What Is the Video Toolbox?
Video Toolbox is a browser-only workspace for three common video tasks: reading file and playback metadata, exporting a chosen frame as PNG or JPEG, and converting a short segment to an animated GIF. It accepts MP4, WebM, Ogg, MOV, and M4V containers up to 500 MB, but success still depends on whether your browser supports the codecs inside the file. It never uploads the video. Metadata includes the reported MIME type, size, duration, dimensions, and aspect ratio; codecs are not guessed because browser APIs do not expose them reliably. GIFs use a fixed 256-color palette and are limited to 640 pixels wide, 120 frames, 1-10 fps, and 30 million processed pixels.
How to Inspect or Convert a Video
- 1Choose an MP4, WebM, Ogg, MOV, or M4V file up to 500 MB and wait for your browser to read it.
- 2Review Metadata, or open Extract Frame and enter a timestamp, output width, and PNG or JPEG settings.
- 3For a GIF, choose the start, end, frame rate, and width; reduce these values if the browser work limit is exceeded.
- 4Preview the generated frame or animation, then download it with the deterministic file name.
Common Video Toolbox Use Cases
Check Video Dimensions Before Publishing
Confirm a local clip's duration, file size, resolution, aspect ratio, and browser-reported MIME type without uploading it.
Save a Precise Thumbnail
Seek to a specific timestamp and export that frame as lossless PNG or adjustable-quality JPEG for documentation or a preview image.
Create a Short Demonstration GIF
Turn a small section of a supported video into a looping GIF for an issue, chat message, or README while controlling width and frame rate.
Frequently asked questions
Does my video leave my device?
No. Metadata reading, frame capture, and GIF encoding run in your browser. The selected file and generated output are not uploaded to this site or a third party.
Why can a listed video format still fail to open?
MP4, MOV, WebM, Ogg, and M4V are containers, not codecs. A browser may support the container but not the video or audio codec stored inside it. This tool reports a decode error instead of guessing or uploading the file for conversion.
Why does the GIF look different from the video?
GIF supports at most 256 colors per palette and has no modern video compression. This tool uses a fixed 256-color palette for predictable local encoding, so gradients may show banding and the file can be larger than the source clip.