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Pyxel is a retro game engine for Python.

With simple specifications inspired by retro gaming consoles, such as displaying only 16 colors and supporting 4 sound channels, you can easily enjoy making pixel-art-style games.

The development of Pyxel is driven by user feedback. Please give Pyxel a star on GitHub!

Pyxel's specifications and APIs are inspired byPICO-8 andTIC-80.

Pyxel is open source under theMIT License and free to use. Let's start making retro games with Pyxel!

• Runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Web
• Programming in Python
• 16-color palette
• 3 256x256-sized image banks
• 8 256x256-sized tilemaps
• 4 channels with 64 definable sounds
• 8 music tracks combining any sounds
• Keyboard, mouse, and gamepad inputs
• Image and sound editing tools
• User-extensible colors, channels, and banks

After installingPython3 (version 3.8 or higher), run the following command:

pip install -U pyxel

When installing Python using the official installer, make sure to check theAdd Python 3.x to PATH option to enable thepyxel command.

After installingHomebrew, run the following commands:

brew install pipxpipx ensurepathpipx install pyxel

To upgrade Pyxel after installation, runpipx upgrade pyxel.

After installing the SDL2 package (libsdl2-dev for Ubuntu),Python3 (version 3.8 or higher), andpython3-pip, run the following command:

sudo pip3 install -U pyxel

If the previous command fails, consider building Pyxel from source by following the instructions in theMakefile.

The web version of Pyxel does not require Python or Pyxel installation and runs on PCs, smartphones, and tablets with supported web browsers.

For detailed instructions, please refer tothis page.

After installing Pyxel, you can copy the examples to the current directory with the following command:

pyxel copy_examples

The following examples will be copied to your current directory:

The examples can be executed with the following commands:

cd pyxel_examplespyxel run 01_hello_pyxel.pypyxel play 30sec_of_daylight.pyxapp

In your Python script, import the Pyxel module, specify the window size with theinit function, and then start the Pyxel application with therun function.

importpyxelpyxel.init(160,120)defupdate():ifpyxel.btnp(pyxel.KEY_Q):pyxel.quit()defdraw():pyxel.cls(0)pyxel.rect(10,10,20,20,11)pyxel.run(update,draw)

The arguments of therun function are theupdate function, which processes frame updates, and thedraw function, which handles screen drawing.

In an actual application, it is recommended to wrap Pyxel code in a class, as shown below:

importpyxelclassApp:def__init__(self):pyxel.init(160,120)self.x=0pyxel.run(self.update,self.draw)defupdate(self):self.x= (self.x+1)%pyxel.widthdefdraw(self):pyxel.cls(0)pyxel.rect(self.x,0,8,8,9)App()

For creating simple graphics without animation, you can use theshow function to simplify your code.

importpyxelpyxel.init(120,120)pyxel.cls(1)pyxel.circb(60,60,40,7)pyxel.show()

A created script can be executed using thepython command:

python PYTHON_SCRIPT_FILE

It can also be run with thepyxel run command:

pyxel run PYTHON_SCRIPT_FILE

Additionally, thepyxel watch command monitors changes in a specified directory and automatically re-runs the program when changes are detected:

pyxel watch WATCH_DIR PYTHON_SCRIPT_FILE

Directory monitoring can be stopped by pressingCtrl(Command)+C.

The following special key actions are available while a Pyxel application is running:

• Esc
  Quit the application
• Alt(Option)+1
  Save the screenshot to the desktop
• Alt(Option)+2
  Reset the recording start time of the screen capture video
• Alt(Option)+3
  Save a screen capture video to the desktop (up to 10 seconds)
• Alt(Option)+8 orA+B+X+Y+DL on gamepad
  Toggles screen scaling between maximum and integer
• Alt(Option)+9 orA+B+X+Y+DR on gamepad
  Switch between screen modes (Crisp/Smooth/Retro)
• Alt(Option)+0 orA+B+X+Y+DU on gamepad
  Toggle the performance monitor (fps/update time/draw time)
• Alt(Option)+Enter orA+B+X+Y+DD on gamepad
  Toggle fullscreen
• Shift+Alt(Option)+1/2/3
  Save image bank 0, 1, or 2 to the desktop
• Shift+Alt(Option)+0
  Save the current color palette to the desktop

Pyxel Editor can create images and sounds used in a Pyxel application.

You can start Pyxel Editor with the following command:

pyxel edit PYXEL_RESOURCE_FILE

If the specified Pyxel resource file (.pyxres) exists, it will be loaded. If it does not exist, a new file with the specified name will be created. If the resource file is omitted, a new file namedmy_resource.pyxres will be created.

After starting Pyxel Editor, you can switch to another resource file by dragging and dropping it onto Pyxel Editor.

The created resource file can be loaded using theload function.

