format should I pick — MP4, WEBM, MOV, or GIF?

MP4 with H.264 is the safest default; it plays on every browser, phone, smart TV, and editing app made in the last fifteen years. WEBM with VP9 or AV1 gives smaller files for web embeds where you control the players. MOV is the right pick if the next stop is Final Cut Pro or older QuickTime workflows. GIF is fine for short looping clips under a few seconds but balloons in size past ten seconds and has no audio. See XCF to MP4, XCF to WEBM, XCF to MOV, and XCF to GIF for format-specific pages with the same engine.

My XCFs are different sizes — what does the output look like?

Every frame is rendered into the Video Resolution you select (or the largest XCF's dimensions if you keep "original"). Smaller XCFs are letterboxed against the Background Color; larger XCFs are scaled down with aspect ratio preserved. To avoid this, batch-resize your XCFs in GIMP first or pick a square preset (1080×1080) that flatters mixed orientations.

Does the output have audio?

No — XCF carries no audio data, so the converted video is silent by default. If you need a soundtrack, render the silent video here, then add audio in a video editor such as DaVinci Resolve, Shotcut, or CapCut. Alternatively, if you want still-image-only output, XCF to GIF skips the video container and audio track entirely.

How big can my XCF files be?

Our servers handle XCFs up to a few hundred MB comfortably; the real constraint is upload time, and very large multi-layer scenes with high-bit-depth channels are slow to send. Flattening in GIMP (Image → Flatten Image, then File → Save As to re-save the .xcf) is worth doing for both reasons — it is what makes the frame correct, and the lighter file uploads and converts far faster. Need just the still output instead? Try XCF to PNG or XCF to JPG.

Is my work uploaded to a server or do I keep the XCF private?

Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — nothing is published, indexed, or shared. There is no account, no watermark, and no file count limit on the output.