Pixelbolt pixel art toolkit MCP server

Pixelbolt

Pixelbolt was called PixelForge until 0.8.0. The pixelforge command still works as an alias, and recipe files keep their pixelforge-* format tags, so existing files and agent setups keep working.

Text to pixels. A zero-dependency pixel art and sprite animation toolkit for AI agents and game developers.

Write a JSON recipe with palettes, text grids, reusable symbols and drawing operations. Get transparent PNGs, sprite sheets, animated PNGs, GIFs for sharing, numbered frames for video editors, and the metadata and player needed to use them. Inspect and edit the recipe in a local browser studio.

Zero runtime dependencies. No build step, API key, image model, network service or native graphics library. Requires Node.js 20 or newer. Works from a checkout on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Gallery · Quick start · Agent setup · MCP server · Portable builds · Recipe reference · Contributing

Gallery

An AI agent drew these with Pixelbolt. Its scripts write the recipes, particle sources and scenes; Pixelbolt renders every sprite to a transparent sheet with an atlas, plays each 240×135 room as a scene and writes the GIFs. They are shown at 3×.

Two more rooms and how these were made

Start

git clone https://github.com/skulitom/Pixelbolt.git
cd Pixelbolt
node bin/pixelbolt.js preview

Open http://127.0.0.1:4747, or add --open to have your default browser opened for you. If that port is in use, a free one is taken and printed instead; --port N insists on one port and fails when it is busy. preview hero.pixel.json starts with your own recipe. Pick the forest spirit, campfire or coin; edit the JSON; inspect the animation or sprite sheet; download the asset ZIP. The studio includes playback speed, frame selection, integer zoom, a pixel grid, onion skinning, palette inspection, source save/open, a GIF download of the current animation, numbered frames for a video editor, recovery of unsaved edits and live error messages. All assets and fonts are local.

Or generate an asset without opening a browser:

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.