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Pix8

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What Pix8 is

Pix8 is a free, open-source pixel art editor that runs in a browser and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It uses indexed color with 256 usable palette entries, while transparency is handled separately. Multi-document tabs keep independent layers, palettes, undo histories, and zoom or pan states. Animation tools include a sprite-sheet timeline, frame tags, playback controls, onion skinning, and GIF or SPX export. Pix8 imports PNG, JPG, GIF, and WebP images using median-cut quantization with optional dithering. Native projects use .pix8, and import or export formats include BMP, PCX, PNG, GIF, ICO, PAL, and SPX. The browser editor at pix8.app requires no download to try. Windows installer and portable builds are listed; Linux and macOS have no prebuilt binaries and can be built from source. Windows builds are unsigned and may trigger a SmartScreen warning.

Who it suits

Pix8 suits pixel artists and game-asset creators who want indexed-color drawing and sprite animation in a browser or on desktop systems.

What it does well

  • 256-color indexed palette
  • Multi-document tabs with separate states
  • Timeline and onion skinning
  • GIF and SPX animation export
  • Browser version needs no download

What to know first

  • Linux and macOS lack prebuilt binaries
  • Windows builds are unsigned
  • Electron dialogs do not work on KDE Wayland

Verdict

Pix8 combines classic indexed-color pixel editing with animation and broad file-format support. The browser version is easy to try, while desktop users should check the platform-specific build and dialog limitations.

Facts from Pix8's own pages

Animation
It supports sprite-sheet animation with a frame timeline, tag groups, playback controls, onion skinning, and GIF or SPX export. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Browser access
The project says pix8.app runs the same editor in the browser and requires no download to try. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Dependency
The project identifies JSZip as its only runtime dependency, used for SPX ZIP export. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Desktop downloads
The project lists Windows installer and portable downloads; it says Linux and macOS have no prebuilt binaries and can be built from source. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Desktop platforms
Windows installer and portable builds are listed; Linux and macOS have no prebuilt binaries and can be built from source. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
File formats
It imports or exports formats including BMP, PCX, PNG, GIF, ICO, PAL, and SPX, and uses .pix8 for native projects. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Image import
It imports PNG, JPG, GIF, and WebP images using median-cut quantization and optional dithering. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Import and export
The listed formats include Pix8, BMP, PCX, PNG, GIF, SPX, ICO, and PAL; JPG and WebP are listed for import. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Known issue
The project reports that Electron save and export dialogs do not work on KDE Plasma 6 with Wayland, and suggests using the browser version or running under X11. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Layers and documents
It supports multi-document tabs with separate layers, palettes, undo histories, and zoom and pan states. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
License
The repository lists an MIT license. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Palette
Its palette has 256 usable color entries, with transparency represented separately. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Product
Pix8 is a browser-based 256-color indexed pixel art editor inspired by VGA-era graphics tools. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Web access
The editor runs at pix8.app in a browser without requiring a download to try it. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Windows signing
The listed Windows builds are unsigned and may show a SmartScreen warning on first run. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026

Where Pix8 stands on Freedom251

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