---
title: "Generate thumbnails from videos"
description: "Automatically create preview thumbnails from video files at specific timestamps or intervals."
url: "https://www.pixeltable.com/notebooks/video-generate-thumbnails"
updated: "2026-04-10"
---

# Generate thumbnails from videos

Automatically create preview thumbnails from video files at specific timestamps or intervals.

- **Type:** Notebook
- **Group:** Video

## How it works

You add computed columns that extract frames from videos. Thumbnails are generated automatically when you insert new videos.

## What it covers

- Extract thumbnail at a specific timestamp
- Generate multiple thumbnails per video
- Resize thumbnails to standard dimensions

## What it uses

- **Install:** `pip install pixeltable`
- **Pixeltable calls:** `pxt.create_table()`, `pxt.create_view()`, `insert()`, `add_computed_column()`

## A look at the code

```python
# Extract frame at 1 second as thumbnail
videos.add_computed_column(
    thumbnail=pxtf.video.extract_frame(videos.video, timestamp=1.0)
)
```

## Open it

- **Open in Colab:** https://colab.research.google.com/github/pixeltable/pixeltable/blob/release/docs/release/howto/cookbooks/video/video-generate-thumbnails.ipynb
- **Docs page:** https://docs.pixeltable.com/howto/cookbooks/video/video-generate-thumbnails
- **Source on GitHub:** https://github.com/pixeltable/pixeltable/blob/release/docs/release/howto/cookbooks/video/video-generate-thumbnails.ipynb