pyxel
๐ ๐ - MCP server for Pyxel retro game engine, enabling AI to run, capture scree
What is pyxel?
pyxel is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to ๐ ๐ - mcp server for pyxel retro game engine, enabling ai to run, capture scree
๐ ๐ - MCP server for Pyxel retro game engine, enabling AI to run, capture scree
This server falls under the Developer Tools category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- MCP protocol support
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
PIP
pip install pyxel-mcpManual Installation
pip install pyxel-mcpConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use pyxel
pyxel-mcp is a Python MCP server that gives AI agents programmatic control over the Pyxel retro game engine, enabling them to run Pyxel applications, capture screenshots and frame sequences, record gameplay video, validate GDScript, inspect game state, analyze sprite sheets and tilemaps, and render audio โ all through MCP tool calls. It also exposes Pyxel's full documentation as MCP Resources, so an AI model can read the API reference, MML audio commands, and official example games directly without a web search. This makes it practical for AI-assisted retro pixel-art game development workflows.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.8 or higher
- Pyxel installed (`pip install pyxel`)
- pip to install pyxel-mcp
- Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or another MCP-compatible client
- A display available for Pyxel to render to (or a virtual framebuffer for headless use)
Install pyxel-mcp via pip
Install the pyxel-mcp package from PyPI. This also installs the pyxel engine as a dependency if not already present.
pip install pyxel-mcpRegister the server in your MCP client configuration
Add pyxel-mcp to your .mcp.json or Claude Desktop config. The server runs as a stdio process using the `pyxel-mcp` command.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pyxel": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "pyxel-mcp"
}
}
}Verify the server connection
Use the pyxel_info tool to confirm the server is running and Pyxel is available, showing the installed version and capabilities.
# In Claude, ask:
# "Call pyxel_info to show me the current Pyxel version and available tools"Run a Pyxel example game and capture a screenshot
Use run_and_capture to execute a Pyxel script and capture its output as an image. The agent can then inspect the screenshot visually.
# In Claude, ask:
# "Run the Pyxel jump game example and capture a screenshot of the first frame"pyxel Examples
Client configuration
Minimal configuration for Claude Desktop or .mcp.json to register pyxel-mcp as a stdio MCP server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pyxel": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "pyxel-mcp"
}
}
}Prompts to try
Use these prompts in Claude after pyxel-mcp is connected to develop, test, and inspect Pyxel retro games.
- "Create a simple Pyxel game script with a bouncing ball and run it, capturing 10 frames of gameplay"
- "Validate my pyxel_game.py script for syntax errors before running it"
- "Inspect the sprite sheet in bank 0 of my game and describe what sprites are defined"
- "Inspect the tilemap at index 0 and tell me the layout of the first level"
- "Render the audio from my game and tell me what sound effects are defined using MML commands"
- "Compare frame 1 and frame 30 of my game to check if the animation is cycling correctly"
- "Show me the Pyxel API reference for the blt() function from the MCP resources"Troubleshooting pyxel
run_and_capture fails with a display error in a headless environment
Pyxel requires a display. On Linux servers without a monitor, install a virtual framebuffer: `sudo apt-get install xvfb` and prefix commands with `xvfb-run -a`. You may need to start pyxel-mcp in the same environment.
pyxel-mcp command not found after pip install
The pip-installed script may not be on PATH. Run `python -m pyxel_mcp` as an alternative, or find the scripts directory with `python -c "import site; print(site.USER_BASE)"` and add it to your PATH.
Pyxel documentation resources are not visible in the MCP client
Some MCP clients do not automatically list resources. Ask Claude explicitly: 'Read the pyxel MCP resource for the API reference' using the resource URI format `@pyxel:api` or `@pyxel:examples/02_jump_game`.
Frequently Asked Questions about pyxel
What is pyxel?
pyxel is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that ๐ ๐ - mcp server for pyxel retro game engine, enabling ai to run, capture scree It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install pyxel?
Install via pip with: pip install pyxel-mcp. Then configure your AI client to connect to this MCP server.
Which AI clients work with pyxel?
pyxel works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is pyxel free to use?
Yes, pyxel is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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