Generate sprites with the Sprite AI MCP
Make pixel art sprites and animations, right in your editor.
Run this once in your terminal:
claude mcp add --transport http sprite-ai https://www.sprite-ai.art/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer sai_sk_your_key_here"Then ask your assistant in plain English. It picks the tools, makes the art and saves the files into your project.
"Generate a knight sprite and animate it walking."
See it work
You ask. The sprite lands in your project.
Generate a plague doctor knight.
knight.png
Saved to assets/sprites/
The 13 tools your assistant can call
Your assistant calls these for you, based on what you ask. Here's everything it can reach and what each one costs.
| Tool | What it does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
sprite_generate | Make one sprite from a description. | 1 token |
sprite_import | Add a sprite you already have, 16 to 256px per side. | Free |
sprite_generate_animation | Turn a sprite into an animated sheet: walk, run, idle, attack. | 14-20 tokens |
sprite_restyle | Change a sprite and keep the character. Restyle it, repose it, or swap the item it holds. | 2 tokens, 9 on pro |
sprite_combine | Put an item from one sprite into another, like your knight holding this shield. | 3 tokens, 9 on pro |
sprite_rotate | Turn one sprite into all 8 facing directions, same character and palette. | 12 tokens |
sprite_normal_map | Normal map for dynamic lighting, from a sprite or an animation, frame by frame with no flicker. | 1 token per frame |
sprite_remove_background | Cut a flat background off a sprite you imported. Standard is a chroma key, refined mattes against the sprite's own palette. | Free, or 1 token refined |
sprite_capabilities | The sizes, costs and chaining rules your assistant plans a multi-step job from. | Free |
sprite_get_job | Check on a running animation, restyle or combine. | Free |
sprite_list_creations | List your past sprites and animations. | Free |
sprite_get_balance | Check your token balance. | Free |
sprite_list_asset_types | See what you can make and at what sizes. | Free |
One sprite id works with every tool
Every sprite you make or import comes back with an id, and every other tool takes that id. You never re-send the image. Your assistant tracks the ids, you just say what you want.
| Pass the id to | What it does |
|---|---|
sprite_generate_animation | Animate it. The id goes in as source_generation_id. |
sprite_restyle | Restyle it into gold, ice, zombie or anything you describe. Same id, same field. |
sprite_combine | Put an item from a second sprite into its hands. |
sprite_rotate | Turn it to face all 8 directions for a top-down or isometric game. |
sprite_normal_map | Light it in your engine. Animations come back as the same strip. |
sprite_remove_background | Cut a flat background off a render you imported. The cutout gets a new id. |
Got a PNG on your computer? Your assistant imports it once, free, and works from that id.
Things to ask your assistant
Ask in plain English and your assistant picks the tools. Here are a few that work well.
| You ask | What happens |
|---|---|
Make a walking goblin. | Generates the goblin, then animates it. |
Animate this sprite I have at ./hero.png. | Imports the file, then animates it. |
Put this shield in my knight's hand. | Combines the two sprites. The knight keeps its size and colors. |
Give me gold and ice versions of my knight. | Restyles the same sprite twice, keeping the character. |
I need my knight facing all 8 directions. | Rotates it and saves the 8-frame strip. |
Make a normal map for my torch so it reacts to light. | Builds the map and saves it into your project. |
Remove the magenta background from ./render.png. | Imports the file, cuts the background, saves a transparent PNG. |
Questions, answered
No. It spends from the same token balance as the web app. The free tier works, and there's no separate API subscription.
Anything that speaks MCP. That covers Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline and Claude Desktop.
Into your project. Every result comes with a download link, and your assistant saves the PNG wherever you tell it. You don't copy anything by hand.
Yes. Your assistant adds it once with sprite_import, which is free, then works from the id it gets back. The server can't see your disk, so the assistant reads the file and uploads it for you.
Both. Ask for a walk, run, idle or attack and it animates an existing sprite into a sheet. One animation runs at a time per account, so a batch of ten takes about ten times as long as one.
It saves plain PNGs and sprite sheets that Aseprite opens directly, but it doesn't drive Aseprite itself. To generate from inside Aseprite, install the free Sprite AI extension for Aseprite.
It lives in your editor config, and you can revoke it any time from your account. A revoked key stops working everywhere immediately.
Still have questions?
Ask in our Discord, it's the fastest way to get help, or send us a message.