gif-whatsapp – OpenClaw Skill

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name: gif-whatsapp version: 1.0.0 description: Search and send GIFs on WhatsApp. Handles the Tenor→MP4 conversion required for WhatsApp. metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🎬","requires":{"bins":["gifgrep","ffmpeg","curl"]}}}

GIF Sender

Send GIFs naturally in WhatsApp conversations.

CRITICAL: WhatsApp GIF Workflow

WhatsApp doesn't support direct Tenor/Giphy URLs. You MUST:

1. Download the GIF
2. Convert to MP4
3. Send with gifPlayback: true

Complete Workflow

Step 1: Search for GIF

gifgrep "SEARCH QUERY" --max 5 --format url

Search in English for best results.

Always get 5 results and pick the best one based on the filename/description - don't just take the first result.

Step 2: Download the GIF

curl -sL "GIF_URL" -o /tmp/gif.gif

Step 3: Convert to MP4

ffmpeg -i /tmp/gif.gif -movflags faststart -pix_fmt yuv420p -vf "scale=trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2" /tmp/gif.mp4 -y

Step 4: Send via message tool

message action=send to=NUMBER message="‎" filePath=/tmp/gif.mp4 gifPlayback=true

Note: Use invisible character ‎ (left-to-right mark, U+200E) as message to send GIF without visible caption.

One-liner Example

# Search
gifgrep "thumbs up" --max 3 --format url

# Pick best URL, then:
curl -sL "https://media.tenor.com/xxx.gif" -o /tmp/g.gif && \
ffmpeg -i /tmp/g.gif -movflags faststart -pix_fmt yuv420p -vf "scale=trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2" /tmp/g.mp4 -y 2>/dev/null

# Then send with message tool, gifPlayback=true

When to Send GIFs

✅ Good times:

• User asks for a GIF
• Celebrating good news
• Funny reactions
• Expressing emotions (excitement, facepalm, etc.)

❌ Don't overuse:

• One GIF per context is enough
• Not every message needs a GIF

Popular Search Terms

Emotion	Search Terms
Happy	celebration, party, dancing, excited
Approval	thumbs up, nice, good job, applause
Funny	laugh, lol, haha, funny
Shocked	mind blown, shocked, surprised, wow
Sad	crying, sad, disappointed
Frustrated	facepalm, ugh, annoyed
Love	heart, love, hug
Cool	sunglasses, cool, awesome

Why This Works

• WhatsApp converts all GIFs to MP4 internally
• Direct Tenor/Giphy URLs often fail
• MP4 with gifPlayback=true displays as looping GIF
• Small file size = fast delivery