2d-assets-mcp

2d-assets-mcp

Design your game's feel before you design its art.

Just like wireframing helps designers visualize user flows before start sketching, 2d-assets-mcp helps game developers visualize timing, frames-per-second (FPS), collision boundaries, and UI layouts before spending hours on final artwork.

This MCP (Model Context Protocol) server lets any AI assistant (Antigravity, Claude Code, Codex, Devin, or any of them as long as it's MCP-compatible) generate advanced 2D mock/placeholder assets in PNG format right into your project folder. Save time and prototype faster, nail your game's feel with 2d-assets-mcp, and then replace the mockups with original artwork when you are ready.

This MCP is engine-agnostic and it works flawlessly with any game engine that supports PNG import, like:

• Godot
• Unity
• Unreal Engine
• GameMaker
• Construct
• RPG Maker
• And many more!

Save time and create placeholder health bars, spritesheets, and whatever UI elements you can think of with full support for gradients, patterns, transparency, text rotation, and auto-scaling, all via chat and without ever opening an image editor. The idea behind it is to help you test and iterate how your game feels first by prototiping scale, jump arcs, and animation timing without waiting on final art assets, and also with zero friction: Need that placeholder button to be 20% larger? Just ask your AI client to regenerate it.

[!TIP] 2d-assets-mcp has AI-Friendly Metadata → meaning each generated PNG embeds rich JSON metadata (dimensions, color, shape, gradient properties, pattern details, text properties, stroke properties, description) directly in its EXIF data, so AI models without vision can still understand what an asset contains.

Generated Assets Examples

Here are some example assets generated by this MCP server:

Character Sprites & Animations

Hero Idle Animation (8 frames, 512x64)

8-frame idle animation spritesheet with effect

UI Elements

Attack Button (128×48)

Button with red gradient, rounded corners, and "ATTACK" label

Health Bar (200×24)

Health bar at 75% fill with green color and dark gray track

Game Items

Gold Coin (32×32)

Circular coin with radial gradient, dot pattern overlay, and "COIN" label

Grass and water

Trees

Animation Spritesheets

Fire animation (4 frames, 192x48)

4-frame spritesheet

Security Considerations

Asset Content

• Generated assets are pure placeholder graphics and they do not contain malicious code.
• Embedded metadata is plain JSON and is not executable.

Because this MCP server writes files directly to your machine to save you time, please review these security best practices:

File System Access

• The server can write files to any path specified by the AI assistant.
• Recommendation: Configure your AI client to restrict access strictly to your game's project directories.
• Warning: Be cautious when asking the AI to generate assets outside your project directory.

Path Traversal

• This server validates paths, but you should always be aware of potential path traversal attempts when dealing with MCP servers, and review generated file paths before confirming operations.

Overall Best Practices

• Use absolute paths in configurations to prevent ambiguity.
• Restrict AI access to your game project directory only.
• Review generated assets before committing to version control.
• Keep your Node.js dependencies updated.

Core Features

• Instant asset generation: one tool call, one PNG, full visual configuration.
• Spritesheet & Batch mode: generate multiple frames or composite them into a single animation-strip spritesheet in one request.
• Rich visuals: support for solid fills, linear/radial gradients, stripe/dot/grid pattern overlays, rounded corners, circles, opacity, and stroke control.
• Dynamic UI Elements: create partially filled progress/health bars using fillPercent and trackColor for partially-filled assets.
• Auto-scaling labels: text automatically scales to fit the asset, or you can override it with explicit fontSize if needed.
• Non-vision AI friendly: embedded JSON metadata readable back via read_image_metadata, without loading image pixels, ideal for non-vision AI workflows.
• Smart naming: output files are automatically named with their dimensions (e.g. player_idle_128x128.png) to help models with no vision know the dimensions when using the asset.

Tools Reference

This MCP server equips your AI with 3 tools to generate and read 2D asset metadata.

1. generate_mock_asset

Generates a single PNG asset and writes it to the disk. It supports gradients, patterns, transparency, text rotation, and embedded metadata.

