New sprite file. Or import an image with from (png/gif/...): upscaled pixel art is auto-downscaled to native size; width/height with from pixelates to that size (majority color per block). Edit the import, not the original image.

Size, mode, layers, frame durations, tags. palette=true adds palette colors.

Draw on a layer, in order: shapes, rows, pixels. shapes: [kind,x1,y1,x2,y2,color,fill?] kind line|rect|ellipse (fill = interior color); ["curve",[[x,y],...],color,w0?,w1?] smooth spline through points, tapering width (1 = crisp pixel-perfect line); ["blob",[[x,y],...],fill,outline?] smooth closed silhouette through points (heads, bodies, snouts); a point [x,y,1] is a sharp corner (brims, hems, ears); ["tube",[[x,y],...],[dark..light],w0,w1?,{light?,contrast?,bias?}] shaded tapered cylinder (limbs, hair locks, horns, necks, tails; w1=0 for a point); ["form",[[x,y(,1)],...],[dark..light],{light?,shrink?=0.18,shift?=0.5}] blob silhouette shaded with clean crescents (heads, snouts, bodies, rocks); ["eye",cx,cy,w,h,{fill,lid,lower?,pupil?,glint?},{nose:"right"|"left",arch?=0.4,flat?=0.7,tilt?,lidWidth?,pupil:{w,h,dx,dy},light?}] an eye with anatomy: flat lower lid, angular inner corner toward the nose, upper lid arching to a round outer corner, pupil under the lid (mirror nose for the pair); w,h <= 3 draws a tiny eye (dark block, glint on the light side, same for both eyes). Use eye for every eye so glints agree; ["lobe",cx,cy,rx,ry,[dark..light colors],{light?,shift?=0.45,shrink?=0.2,bumps?=7,bumpiness?=0.12,seed?}] shaded form: each lighter tone a smaller copy shifted toward the light, scalloped clump edges (tree = ~3 lobes, back first; bushes, clouds, round bodies); or ["gradient",x1,y1,x2,y2,[colors...],"v"|"h"|"r"] (Bayer-dithered). rows: char grid, legend maps char->color, '.'/space skipped; x,y offset rows. pixels: [[x,y,color]...].

fill{x,y,color,contiguous?} | replace{from,to} (all cels unless layer/frame) | mirror{mode:left_to_right|right_to_left|top_to_bottom|bottom_to_top|flip_h|flip_v} | outline{color?="auto" (darker hue-shifted neighbor), mode?:outside|inside, corners?} | shade{light?:top_left|top|...|bottom_right, depth?, highlightDepth?, shadow?/highlight?: color|"auto"|false, ignore?: colors (e.g. outline), strength?} | copy{x,y,width,height,toX,toY,fromLayer?,fromFrame?,flip?:h|v} | shift{dx,dy,wrap?} | split{toLayer, rects?:[[x1,y1,x2,y2]], rows?(mask, x,y), below?, backfill?=1} (cut a part onto its own layer for rigging: head, torso, arm_l, arm_r, leg_l, leg_r) | separate{colors?(default: border colors), seeds?:[[x,y]], toLayer?="background"|false, islands?=6, fillHole?=true} (split background from subject) | quantize{palette?: hex list|preset|"sprite", dither?:none|bayer|fs, strength? 0-1, setPalette?} (pull colors to a palette) | finishing: round{colors?,passes?} (cut box corners) | selout{outline?,light?,strength?} (outline tinted from what it borders) | aa{outline?,amount?=0.5} (soften stair-steps) | pixel_perfect{colors?} (remove doubled line corners); outline defaults to darkest color | simplify{minSize?=2,passes?=2,keep?:colors} (merge orphan pixels/tiny clusters: removes shading noise; run before 1px details) | volume{colors?,ramp?(dark->light)|bands?=4,light?,elevation?=1.2,ambient?=0.15,dither?=0..1,roundness?} (shade each region as a lit rounded form) | scatter{pattern?:clumps|leaves|grass|bark|scales|stone|speck | rows (h lighter,m base,s darker,d dark), tones?:{h,m,s,d: color} (fixed colors), maskLayer? (place only over that layer), lightBias?=0..1 (denser on the lit side), density?=0.6, spacing?=3, strength?=0.4, colors?, rect?, seed?, breakEdge?=true} (detail clusters following the light)

Read/extract/generate/set palettes. extract{max}: dominant colors of the sprite or any image path. ramps:[{base,steps?=5,hueShift?=20,contrast?=1}]: hue-shifted shading ramps. colors: hex list/preset. set=true writes colors+extracted+ramps to the sprite palette. No args: current palette.

Pixels as char grid + legend (draw rows format, '.'=transparent). Flattened unless layer. Optional region.

See the sprite: zoomed, checkerboard transparency, pixel grid. frames="all" contact sheet; tags=true one row per animation; tag=name. reference=image path (+referenceRect [x,y,w,h]) shows a target image beside it at the same height: check every pass against it.

add{name,group?,parent?,below?,opacity?} | update{layer,rename?,visible?,opacity?} | delete{layer} | clear{layer,frame?} | merge_down{layer}

add{count?,after?,copyFrom?,durationMs?} | duration{durationMs,frames?} | delete{frames} | tag{name,from,to,direction?}

scale{factor|width,height} nearest-neighbor | canvas{width,height,anchor?:center|top_left|top|...}

Export png/gif/sequence, or a spritesheet + Aseprite JSON (tags) when sheet is set. Frames 1-based.

