Pyxel MCP
MCP server that connects AI assistants to Pyxel for retro game development. Enables natural language control of pixel art creation, music, and game logic.
MCP ServerSkill
Free✦
22 GitHub stars
✦
MCP server for AI-assisted retro game development with Pyxel
✦
Open source under MIT license — free to use and modify
What is Pyxel MCP? Features and use cases explained.
About Pyxel MCP
pyxel-mcp is an MCP server for Pyxel, a retro game engine for Python. It enables AI agents to drive and observe Pyxel programs headlessly — no window, deterministic, and scriptable. The server exposes tools like run (execute N frames with scheduled inputs and snapshots), validate (syntax and common pitfall checks), pyxel_info, read_palette, read_image, read_animation, read_tilemap, read_audio, and diff_frames. All responses return structured JSON with uniform ok/errors fields. Designed to close the feedback loop for LLM agents writing retro games.
Use Cases
- ▸Generate and iterate Pyxel game logic with immediate visual feedback in a headless environment
- ▸Debug common retro rendering mistakes like missing cls or colkey without manual inspection
- ▸Automate gameplay testing by scheduling inputs and verifying frame-by-frame output
Features
- ✓Runs Pyxel programs headlessly with frame-by-frame control and scheduled inputs
- ✓Validates code for syntax errors and common retro game anti-patterns (missing cls, colkey, tilemap traps)
- ✓Captures structured snapshots of screen state, palette, image banks, tilemaps, and audio as JSON or PNG
- ✓Diffs two PNG frames pixel-wise to detect visual changes
- ✓Returns all tool responses with consistent ok/errors fields for easy agentic chaining
FAQ
Does pyxel-mcp require a display or window server?▼
No. All tools run headlessly — no window, no display server needed. This makes it ideal for CI/CD and agentic workflows.
Can pyxel-mcp execute untrusted Python code?▼
No. Tools that accept `script` run trusted local Python. Pyxel state is isolated per subprocess, but pyxel-mcp is not a sandbox. Only run code you trust.
What version of Pyxel is supported?▼
Pyxel >= 2.9.6 is installed as a dependency. The server is tested against that version range.
How to install Pyxel MCP — setup guide and prerequisites.
Installation
Install Pyxel MCP to get started:
$git clone https://github.com/kitao/pyxel-mcp.git
Or visit the project page for detailed setup instructions.
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