RuneLite Timelapse Creator

Create awesome timelapse videos from your RuneLite screenshots! This tool automatically finds all your OSRS screenshots, sorts them by timestamp, and compiles them into a video with optional music and chatbox blurring.

Features

• 📸 Automatically finds and sorts all screenshots from any RuneLite character directory
• 🎵 Optional background music support
• 🔒 Chatbox blurring to protect privacy
• ⚙️ Highly customizable framerate and video settings
• 🎬 Two modes: hold last frame to match music length, or loop music to match video length

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher
• FFmpeg and FFprobe (for video processing)

Installing FFmpeg

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ffmpeg

Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org and add to PATH

macOS:

brew install ffmpeg

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/OliverBailey/runelite-timelapse.git
cd runelite-timelapse

2. Install Python dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Create your configuration file:

cp .env.sample .env

4. Edit .env with your settings (see Configuration section below)

Configuration

Open the .env file and configure the following settings:

Required Settings

• SCREENSHOTS_DIR: Path to your RuneLite screenshots directory
  • Windows: C:/Users/YourName/.runelite/screenshots/YourCharacterName
  • Linux: /home/username/.runelite/screenshots/YourCharacterName
  • WSL: /mnt/c/Users/YourName/.runelite/screenshots/YourCharacterName

Optional Settings

• FRAMERATE: Frames per second (default: 5)

  • Controls how fast screenshots advance (pacing)
  • Lower = slower video, more detail per screenshot
  • Recommended: 5-10

• OUTPUT_FPS: Output video framerate (default: 30)

  • Controls playback smoothness
  • Higher = smoother video playback
  • Recommended: 25-60
  • This is independent of FRAMERATE - you can have slow-paced screenshots (5 fps) with smooth playback (30 fps)

• OUTPUT_WIDTH / OUTPUT_HEIGHT: Output video resolution (default: 1920x1080)

  • All screenshots will be scaled to this resolution
  • Maintains aspect ratio with black padding if needed
  • Common options: 1920x1080 (Full HD), 2560x1440 (2K), 3840x2160 (4K)

• MUSIC_FILE: Audio file to add as background music

  • Place the audio file in the same directory as the script
  • Leave empty or comment out for no music

• OUTPUT_VIDEO: Name of the output video file (default: account_timelapse.mp4)

• VIDEO_ENCODER: Video encoding method (default: auto)

  • auto: Automatically detect and use GPU if available, fallback to CPU
  • nvidia: Force NVIDIA GPU encoding (h264_nvenc) - 5-10x faster
  • amd: Force AMD GPU encoding (h264_amf) - 5-10x faster
  • intel: Force Intel GPU encoding (h264_qsv) - 5-10x faster
  • cpu: Force CPU encoding (libx264) - slower but most compatible

• VIDEO_QUALITY: Video quality/bitrate (default: 23)

  • Range: 0-51 (lower = better quality, larger file)
  • Recommended: 20-28 for good balance
  • 18 = very high quality, very large file
  • 23 = high quality, good file size (recommended)
  • 28 = medium quality, smaller file

Blur Settings

To protect your privacy by blurring the chatbox:

• BLUR_ENABLED: Set to true to enable chatbox blurring (default: true)
• BLUR_X, BLUR_Y, BLUR_WIDTH, BLUR_HEIGHT: Position and size of blur box
  • Coordinates are based on RuneLite fixed mode (765x503)
  • Automatically scaled to match your OUTPUT_WIDTH and OUTPUT_HEIGHT
  • Default values work for standard chatbox position
• BLUR_AMOUNT: Blur intensity (default: 15)

Advanced Settings

• HOLD_LAST_FRAME:
  • true: Music plays once, video holds last frame to match music length
  • false: Music loops and gets cut to match video length

Usage

Once you've configured your .env file, simply run:

python create_timelapse.py

The script will:

1. Scan all subdirectories in your screenshots folder
2. Find all PNG files with RuneLite timestamps
3. Sort them chronologically
4. Create a timelapse video with your settings

Example

Here's a sample .env configuration:

SCREENSHOTS_DIR=/mnt/c/Users/YourUsername/.runelite/screenshots/MyIronman
FRAMERATE=8
OUTPUT_FPS=30
OUTPUT_WIDTH=1920
OUTPUT_HEIGHT=1080
MUSIC_FILE=Sea_Shanty_2.mp3
OUTPUT_VIDEO=my_osrs_journey.mp4
VIDEO_ENCODER=auto
VIDEO_QUALITY=23
BLUR_ENABLED=true
BLUR_X=0
BLUR_Y=325
BLUR_WIDTH=315
BLUR_HEIGHT=70
BLUR_AMOUNT=15
HOLD_LAST_FRAME=true

This will create a video where screenshots advance at 8 per second with smooth 30fps playback, Sea Shanty 2 playing in the background, and the chatbox blurred out. GPU encoding will be used automatically if available.

Troubleshooting

"SCREENSHOTS_DIR must be set in .env file"

Make sure you've created a .env file (copy from .env.sample) and set the SCREENSHOTS_DIR variable.

"No .png files with valid RuneLite timestamps found"

Check that your SCREENSHOTS_DIR path is correct and contains RuneLite screenshots with timestamps in the format YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.

FFmpeg errors

Ensure FFmpeg is installed and accessible from the command line:

ffmpeg -version
ffprobe -version

License

MIT License - Feel free to use and modify!

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.

Acknowledgments

• Created for the OSRS/RuneLite community
• Inspired by the nostalgia of looking back at your gaming journey