Pyxel Editor has the following editing modes.

Image Editor

The mode for editing the image in eachimage bank.

You can drag and drop an image file (PNG/GIF/JPEG) into the image editor to load the image into the currently selected image bank.

Tilemap Editor

The mode for editingtilemaps that arrange images from the image banks in a tile pattern.

Drag and drop a TMX file (Tiled Map File) onto the tilemap editor to load its layer 0 into the currently selected tilemap.

Sound Editor

The mode for editingsounds used for melodies and sound effects.

Music Editor

The mode for editingmusics in which the sounds are arranged in order of playback.

Pyxel images and tilemaps can also be created using the following methods:

• Create an image from a list of strings using theImage.set function or theTilemap.set function
• Load an image file (PNG/GIF/JPEG) in Pyxel palette withImage.load function

Pyxel sounds can also be created using the following method:

• Create a sound from strings withSound.set function orMusic.set function

Refer to the API reference for the usage of these functions.

Pyxel supports a dedicated application distribution file format (Pyxel application file) that is cross-platform.

A Pyxel application file (.pyxapp) is created using thepyxel package command:

pyxel package APP_DIR STARTUP_SCRIPT_FILE

If you need to include resources or additional modules, place them in the application directory.

Metadata can be displayed at runtime by specifying it in the following format within the startup script. Fields other thantitle andauthor are optional.

# title: Pyxel Platformer# author: Takashi Kitao# desc: A Pyxel platformer example# site: https://github.com/kitao/pyxel# license: MIT# version: 1.0

The created application file can be run using thepyxel play command:

pyxel play PYXEL_APP_FILE

A Pyxel application file can also be converted to an executable or an HTML file using thepyxel app2exe orpyxel app2html commands.

• width,height
  The width and height of the screen

• frame_count
  The number of the elapsed frames

• init(width, height, [title], [fps], [quit_key], [display_scale], [capture_scale], [capture_sec])
  Initialize the Pyxel application with the screen size (width,height). The following options can be specified: the window title withtitle, the frame rate withfps, the key to quit the application withquit_key, the display scale withdisplay_scale, the screen capture scale withcapture_scale, and the maximum recording time of the screen capture video withcapture_sec.
  Example:pyxel.init(160, 120, title="My Pyxel App", fps=60, quit_key=pyxel.KEY_NONE, capture_scale=3, capture_sec=0)

• run(update, draw)
  Start the Pyxel application and call theupdate function for frame update and thedraw function for drawing.

• show()
  Show the screen and wait until theEsc key is pressed.

• flip()
  Refresh the screen by one frame. The application exits when theEsc key is pressed. This function is not available in the web version.

• quit()
  Quit the Pyxel application.

• load(filename, [excl_images], [excl_tilemaps], [excl_sounds], [excl_musics])
  Load the resource file (.pyxres). If an option is set toTrue, the corresponding resource will be excluded from loading. If a palette file (.pyxpal) with the same name exists in the same location as the resource file, the palette display colors will also be updated. The palette file contains hexadecimal entries for the display colors (e.g.1100ff), separated by newlines. The palette file can also be used to change the colors displayed in Pyxel Editor.

• user_data_dir(vendor_name, app_name)
  Returns the user data directory created based onvendor_name andapp_name. If the directory does not exist, it will be created automatically. It is used to store high scores, game progress, and similar data.
  Example:print(pyxel.user_data_dir("Takashi Kitao", "Pyxel Shooter"))

• mouse_x,mouse_y
  The current position of the mouse cursor

• mouse_wheel
  The current value of the mouse wheel

• btn(key)
  ReturnTrue if thekey is pressed, otherwise returnFalse. (Key definition list)

• btnp(key, [hold], [repeat])
  ReturnTrue if thekey is pressed in that frame, otherwise returnFalse. Ifhold andrepeat are specified, after thekey has been held down forhold frames or more,True is returned everyrepeat frames.

• btnr(key)
  ReturnTrue if thekey is released in that frame, otherwise returnFalse.

• mouse(visible)
  Show the mouse cursor ifvisible isTrue, and hide it ifvisible isFalse. The cursor's position continues to update even when it is hidden.

• colors
  List of the palette display colors. The display color is specified by a 24-bit numerical value. Usecolors.from_list andcolors.to_list to directly assign and retrieve Python lists.
  Example:old_colors = pyxel.colors.to_list(); pyxel.colors.from_list([0x111111, 0x222222, 0x333333]); pyxel.colors[15] = 0x112233

• images
  List of the image banks (instances of the Image class) (0-2)
  Example:pyxel.images[0].load(0, 0, "title.png")

• tilemaps
  List of the tilemaps (instances of the Tilemap class) (0-7)

• clip(x, y, w, h)
  Set the drawing area of the screen from (x,y) with a width ofw and a height ofh. Callclip() to reset the drawing area to full screen.

