Create Stunning Linux Terminal GIFs with VHS: Install and Step‑by‑Step Guide

Linux terminals are powerful, but creating visual tutorials can be cumbersome; VHS (Video Home System) simplifies turning terminal sessions into animated GIFs.

Installing VHS

VHS requires ttyd and ffmpeg. Install ttyd via snap if supported: sudo snap install ttyd --classic On Debian‑based systems, add the Charm repository key and source, then install:

curl -fsSL https://repo.charm.sh/apt/gpg.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/charm.gpg
sudo echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/charm.gpg] https://repo.charm.sh/apt/ " | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/charm.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install vhs

On Arch Linux, use the AUR package: yay -S vhs-bin For Fedora and RHEL, add the Charm repo and install with yum:

echo '[charm]
name=Charm
baseurl=https://repo.charm.sh/yum/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://repo.charm.sh/yum/gpg.key' | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/charm.repo
sudo yum install vhs

Creating a GIF with VHS

VHS uses files with the .tape extension. Create a new tape file: vhs new linuxmi.tape Edit the tape with your favorite editor (e.g., nano) and add commands. Useful directives include: Output filename.gif – set output file. Set FontSize 15, Set Width 1200, Set Height 600 – configure appearance. Type "command" – simulate typing a command. Sleep 200ms – pause before next line. Enter – simulate pressing Return. Hide / Show – hide or reveal subsequent commands.

Example tape content that records a custom neofetch display:

Output linuxmi.gif
Set FontSize 15
Set Width 1200
Set Height 600
Type "neofetch --ascii linuxmi.txt"
Sleep 500ms
Enter
Sleep 5s

After saving the .tape file, generate the GIF: vhs < linuxmi.tape The resulting animated GIF captures the typed commands and their output, providing a compact visual tutorial.

Benefits

Using VHS to create terminal GIFs is quick, lightweight, and ideal for documentation, tutorials, or showcasing command‑line workflows without the overhead of video files.