Codixel
/codixel
A pixel-art skill built on one idea: the agent writes code, it is not a painter. It asks for a reference image, then removes the background, pixelates, rigs with bones and animates it in code with a 2,000-line toolkit (core/pixel.js), showing every step on a sheet before making game files.
- License
- MIT
- By
- By GameSkill
Tested by GameSkill
31/31 checks passed on Codixel core/pixel.js on Node 22 (2026-11-03): trigger, a runnable example, a screenshot and self-check, one job per skill, and English + Chinese docs. Trigger checks match prompts against skill descriptions; they are not a live agent run.
Test reportWhat this skill does
When it triggers
Changes how pixel art is made with AI. Instead of drawing from imagination, ask the user for a reference image, pixelate it, rig it, animate it, and check every step with the user. …
GameSkill's tested copy
GameSkill's tuned build of this skill: the skill files from commit 604a9dcbcc4e, plus our runnable example, test report, self-check list and Chinese guide, put through our skill process.
License: based on mankidev/codixel by mankidev, under MIT. The ZIP keeps the license files (LICENSE) and lists everything GameSkill added in CHANGES.md.
Self-check
- 复杂角色先要参考图，不凭空画；参考图要有使用授权 / Ask for a reference for complex subjects, and check you may use it
- 先给预览（GIF 和逐帧图），用户点头后才出 sprite sheet / Preview first (GIF and frame sheet); sprite sheet only after approval
- 关节位置用 P.ruler 读出来，绑骨后先看 ownerMap 再做动画 / Read joints off P.ruler; check ownerMap before animating
- 色数受控，抖动只出现在两种颜色交界处 / Colour count stays small; dither only where two colours meet
- 循环动画首尾帧接得上，所有帧尺寸一致 / Loops wrap cleanly and every frame has the same size
- 多张图拼成的角色，后续帧沿用第一帧的调色板 / Frames built from several images reuse the first frame's palette
Pairs well with
Install
Tell your AI
Install the skill from https://gameskill.dev/skills/codixel/install.md
GameSkill's tested copy
mkdir -p .claude/skills
curl -fsSL https://gameskill.dev/dl/skills/codixel.zip -o /tmp/gameskill-codixel.zip
unzip -oq /tmp/gameskill-codixel.zip -d .claude/skills
rm /tmp/gameskill-codixel.zipWhat you get
- core/pixel.js: background removal, resize, quantize with edge dither, cleanup, silhouette smoothing, selective outline and rim light
- Bones: P.Rig with owner maps and a ruler to read joints, P.bend for spines and tails
- Showing work: labelled sheets, numbered frame grids, GIFs and P.pack sprite sheets
- Coded effects (flame, smoke, breath, beams) and scene helpers (sky, rock, trees, water) with seamless loops
- A step-by-step method: reference first, preview before game files, one change at a time
Good fit
- Turning a reference picture into a game sprite and animating it
- Characters and creatures that look bad when an agent draws them from imagination
- Pixel props and scenes drawn in code with consistent light and hue-shifted ramps
Not for
- Ready-made pixel effects libraries: see pixelfx
- Copying someone else's artwork: the skill asks about permission first
About this skill
Codixel starts from an honest premise: an agent writes code, so pixel art it draws from imagination looks bad, and pixel art it makes from a real reference looks good. For complex subjects the skill asks for a reference image first, then works through background removal, pixelation, bones, animation and a packed sprite sheet with core/pixel.js, a 2,000-line toolkit with no dependencies. Every step is shown on one labelled sheet and confirmed before the next.
It also carries hard-won rules from the author's own corrections: hue-shifted ramps, flat bands with dither only where two colours meet, pixel-perfect lines, one light direction, and coded effects (flame, smoke, breath, beams) built from a shape plus moving noise rather than per-pixel simulation.
Our example takes an original painted reference of a small lantern moth, rigs the body and both wings on the clean full-size image (as the skill says for sprites under 64 px), animates an eight-frame wing beat, then turns every frame into 48-pixel art with the first frame's palette, all checked by script.
Related
- pixelfx for ready-made pixel effects.
- pixelwright to turn AI renders into true pixel art with gates.
Requirements
- Node.js 18 or newer (core/pixel.js has no dependencies)
- A reference image you are allowed to use (your own, CC0, CC BY or licensed)
Topics
FAQ
Based on mankidev/codixel by mankidev (MIT). The author's LICENSE and NOTICE files ship in the ZIP; ATTRIBUTION.md and CHANGES.md list the source commit and what GameSkill added.
Works well with
Skills the author points to as related or as the better fit for neighbouring tasks.
pixelfx
244 pixel-art effects written as code (fire, explosions, magic, weather, UI, pickups, critters) plus a draft, render, look, refine loop for making new ones; every effect exports a sprite sheet with Aseprite-style JSON for Godot, Unity, Phaser or any engine.
pixelwright
Three agent skills and a numpy + Pillow CLI that turn AI renders into true pixel art (grid snap, palette lock, cleanup, tiles) and animate stills in code inside masks, with gates that prove every result.
pxl: Pixel Art as Code
An Agent Skill and zero-dependency CLI: the agent writes a compact .px.js file and gets PNGs, sprite sheets with JSON, animated GIFs and a live viewer.
sprite-gen
Generate clean 2D game sprites and animation atlases: state rows, alpha cleanup, frame extraction, runtime atlases.
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