I see web apps that can convert moving webp images to gifs. I honestly didn't know `.WebP` could animate. I tried to convert it with ffmpeg but it didn't work. Is there a way to do it on the command line?
---
Yes. **Animated WebP is absolutely a thing**, and you can convert it on the command line.
The catch is that **not every `ffmpeg` build handles animated WebP input cleanly**, so when it “doesn’t work,” that is often a build/support issue rather than you doing something wrong.
## First: verify the WebP is actually animated
Run:
```bash
webpinfo yourfile.webp
```
If that tool is installed, it will tell you whether the file has animation chunks.
If you do not have it, on Debian/Mint:
```bash
sudo apt install webp
```
---
## Best command-line options
### Option 1: ImageMagick
This is usually the most painless.
```bash
magick yourfile.webp output.gif
```
If your system uses the older command name:
```bash
convert yourfile.webp output.gif
```
On Linux Mint:
```bash
sudo apt install imagemagick
```
---
### Option 2: `gif2webp`’s sibling tools via WebP package
A solid route is to extract frames, then build a GIF.
Extract frames from the animated WebP:
```bash
mkdir frames
dwebp yourfile.webp -o frames/frame.png
```
That alone usually only works for static WebP, so for animated WebP you often want:
```bash
webpmux -info yourfile.webp
```
But the WebP CLI tools are honestly better at **making** animated WebP than converting it back out cleanly to GIF. For that reason, ImageMagick is usually easier.
---
### Option 3: `ffmpeg`
This *can* work, but depends on your build.
Try:
```bash
ffmpeg -i yourfile.webp output.gif
```
If the colors look awful or the GIF is huge, do it properly with a palette:
```bash
ffmpeg -i yourfile.webp -vf "fps=15,scale=iw:-1:flags=lanczos,palettegen" -y palette.png
ffmpeg -i yourfile.webp -i palette.png -lavfi "fps=15,scale=iw:-1:flags=lanczos[x];[x][1:v]paletteuse" -y output.gif
```
That is the better `ffmpeg` method.
## If `ffmpeg` says it cannot decode it
Then your installed build likely lacks the needed support for animated WebP. Check with:
```bash
ffmpeg -codecs | grep webp
```
and
```bash
ffmpeg -formats | grep webp
```
If support looks thin, don’t waste time fighting it. Use ImageMagick instead.
---
## A practical Linux Mint answer
If you want the least headache:
```bash
sudo apt install imagemagick webp ffmpeg
magick yourfile.webp output.gif
```
That is the straightest path.
## Bonus: make the GIF smaller
GIFs get bloated fast. Resize while converting:
```bash
magick yourfile.webp -resize 50% output.gif
```
Or set a width:
```bash
magick yourfile.webp -resize 800x output.gif
```
If you want, paste the exact `ffmpeg` error and I’ll tell you exactly why it choked.