• camera(x, y)
  Change the upper-left corner coordinates of the screen to (x,y). Callcamera() to reset the upper-left corner coordinates to (0,0).

• pal(col1, col2)
  Replace colorcol1 withcol2 when drawing. Callpal() to reset to the initial palette.

• dither(alpha)
  Apply dithering (pseudo-transparency) when drawing. Setalpha in the range0.0-1.0, where0.0 is transparent and1.0 is opaque.

• cls(col)
  Clear screen with colorcol.

• pget(x, y)
  Get the color of the pixel at (x,y).

• pset(x, y, col)
  Draw a pixel of colorcol at (x,y).

• line(x1, y1, x2, y2, col)
  Draw a line of colorcol from (x1,y1) to (x2,y2).

• rect(x, y, w, h, col)
  Draw a rectangle of widthw, heighth and colorcol from (x,y).

• rectb(x, y, w, h, col)
  Draw the outline of a rectangle of widthw, heighth and colorcol from (x,y).

• circ(x, y, r, col)
  Draw a circle of radiusr and colorcol at (x,y).

• circb(x, y, r, col)
  Draw the outline of a circle of radiusr and colorcol at (x,y).

• elli(x, y, w, h, col)
  Draw an ellipse of widthw, heighth and colorcol from (x,y).

• ellib(x, y, w, h, col)
  Draw the outline of an ellipse of widthw, heighth and colorcol from (x,y).

• tri(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3, col)
  Draw a triangle with vertices (x1,y1), (x2,y2), (x3,y3) and colorcol.

• trib(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3, col)
  Draw the outline of a triangle with vertices (x1,y1), (x2,y2), (x3,y3) and colorcol.

• fill(x, y, col)
  Fill the area connected with the same color as (x,y) with colorcol.

• blt(x, y, img, u, v, w, h, [colkey], [rotate], [scale])
  Copy the region of size (w,h) from (u,v) of the image bankimg(0-2) to (x,y). If a negative value is assigned tow and/orh, the region will be flipped horizontally and/or vertically. Ifcolkey is specified, it will be treated as a transparent color. Ifrotate(in degrees),scale(1.0 = 100%), or both are specified, the corresponding transformations will be applied.

• bltm(x, y, tm, u, v, w, h, [colkey], [rotate], [scale])
  Copy the region of size (w,h) from (u,v) of the tilemaptm(0-7) to (x,y). If a negative value is assigned tow and/orh, the region will be flipped horizontally and/or vertically. Ifcolkey is specified, it will be treated as a transparent color. Ifrotate(in degrees),scale(1.0 = 100%), or both are specified, the corresponding transformations will be applied. The size of a tile is 8x8 pixels and is stored in a tilemap as a tuple of(image_tx, image_ty).

• text(x, y, s, col)
  Draw a strings in colorcol at (x,y).

• sounds
  List of the sounds (instances of the Sound class) (0-63)
  Example:pyxel.sounds[0].speed = 60

• musics
  List of the musics (instances of the Music class) (0-7)

• play(ch, snd, [tick], [loop], [resume])
  Play the soundsnd(0-63) on channelch(0-3). Ifsnd is a list, the sounds will be played in sequence. The playback start position can be specified bytick(1 tick = 1/120 seconds). Ifloop is set toTrue, loop playback is performed. To resume the previous sound after playback ends, setresume toTrue.

• playm(msc, [tick], [loop])
  Play the musicmsc(0-7). The playback start position can be specified bytick(1 tick = 1/120 seconds). Ifloop is set toTrue, loop playback is performed.

• stop([ch])
  Stop playback of the specified channelch(0-3). Callstop() to stop all channels.

• play_pos(ch)
  Get the sound playback position of channelch(0-3) as a tuple of(sound_no, note_no). ReturnNone when playback has stopped.

• ceil(x)
  Return the smallest integer that is greater than or equal tox.

• floor(x)
  Return the largest integer that is less than or equal tox.

• sgn(x)
  Return1 whenx is positive,0 when it is0, and-1 when it is negative.

• sqrt(x)
  Return the square root ofx.

• sin(deg)
  Return the sine ofdeg degrees.

• cos(deg)
  Return the cosine ofdeg degrees.

• atan2(y, x)
  Return the arctangent ofy/x in degrees.

• rseed(seed)
  Sets the seed of the random number generator.

• rndi(a, b)
  Return a random integer greater than or equal toa and less than or equal tob.

• rndf(a, b)
  Return a random floating-point number greater than or equal toa and less than or equal tob.

• nseed(seed)
  Set the seed of Perlin noise.

• noise(x, [y], [z])
  Return the Perlin noise value for the specified coordinates.