Static art -> animations. Reads source (never modified), writes output .aseprite with one tag per animation, optionally exports a sheet. Each animation: {name, preset?, frames?, durationMs?, loop?, pivot?:bottom|center|top|[x,y], sourceFrames?|sourceTag?, tracks?}. preset: name | {name, amount?, layers?, lag?:{layer:0.1}, color?, colors?, parts?:{head:"skull"}} | list (combined). Presets: bob: idle up/down bob (amount px, 1); breathe: squash/stretch breathing, feet planted (amount px, 1); float: smooth hover (amount px, 2); hop: squash, jump, land (amount = height px, 6); walk: two-step bounce + tilt for walking without leg frames (amount px, 1); hit: knockback shake + white flash, one-shot (amount px, 2); flash: alternate flash color (color, #fff); blink: invincibility blink; shake: fast horizontal jitter (amount px, 1); sway: plants/hair/flames bend, base fixed (amount = shear, 0.15); wobble: jelly wobble (amount px, 1); pulse: grow/shrink from center (amount px, 1); spin: full rotation, RotSprite-smoothed; swing: pendulum from the top (amount degrees, 15); spawn: pop in with overshoot, one-shot; death: flash, sink and dither-dissolve, one-shot (amount = sink px, 2); fade_out: fade (alpha in RGB, dither otherwise), one-shot; fade_in: reverse of fade_out, one-shot; wave: horizontal ripple: flags, water, heat (amount px, 1); cycle: palette cycling: colors rotate each frame (colors, required); idle_rig: rigged idle: torso breathes, head and arms follow 1-2 frames later (amount px, 1); walk_front: rigged front-facing walk: alternating leg lifts, body bob + weight shift, opposite arm swing (amount = lift px, 2). tracks: [{layer?:"*"|name, x,y,sxPx,syPx,sx,sy,rot,shear,waveAmp,alpha,flash,dissolve,visible,pose: curve}] (pose = source frame whose drawing the layer shows: draw alternate part poses on extra source frames, swap them per frame). curve = number | {seq:[per frame]} | {keys:[[t,v,ease?]]} (ease in|out|inout|step|back) | {wave:sine|triangle|square|saw,amp,base?,phase?,cycles?}. Use padding when motion leaves the canvas. saveRecipe writes a re-runnable recipe (CLI: aseprite-mcp build recipe.json).

Turn frames from anything (diffusion/image models, video, hand-drawn) into clean pixel-art animation: removes background, pulls colors to a palette, snaps to the pixel grid (block majority), drops specks, aligns frames, adds a tag. Appends to path if it exists (one tag per call). Source: frames (image paths, gif ok) | sheet{path,cols,rows,count?} | video{path,fps?,start?,duration?} (needs ffmpeg). Size: height (art px) | scale (source px per art px) | reference sprite (matches its height, palette, canvas, feet). align: sequence (shared transform, keeps source motion; video) | feet (per frame: independent poses) | center.

Generate frames with any Replicate model (env REPLICATE_API_TOKEN), then clean them into pixel art with ingest. describe=true: list the model's inputs first. image: your sprite rendered upscaled on a solid background, sent as the model's image input (auto-detected field). prompts: one prediction per prompt (e.g. per pose), run in parallel. Raw outputs are kept in outDir so you can re-ingest without paying again. Videos need ffmpeg. Ideas: retro-diffusion/rd-animation (pixel animation), black-forest-labs/flux-kontext-pro (pose edit per prompt), image-to-video models.

Build a chibi character (~44px at scale 1, feet at x,y) from organic parts on its own layer: body, simplify, outline, then eyes. spec: {skin, eyes, glowEyes, hair:{style:long|bob|spiky|bun|ponytail|none,color}, hat:{type:witch|wizard|top|hood|beret|crown,color,band,height,bend,droop,brim}, top:{type:robe|dress|tunic|coat|armor,color,inner,trim,hem:straight|zigzag|ragged|flared}, sleeves:{type:fitted|puffed|bell,color}, cape:{type:flowing|ragged|tendrils,color}, legs, boots:{type:short|tall|pointy,color}, belt, extras:[halo,catEars,elfEars,foxTail,goggles,horns,aura,spikes,staff], extraColor}. Colors: ramp names (red crimson orange gold green emerald teal blue navy purple violet pink magenta brown tan gray steel black white cream pale light skinTan dark skinGreen skinBlue) or [shadow,base,light] hex. Batch op: person.

Many steps on one sprite in one call (one open, one save, all-or-nothing). Step = {op, ...that tool's args minus path/preview}. e.g. [{"op":"create_sprite","width":16,"height":16,"palette":"pico8"},{"op":"draw","rows":["kk"],"legend":{"k":"#000"}},{"op":"edit","action":"outline"}]

Run Aseprite Lua (API 1.3). Globals: sprite (from path), params. Returns the script's return value. Saves unless save=false.