Aseprite Pixel Art Plugin for Claude Code

Create, animate, and export pixel art using Aseprite through natural language and commands in Claude Code.

Powered by pixel-mcp - a Model Context Protocol server for Aseprite.

Features

Natural Language Pixel Art Creation

• "Create a 64x64 Game Boy style sprite"
• "Draw a red circle with blue outline"
• "Make a 16x16 tile"

Animation Support

• "Add a 4-frame walk cycle"
• "Create an idle animation"
• "Set frame timing to 100ms"

Advanced Techniques

• Apply dithering patterns
• Optimize color palettes
• Add shading and antialiasing
• Use retro console palettes (NES, Game Boy, C64, PICO-8)

Game-Ready Export

• PNG, GIF, spritesheet formats
• JSON metadata for Unity, Godot, Phaser
• Pixel-perfect scaling (2x, 4x, 8x)
• Multiple spritesheet layouts

How It Works

This plugin uses the pixel-mcp Model Context Protocol server to communicate with Aseprite. The MCP server provides 40+ tools for pixel art operations and is bundled with the plugin.

Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

• Aseprite v1.3.0+ installed
• Claude Code installed

2. Installation

Option A: Via Claude Code (recommended)

In Claude Code, run:

/plugin

Then:

1. Select "Add marketplace"
2. Enter: willibrandon/pixel-plugin (for GitHub) or ./path/to/local/marketplace (for local)
3. Select "Browse and install plugins"
4. Find and install pixel-plugin

Option B: From command line

# Add the GitHub marketplace
claude plugin marketplace add willibrandon/pixel-plugin

# Install the plugin
claude plugin install pixel-plugin

Option C: Local development/testing

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/willibrandon/pixel-plugin.git
cd pixel-plugin

# Add as local marketplace (from parent directory)
cd ..
claude plugin marketplace add ./pixel-plugin

# Install from local source
claude plugin install pixel-plugin@pixel-plugin

3. Setup

Configure Aseprite path (one-time setup):

/pixel-setup

The command will auto-detect your Aseprite installation. If not found, specify the path manually:

/pixel-setup /Applications/Aseprite.app/Contents/MacOS/aseprite

4. Create Your First Sprite

# Using slash commands
/pixel-new 64x64 gameboy
"Draw a character sprite"
/pixel-export png character.png

# Or natural language only
"Create a 32x32 Game Boy sprite of a character"
"Export it as character.png"

Usage

Slash Commands

Command	Description	Example
/pixel-new [size] [palette]	Create new sprite	/pixel-new icon nes
/pixel-palette <action> [args]	Manage palettes	/pixel-palette set gameboy
/pixel-export <format> [file]	Export sprite	/pixel-export gif anim.gif
/pixel-setup [path]	Configure plugin	/pixel-setup
/pixel-help [topic]	Get help	/pixel-help palettes

Natural Language

The plugin responds to natural language requests:

Creation:

"Create a 64x64 RGB sprite"
"Make a 16x16 tile with NES palette"
"Start a new 128x128 canvas"

Drawing:

"Draw a red circle in the center"
"Fill the background with blue"
"Draw a pixelated tree"

Animation:

"Add 4 frames for a walk cycle"
"Create a 2-frame idle animation"
"Set all frame durations to 100ms"

Advanced:

"Apply Floyd-Steinberg dithering"
"Reduce to 16 colors"
"Add shading with light from top-left"
"Convert to PICO-8 palette"

Export:

"Export as PNG at 4x scale"
"Export as animated GIF at 12 FPS"
"Create a horizontal spritesheet"
"Export with Unity JSON metadata"

Examples

Example 1: Game Boy Character

/pixel-new 48x48 gameboy
"Draw a character sprite - round head, square body, stick limbs"
"Add a 2-frame breathing animation"
/pixel-export gif character-idle.gif fps=2

Result: Game Boy character with subtle idle animation.

Example 2: NES Tile

/pixel-new tile nes
"Draw a brick wall pattern"
"Apply Bayer dithering for texture"
/pixel-export png brick-tile.png scale=4

Result: Retro NES-style brick tile, scaled 4x for modern displays.

Example 3: Modern Pixel Art

/pixel-new 64x64
"Draw a detailed sword with silver blade and gold hilt"
"Add shading from top-left light source"
"Apply soft antialiasing to edges"
/pixel-export png sword.png scale=2

Result: Modern pixel art with shading and antialiasing.

Example 4: Animated Sprite for Game

/pixel-new 32x32 pico8
"Draw a simple character"
"Create an 8-frame run cycle"
"Set frames to 80ms each"
/pixel-export json game-character.json format=unity

Result: game-character.png spritesheet + game-character.json ready for Unity import.

Palette Presets