Chickxel
Pixel art editor for games

A pixel art editor
built for games.

Draw frames, layers, parts and skins — every save writes a PNG sprite sheet and Unity .meta alongside.

FreeSource availableWindows 10/11macOS 12+Nothing to install
Chickxel editor: tool bar and palette on the left, canvas in the middle, timeline below, preview and tool settings on the right
Features

What it does

Everything you need to draw sprites that go straight into your game.

01

Save straight to Unity

Every save writes a PNG sprite sheet and Unity .meta (slices and pivots included). Work right inside your Unity project folder.

02

Frames · Layers · Tags

Manage frames and layers on the timeline and split animations with tags. Check motion with onion skin and the live preview.

03

Parts and skins

Draw characters as parts like head, body and arms, and swap outfits and gear with skins. Exports Unity Sprite Libraries too.

04

Layer effects

Add outline, shadow and glow or animated shake, explosion and fade without changing your pixels. Heavy effects compute without freezing the editor.

05

AI chat

Draw and edit by talking to Claude Code or Codex on your own computer. Uses your own account, no API key, and every step can be undone.

06

Palettes and languages

Import Lospec palettes and convert to a palette in one step. Korean and English built in; add any language yourself with a CSV.

07

Script effects

Build your own effects and controls with JavaScript. Scripts from an unfamiliar project ask for permission before running.

08

Asset manager

Save effect recipes and gradients as packages, or browse, install and update them individually from the online catalog. Submit your own assets too.

09

Adjustable effect recipes

Group effects into one recipe and expose only the settings you want to adjust together.

Download

Download

Unzip and run. The app tells you about new versions and updates itself.

If you see a signing warning on first launch, see First launch in the guide. What changed in each version is on the Releases page.