GIF Media Type Optimization

I’m extending an image-delivery service and need a brand-new media type for GIFs that carries a quality (q=) parameter so clients can explicitly trade image fidelity for smaller file size. Your task is to walk me through the full process, from drafting the IANA-compliant registration to wiring up content-negotiation logic on the server and proving that the pipeline really returns lighter GIFs when a lower quality value is requested.

We’re working exclusively with GIF images and our single optimisation goal is file size; colour accuracy or frame-rate tweaks aren’t required unless they help shrink the payload. You’re free to choose the tooling—ImageMagick, gifsicle, ffmpeg, or another library—as long as the end result is reproducible and well documented.

Deliverables
• Formal media-type registration draft (ready for IANA submission)
• Source code or config that inspects the Accept header, interprets the q value, and serves the corresponding GIF variant
• A small demo set: original vs. generated lower-q files, plus cURL/Postman examples that show the negotiation working
• Clear setup instructions so I can run the demo locally or in Docker

Acceptance criteria
The demo must return visibly smaller GIFs when q<1, respond with the correct Content-Type header, and fall back gracefully when the parameter is absent. Provide unit or integration tests that verify each case.

If this sounds straightforward to you, let’s get started. Show More