Snipping Tool finally adds GIF export for screen recordings in Windows 11

If you’ve ever wanted to turn a quick screen recording into a GIF without using a third-party tool, Snipping Tool is finally getting the feature you’ve been waiting for. Microsoft has started rolling out GIF export support in the app’s screen recording feature, and it’s live for Windows 11 Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels.

You can now record, then save as a GIF

The new option shows up once you finish a screen recording. Simply click the GIF button in the editor’s top-right corner. Here, you’ll see basic options to choose quality and check the file’s duration, resolution, and frame rate. After that, you can either Export it as a file or Copy it to your clipboard.

There’s a limit, though. GIFs only work for recordings that are 30 seconds or shorter. If your video goes over, Snipping Tool will automatically trim it down.

Not seeing the feature just yet? You can enable it manually

The feature is included in version 11.2505.21.0, but it’s rolling out gradually. If you’ve updated and still don’t see the GIF button, you can enable it using ViVeTool.

First, download it from GitHub, then open Command Prompt as Administrator, and run the following command (credit for ID goes to @phantomofearth):

vivetool /enable /id:47081492

Snipping Tool is gradually turning into a more complete screen capture tool, and this long-requested GIF export option brings it closer to that goal.