Pixon

pixon is a Node.js CLI that turns schema-defined JSON into pixel art assets for game projects.

It takes a JSON document with name, description, metadata, and a 2D pixels matrix, then exports:

• A PNG sprite/image that imports cleanly into Godot, Unity, and Unreal Engine
• A manifest with dimensions, palette, and metadata
• Engine preset JSON files with recommended import settings for each engine

Install

npm install

Run locally with:

node src/cli.js render examples/hero.json --out dist --target all

Try the larger background scene example with:

node src/cli.js render examples/background-meadow.json --out dist --target all

That example renders to an exact 1280x720 PNG.

Or install the CLI globally from this folder:

npm link
pixon render examples/hero.json --out dist

Commands

Validate input:

pixon validate examples/hero.json

Render a PNG plus presets:

pixon render examples/hero.json --out dist --target all

Render the larger background example:

pixon render examples/background-meadow.json --out dist --target all

Print the schema:

pixon schema

Write the schema to a file:

pixon schema --out pixel-art.schema.json

JSON shape

The schema lives at schema/pixel-art.schema.json.

Top-level fields:

• name: asset name
• description: human-readable description
• metadata: free-form metadata object with useful common fields like scale, pixelsPerUnit, tileWidth, and tileHeight
• pixels: rectangular 2D matrix of color values

Supported pixel color formats:

• Hex strings: #RGB, #RGBA, #RRGGBB, #RRGGBBAA
• "transparent"
• RGBA objects like { "r": 255, "g": 0, "b": 0, "a": 255 }

Example:

{
  "name": "Hero Idle",
  "description": "An 8x8 hero portrait exported as pixel art.",
  "metadata": {
    "scale": 8,
    "pixelsPerUnit": 16
  },
  "pixels": [
    ["#000000", "#ffffff"],
    ["transparent", { "r": 255, "g": 0, "b": 0, "a": 255 }]
  ]
}

Additional example files:

• examples/hero.json: small 8x8 character portrait
• examples/background-meadow.json: 160x90 meadow scene exported at scale 8 for an exact 1280x720 output

Output files

For an asset named Hero Idle, rendering to dist/ generates:

• dist/hero-idle.png
• dist/hero-idle.manifest.json
• dist/hero-idle.godot.import.json
• dist/hero-idle.unity.import.json
• dist/hero-idle.unreal.import.json

The PNG is the actual engine-importable asset. The preset files document import settings that preserve crisp pixel art in each engine.