• width,height
  The width and height of the image

• set(x, y, data)
  Set the image at (x,y) using a list of strings.
  Example:pyxel.images[0].set(10, 10, ["0123", "4567", "89ab", "cdef"])

• load(x, y, filename)
  Load an image file (PNG/GIF/JPEG) at (x,y).

• pget(x, y)
  Get the color of the pixel at (x,y).

• pset(x, y, col)
  Draw a pixel with the colorcol at (x,y).

• width,height
  The width and height of the tilemap

• imgsrc
  The image bank (0-2) referenced by the tilemap

• set(x, y, data)
  Set the tilemap at (x,y) using a list of strings.
  Example:pyxel.tilemap(0).set(0, 0, ["0000 0100 a0b0", "0001 0101 a1b1"])

• load(x, y, filename, layer)
  Load thelayer (0-) from the TMX file (Tiled Map File) at (x,y).

• pget(x, y)
  Get the tile at (x,y). A tile is represented as a tuple of(image_tx, image_ty).

• pset(x, y, tile)
  Draw atile at (x,y). A tile is represented as a tuple of(image_tx, image_ty).

• notes
  List of notes (0-127). The higher the number, the higher the pitch. Note33 corresponds to 'A2'(440Hz). Rest notes are represented by-1.

• tones
  List of tones (0:Triangle / 1:Square / 2:Pulse / 3:Noise)

• volumes
  List of volumes (0-7)

• effects
  List of effects (0:None / 1:Slide / 2:Vibrato / 3:FadeOut / 4:Half-FadeOut / 5:Quarter-FadeOut)

• speed
  Playback speed.1 is the fastest, and the larger the number, the slower the playback speed. At120, the length of one note becomes 1 second.

• set(notes, tones, volumes, effects, speed)
  Set notes, tones, volumes, and effects using a string. If the length of tones, volumes, or effects are shorter than the notes, they will be repeated from the beginning.

• set_notes(notes)
  Set the notes using a string made ofCDEFGAB+#-+01234 orR. It is case-insensitive, and whitespace is ignored.
  Example:pyxel.sounds[0].set_notes("g2b-2d3r rf3f3f3")

• set_tones(tones)
  Set the tones with a string made ofTSPN. Case-insensitive and whitespace is ignored.
  Example:pyxel.sounds[0].set_tones("ttss pppn")

• set_volumes(volumes)
  Set the volumes with a string made of01234567. Case-insensitive and whitespace is ignored.
  Example:pyxel.sounds[0].set_volumes("7777 7531")

• set_effects(effects)
  Set the effects with a string made ofNSVFHQ. Case-insensitive and whitespace is ignored.
  Example:pyxel.sounds[0].set_effects("nfnf nvvs")

• mml(mml_str)
  Sets the related parameters usingMusic Macro Language (MML). The available commands areT(1-900),@(0-3),O(0-4),>,<,Q(1-8),V(0-7),X(0-7),L(1/2/4/8/16/32), andCDEFGABR+#+-+.~&. For details on the commands, refer tothis page.
  Example:pyxel.sounds[0].mml("t120 @1 o3 q6 l8 x0:12345 c4&c<g16r16>c.<g16 v4 >c.&d16 x0 e2~c2~")

• save(filename, count, [ffmpeg])
  Creates a WAV file containing the sound repeatedcount times. If FFmpeg is installed andffmpeg is set toTrue, an MP4 file is also created.

• seqs
  A two-dimensional list of sounds (0-63) across multiple channels

• set(seq0, seq1, seq2, ...)
  Set the lists of sound (0-63) for each channel. If an empty list is specified, that channel will not be used for playback.
  Example:pyxel.musics[0].set([0, 1], [], [3])

• save(filename, count, [ffmpeg])
  Creates a WAV file containing the music repeatedcount times. If FFmpeg is installed andffmpeg is set toTrue, an MP4 file is also created.

Pyxel includes an "Advanced API" that is not mentioned in this reference, as it may confuse users or require specialized knowledge to use.

If you are confident in your skills, try creating amazing works usingthis as a guide!

Use theIssue Tracker to submit bug reports and feature or enhancement requests. Before submitting a new issue, make sure there are no similar open issues.

Anyone who manually tests the code and reports bugs or suggestions for enhancements in theIssue Tracker is very welcome!

Patches and fixes are accepted in the form of pull requests (PRs). Make sure that the issue the pull request addresses is open in the Issue Tracker.

Submitting a pull request implies that you agree to license your contribution under theMIT License.

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Pyxel is licensed under theMIT License. It can be reused in proprietary software, provided that all copies of the software or its substantial portions include a copy of the MIT License terms and a copyright notice.

Pyxel is looking for sponsors on GitHub Sponsors. Please consider sponsoring Pyxel to support its continued maintenance and feature development. As a benefit, sponsors can consult directly with the Pyxel developer. For more details, please visitthis page.