Parameters (press to expand)

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
filename	string	Output filename, e.g. player_idle.png
directory	string	Absolute path to the output folder (created if missing)
text	string	Label rendered on the asset
color	string	Background hex color, e.g. #FF5733

Optional parameters: shape & size

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
width	number	128	Width in pixels
height	number	128	Height in pixels
shape	rectangle | rounded-rectangle | circle	rectangle	Geometric shape
opacity	number 0–1	1.0	Background opacity
strokeColor	string	#000000	Border hex color
strokeWidth	number	4	Border width in px; 0 removes the border

Optional parameters: fill & gradient

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
fillMode	solid | linear-gradient | radial-gradient	solid	Background fill type
secondaryColor	string	auto-derived	Second gradient stop; auto-shaded from color if omitted
gradientAngle	number	45	Angle in degrees for linear gradients (ignored for radial)

Optional parameters: progress/health bar

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
fillPercent	number 0–100	100	How much of the asset is filled (left to right)
trackColor	string	—	Color of the unfilled portion; transparent if omitted

Optional parameters: pattern overlay

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
pattern	none | stripes | dots | grid	none	Pattern overlay type
patternColor	string	auto-derived	Pattern color; contrast-auto if omitted
patternOpacity	number 0–1	0.18	Pattern overlay opacity
patternScale	number ≥2	16	Pattern tile size in pixels

Optional parameters: text

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
textPosition	center | top | bottom	center	Vertical text alignment
fontSize	number	auto-scaled	Explicit font size in px; auto-fits if omitted
textRotation	number	0	Text rotation angle in degrees
textColor	string	auto-contrasting	Hex color for text; auto-calculated if omitted

Optional parameters: metadata

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
assetDescription	string	—	Human-readable description embedded in the PNG EXIF for non-vision AI context

[!NOTE] Output filename format

The server automatically appends the dimensions to the filename before writing:

player_idle.png  →  player_idle_128x128.png

2. generate_mock_asset_batch

Generates multiple assets in one request. Supports individual PNGs or a single composed spritesheet.

Parameters (press to expand)

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
assets	AssetConfig[]	Array of asset configs (same fields as generate_mock_asset)

Optional parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
spritesheetMode	individual \ spritesheet	spritesheet	individual writes separate PNGs; spritesheet composes a single PNG
sheetFilename	string	spritesheet.png	Output filename for the composed spritesheet
sheetDirectory	string	first asset's directory	Output directory for the spritesheet
sheetMargin	number	8	Outer padding around the spritesheet in pixels
sheetSpacing	number	8	Gap between animation frames in pixels

[!NOTE] Spritesheet layout

All assets are arranged in a single row (traditional animation strip). Each frame cell is sized to the largest asset in the batch; smaller assets are centered within their cell. The output filename includes the total sheet dimensions:

player_run.png  →  player_run_648x136.png

3. read_image_metadata

Reads the JSON metadata embedded in the EXIF ImageDescription field of any PNG generated by this server. Useful for AI models that lack vision, because they can understand what an asset contains without decoding the image.

Parameters (press to expand)

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
filepath	string	Absolute path to the PNG file

How metadata embedding works

Metadata is stored as a JSON string in the PNG's EXIF IFD0.ImageDescription field using the sharp library's withMetadata API.

Reading it back uses a deliberate bypass of standard TIFF byte-walking: instead of parsing the binary TIFF structure, the raw EXIF buffer is scanned as a UTF-8 string for the known "generator":"2d-assets-mcp" key, then the surrounding JSON object is extracted. This makes the reader immune to TIFF padding, byte-order variations, and unusual IFD layouts across different PNG writers.

