The first pixel art format designed for GenAI.

pixelsrc is a semantic, human-readable text format for defining pixel art. Unlike traditional editors or hex-based formats, it's designed from the ground up for AI systems to generate reliably.

// coin.pxl - A simple coin sprite
{
  type: "palette",
  name: "coin",
  colors: {
    _: "transparent",
    outline: "#8B6914",
    gold: "#FFD700",
    shine: "#FFFACD",
  },
}

{
  type: "sprite",
  name: "coin",
  size: [8, 8],
  palette: "coin",
  regions: {
    _: "background",
    outline: { stroke: [1, 1, 6, 6], round: 2 },
    gold: { fill: "inside(outline)" },
    shine: { points: [[3, 2], [4, 3]] },
  },
}

• Semantic regions - Define shapes like rect, circle, fill instead of individual pixels
• Context-efficient - 64x64 sprites take the same space as 8x8 with similar structure
• GenAI-native - Describe intent, the compiler resolves pixels
• JSON5 format - Comments, trailing commas, unquoted keys for readability
• Lenient by default - Fills gaps and continues on small errors; strict mode available for CI

brew install scbrown/tap/pixelsrc

cargo install --git https://github.com/scbrown/pixelsrc

Pre-built binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows are available on the Releases page.

1. Create a file hero.pxl:

{
  type: "palette",
  name: "hero",
  colors: {
    _: "transparent",
    outline: "#000000",
    skin: "#FFD5B4",
    hair: "#8B4513",
    eye: "#4169E1",
  },
}

{
  type: "sprite",
  name: "hero",
  size: [16, 16],
  palette: "hero",
  regions: {
    _: "background",
    "head-outline": { stroke: [4, 2, 8, 10], round: 2 },
    hair: { fill: "inside(head-outline)", y: [2, 5] },
    skin: { fill: "inside(head-outline)", y: [5, 12], except: ["eye"] },
    eye: { rect: [6, 7, 2, 2], symmetric: "x" },
  },
}

2. Render it:

pxl render hero.pxl -o hero.png

3. Scale it up:

pxl render hero.pxl -o hero.png --scale 8

• Palettes - Define reusable color schemes with semantic roles
• Sprites - Define images using geometric regions
• Regions - Shapes: rect, stroke, circle, ellipse, polygon, fill
• Modifiers - symmetric, range constraints (x, y), except
• Animations - Frame sequences with timing
• Compositions - Layer sprites into scenes
• State Rules - Visual states without separate sprites

• Web Editor - Live editor with real-time preview
• WASM Module - Use in JavaScript/TypeScript
• Obsidian Plugin - Render sprites in your notes

This project uses just as a command runner:

just --list      # Show all available commands
just build       # Build the project
just test        # Run tests
just check       # Run format check, lint, and tests
just render coin # Render an example sprite

• Documentation Book - Complete user guide with interactive examples
• Format Specification - Complete format schema
• AI Primer - Guide for AI generation
• Implementation Plan - Roadmap and phase status
• Vision & Philosophy - Design principles
• Contributing - Development guide

• Game development - Generate sprites with AI assistants
• Prototyping - Quick iteration on visual assets
• Version control - Text-based diffs for pixel art
• Education - Learn pixel art through readable definitions

MIT - see LICENSE