/pixel-palette

/pixel-palette - Palette Management

Manage sprite color palettes with presets, optimization, and custom palettes.

Usage

/pixel-palette <action> [palette-name|color-count]

Actions

set - Set palette to a preset or custom colors

/pixel-palette set nes
/pixel-palette set gameboy
/pixel-palette set custom #000000,#ffffff,#ff0000

optimize - Reduce colors to optimal palette

/pixel-palette optimize 16
/pixel-palette optimize 32

show - Display current palette

/pixel-palette show

export - Export current palette to file

/pixel-palette export my-palette.gpl

Palette Presets

Retro Consoles:

• nes: 54-color NES palette
• gameboy: 4-color Game Boy palette (#0f380f, #306230, #8bac0f, #9bbc0f)
• gameboy-gray: 4-shade grayscale Game Boy
• c64: 16-color Commodore 64 palette
• cga: 4-color CGA palette
• snes: Rich 256-color SNES-style palette

Generic Palettes:

• retro16: Generic 16-color retro palette
• retro8: Generic 8-color palette
• retro4: Generic 4-color palette
• grayscale4: 4 shades of gray
• grayscale8: 8 shades of gray
• grayscale16: 16 shades of gray

Modern Palettes:

• pico8: PICO-8 fantasy console 16-color palette
• sweetie16: Popular 16-color palette by GrafxKid
• db16: DawnBringer's 16-color palette
• db32: DawnBringer's 32-color palette

Examples

/pixel-palette set nes
→ Sets sprite to NES 54-color palette (indexed mode)

/pixel-palette optimize 16
→ Reduces sprite to optimal 16 colors

/pixel-palette set custom #000000,#ffffff,#ff0000,#00ff00,#0000ff
→ Sets custom 5-color palette

/pixel-palette show
→ Displays current palette colors

/pixel-palette set pico8
→ Sets PICO-8 16-color palette

Palette Definitions

NES Palette (54 colors):

#7C7C7C, #0000FC, #0000BC, #4428BC, #940084, #A80020, #A81000, #881400,
#503000, #007800, #006800, #005800, #004058, #000000, #000000, #000000,
#BCBCBC, #0078F8, #0058F8, #6844FC, #D800CC, #E40058, #F83800, #E45C10,
#AC7C00, #00B800, #00A800, #00A844, #008888, #000000, #000000, #000000,
#F8F8F8, #3CBCFC, #6888FC, #9878F8, #F878F8, #F85898, #F87858, #FCA044,
#F8B800, #B8F818, #58D854, #58F898, #00E8D8, #787878, #000000, #000000,
#FCFCFC, #A4E4FC, #B8B8F8, #D8B8F8, #F8B8F8, #F8A4C0, #F0D0B0, #FCE0A8,
#F8D878, #D8F878, #B8F8B8, #B8F8D8, #00FCFC, #F8D8F8, #000000, #000000

Game Boy Palette:

#0f380f (darkest green)
#306230 (dark green)
#8bac0f (light green)
#9bbc0f (lightest green)

PICO-8 Palette:

#000000, #1D2B53, #7E2553, #008751, #AB5236, #5F574F, #C2C3C7, #FFF1E8,
#FF004D, #FFA300, #FFEC27, #00E436, #29ADFF, #83769C, #FF77A8, #FFCCAA

DawnBringer 16:

#140c1c, #442434, #30346d, #4e4a4e, #854c30, #346524, #d04648, #757161,
#597dce, #d27d2c, #8595a1, #6daa2c, #d2aa99, #6dc2ca, #dad45e, #deeed6

DawnBringer 32:

#000000, #222034, #45283c, #663931, #8f563b, #df7126, #d9a066, #eec39a,
#fbf236, #99e550, #6abe30, #37946e, #4b692f, #524b24, #323c39, #3f3f74,
#306082, #5b6ee1, #639bff, #5fcde4, #cbdbfc, #ffffff, #9badb7, #847e87,
#696a6a, #595652, #76428a, #ac3232, #d95763, #d77bba, #8f974a, #8a6f30

Commodore 64 Palette:

#000000 (black), #ffffff (white), #880000 (red), #aaffee (cyan),
#cc44cc (purple), #00cc55 (green), #0000aa (blue), #eeee77 (yellow),
#dd8855 (orange), #664400 (brown), #ff7777 (light red), #333333 (dark gray),
#777777 (gray), #aaff66 (light green), #0088ff (light blue), #bbbbbb (light gray)

CGA Palette:

#000000 (black), #00aaaa (cyan), #aa00aa (magenta), #aaaaaa (white)

Implementation

Parse $ARGUMENTS to determine action:

For "set" action:

1. Check if argument is preset name
2. If preset, load predefined palette colors
3. If "custom", parse comma-separated hex colors
4. Use mcp__aseprite__set_palette with color array
5. Convert sprite to Indexed mode if needed
6. Confirm palette set

For "optimize" action:

1. Parse target color count from argument
2. Use mcp__aseprite__quantize_colors with count
3. Show before/after color counts
4. Confirm optimization

For "show" action:

1. Use mcp__aseprite__get_palette
2. Display colors in readable format (hex codes)
3. Show color count

For "export" action:

1. Get palette with mcp__aseprite__get_palette
2. Format as .gpl (GIMP Palette) or .pal file
3. Write to specified file path
4. Confirm export

GIMP Palette Format (.gpl)

GIMP Palette
Name: My Palette
Columns: 4
#
0   0   0   Black
255 255 255 White
255 0   0   Red

Validation

For set action:

• Validate preset name exists
• For custom, validate hex color format (#RRGGBB)
• Ensure palette fits indexed mode limits (max 256 colors)

For optimize action:

• Target color count must be 2-256
• Cannot optimize blank/empty sprites

For export action:

• Validate file path and permissions
• Ensure output directory exists

Error Handling

Invalid action:

Invalid action. Use: set, optimize, show, or export

Invalid preset:

Unknown palette preset: xyz
Available: nes, gameboy, c64, pico8, db16, db32, etc.

Optimization failed:

Cannot optimize: sprite has no content or target color count invalid (2-256)

Export failed:

Cannot export palette to: /path/file.gpl
Check path and permissions.

Notes

• Setting palette converts sprite to Indexed color mode
• Optimize action reduces colors while preserving visual quality
• Custom palettes: comma-separated hex colors (#RRGGBB)
• Palette files use .gpl (GIMP) or .pal (Adobe) format
• Maximum 256 colors for indexed mode
• Show action displays colors in grid format
• Export creates portable palette files

Tips

For retro authenticity:

• Use NES palette with 4-color limit per sprite
• Use Game Boy palette for monochrome green aesthetic
• Use PICO-8 for modern retro/fantasy console look

For optimization:

• Start with high color count (64+)
• Gradually reduce with optimize action
• Use quantization before dithering for best results

For custom palettes:

• Start with base colors you need
• Add shade variations (darker/lighter)
• Keep count even for better organization
• Test palette on actual sprite content