Example response (press to expand)

{
  "generator": "2d-assets-mcp",
  "type": "asset",
  "name": "player_idle",
  "width": 128,
  "height": 128,
  "color": "#4A90E2",
  "shape": "rounded-rectangle",
  "fillMode": "linear-gradient",
  "fillPercent": 100,
  "trackColor": null,
  "pattern": "none",
  "secondaryColor": "#2E5A8A",
  "gradientAngle": 45,
  "textRotation": 0,
  "textPosition": "center",
  "strokeColor": "#000000",
  "strokeWidth": 4,
  "description": "Player idle placeholder, blue rounded rectangle 128x128",
  "createdAt": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
}

Spritesheet metadata fields (additional fields returned for spritesheet files)

{
  "generator": "2d-assets-mcp",
  "type": "spritesheet",
  "totalWidth": 648,
  "totalHeight": 136,
  "columns": 4,
  "rows": 1,
  "frameCount": 4,
  "frameWidth": 128,
  "frameHeight": 128,
  "margin": 8,
  "spacing": 8,
  "frames": [
    {
      "index": 0,
      "x": 8,
      "y": 8,
      "width": 128,
      "height": 128,
      "name": "frame_0",
      "color": "#4A90E2",
      "shape": "rounded-rectangle"
    }
  ],
  "createdAt": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
}

Example Prompts for Your AI

Once connected to an AI coding assistant, try these prompts to speed up your workflow:

Single asset

"Create a 128×128 blue rounded-rectangle placeholder for my player character at C:\Users\me\project\assets\sprites\ (Windows) or /home/me/project/assets/sprites/ (Linux) or /Users/me/project/assets/sprites/ (macOS). Label it 'Player' and give it a radial gradient."

Health bar

"Generate a health bar PNG at 200×24 pixels, filled 65%, thin stroke, red fill color, dark gray track, at your project's UI folder. Call the file health_bar.png."

Spritesheet

"Create a 4-frame run cycle spritesheet for my player. Each frame should be 64×64, different shades of blue, labeled Frame 1 through Frame 4. Save it to my project's sprites folder."

Read metadata

"Read the metadata from my project's sprites folder, file player_idle_128x128.png."

Installation

Option 1: Use directly with npx (no install required)

The fastest way to connect it to any AI coding assistant:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "2d-assets": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "2d-assets-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Manual installation with package manager (pnpm, npm, yarn)

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/crony-io/2d-assets-mcp.git
cd 2d-assets-mcp

2. Install dependencies

pnpm install   # recommended
# or: npm install
# or: yarn install

3. Build the project

pnpm run build
# or: npm run build
# or: yarn run build

4. Configure your MCP client

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "2d-assets-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/2d-assets-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Install globally with pnpm or npm

This project works with any Node.js package manager. Choose your preferred one:

npm

npm install -g 2d-assets-mcp

pnpm

pnpm add -g 2d-assets-mcp

Then reference the installed binary:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "2d-assets": {
      "command": "2d-assets-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Code / Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Code/Claude Desktop MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "2d-assets-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/2d-assets-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Devin

Add to your Devin MCP settings (mcp_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "2d-assets-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/2d-assets-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Create .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "2d-assets-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/2d-assets-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later
• pnpm 8 or later or npm 9 or later (any package manager works)

Setup

git clone https://github.com/crony-io/2d-assets-mcp.git
cd 2d-assets-mcp
# Choose your package manager:
pnpm install   # recommended
# or
npm install
# or
yarn install

Scripts

Command	Description
npm run build / pnpm run build	Compile TypeScript to dist/
npm run dev / pnpm run dev	Run directly from source with tsx (no build needed)
npm run start / pnpm run start	Run the compiled server from dist/
npm run typecheck / pnpm run typecheck	Type-check without emitting files
npm run check / pnpm run check	Run all checks: format, lint, and typecheck

Adding a new tool

• Create src/tools/yourTool.ts and export a registerYourTool(server: McpServer) function
• Import and call it in src/server.ts
• Add any new Zod schemas to src/schemas.ts and types to src/types.ts

License

MIT — see LICENSE for full text.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are always welcome. Just please, before you open a PR make sure to:

• Run pnpm run check or npm run check (zero errors required).
• Keep new tools in their own file under src/tools/.
• Export new types from src/types.ts and schemas from src/schemas.ts.
• Update this README's Tools Reference section for any new or changed parameters.