Manifest reference
Styles, assets, quality profiles, mounting, and validation.
pixelkiln.manifest.json is the hand-authored, committed declaration of styles
and assets. Paths resolve relative to the manifest file, not the current shell
directory. The canonical machine-readable contract is
schema/manifest.schema.json.
{
"$schema": "./node_modules/pixelkiln/schema/manifest.schema.json",
"name": "my-game",
"provider": "pixellab",
"styles": {
"base": {
"generator": "map",
"promptPrefix": "pixel-art game prop",
"promptSuffix": "isolated, transparent background",
"outDir": "assets/generated/base"
}
},
"assets": {
"anvil": { "prompt": "a compact blacksmith anvil" }
}
}
Unknown properties are rejected at every level.
Top level
A resolved unit of work is one styleId/assetId.
Asset fields
providerInputs is provider-owned and participates in generation identity.
Style fields
One style using the common fields, and a pixflux style with a locked palette.
Palette enforcement
With enforcePalette, fetch maps every visible pixel of a downloaded PNG to the nearest palette colour (redmean distance, no dithering) before the file is written, and records wh…
Quality profiles
The raw provider output remains under the style's normal outDir.
Provider-specific fields
Each experimental provider adds style and asset fields of its own, under providerOptions.<provider> on the style and providerInputs on the asset.
Characters and mirrors
A character style holds a base drawn facing 4 or 8 directions, states, and loops, with a mirror asset for the direction that faces the other way, made locally at no cost.
Controlled revisions
The parent may use committed source, downloaded generated output, or a current approved quality output.
Prompt and override resolution
Prefix, subject, and suffix are trimmed and joined with ", ": base/star is sent as "pixel-art prop, a golden star, transparent background" and mono/star as "pixel-art prop, a fi…
Stable-cell mounting
base is optional; omission starts from transparency.
Filenames and output roles
The default output is <outDir>/<category>/<assetId>.png when category is set, otherwise <outDir>/<assetId>.png; file overrides it.
Validation and editor setup
Regenerate the checked-in schema after changing the Zod manifest types.
The whole reference is one Markdown file: docs/MANIFEST.md.