Pixsaur

Image converter for Amstrad CPC

Transform modern images into authentic Amstrad CPC graphics with advanced palette quantization, dithering algorithms, and multiple export formats.

Try Web Version • Download Desktop App • Report Bug

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Features

CPC Palette Support

• Classic CPC: 27 colors mode for authentic retro graphics
• CPC Plus: 4096 colors palette for enhanced visuals
• Rasters: Per-scanline palette changes for CPC Classic and CPC Plus
• Real-time palette quantization with perceptual color matching

Image Processing

• Multiple dithering algorithms: Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson, Sierra, and more
• Adjustments: Brightness, contrast, saturation controls
• Adaptive processing: Automatic CPU/GPU fallback for optimal performance

Export Formats

• SCR: Native Amstrad CPC screen format
• Linear: Raw pixel data
• Palette: Color palette extraction
• PNG: Preview with applied effects
• DSK: Disk image with your graphics
• SNA: Snapshot for instant emulator loading
• And more...

Multi-Platform

• Desktop app: Windows, macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon), Linux (AppImage, deb, rpm)
• Web version: Works in any modern browser
• Auto-updates: Built-in updater keeps your desktop app current

Installation

Desktop Application

Download the latest version for your platform:

Platform	Download
Windows	.exe installer (recommended) or .msi package
macOS Intel	.dmg (x64)
macOS Apple Silicon	.dmg (M1/M2/M3)
Linux	.AppImage (universal) or .deb / .rpm

Tip: The desktop app includes automatic updates! You'll be notified when new versions are available.

Web Version

No installation required! Try Pixsaur directly in your browser:

pixsaur.iiivan.org

Works on any device with a modern web browser.

Development

Quick Setup (Automated)

For macOS and Linux, we provide an automated setup script that installs everything you need:

git clone https://github.com/IIIvan37/pixsaur.git
cd pixsaur
./scripts/setup-dev-environment.sh

This script will automatically install:

• System dependencies (Xcode CLI Tools for macOS, GTK/WebKit for Linux)
• Node.js (via Homebrew on macOS)
• pnpm
• Rust
• Project dependencies (pnpm install)

Supported distributions: Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Elementary, Arch, Manjaro, Fedora, RHEL, CentOS, openSUSE

After installation, run:

source $HOME/.cargo/env  # Load Rust environment
pnpm tauri:dev           # Start development

Manual Setup

If you prefer manual installation or are on Windows:

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or later) - Download
• pnpm (v8 or later) - npm install -g pnpm
• Rust (latest stable) - Install rustup
• Git - For cloning the repository

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/IIIvan37/pixsaur.git
cd pixsaur
pnpm install

System Dependencies

macOS

xcode-select --install
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env

Windows

1. Install Microsoft C++ Build Tools
2. Install Node.js
3. Install Rust
4. Install pnpm: npm install -g pnpm
5. Restart your terminal

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

# System dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential curl wget file libssl-dev pkg-config

# Rust
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env

# WebKit2GTK (try 4.1 first, fallback to 4.0)
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev libgtk-3-dev || \
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev libappindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev libgtk-3-dev

Run Development Server

Desktop app (Tauri):

pnpm tauri:dev

Web version only:

pnpm dev
# Open http://localhost:5173

Available Scripts

• pnpm install: Install project dependencies
• pnpm dev: Start the Vite development server for the web version (http://localhost:5173)
• pnpm build: Type-check with TypeScript and build the web version (output in dist/)
• pnpm preview: Preview the built web version locally
• pnpm typecheck: Run TypeScript type checking without emitting files
• pnpm test: Run tests with Vitest
• pnpm test:coverage: Run tests with coverage report
• pnpm lint: Check code linting with Biome
• pnpm lint:fix: Fix linting issues automatically
• pnpm format: Check code formatting with Biome
• pnpm format:fix: Format code automatically
• pnpm check: Run full Biome check (lint + format)
• pnpm check:fix: Fix all Biome issues automatically
• pnpm i18n:extract: Extract internationalization messages with Lingui
• pnpm i18n:compile: Compile internationalization messages
• pnpm tauri: Run Tauri CLI commands
• pnpm tauri:dev: Start Tauri development mode (desktop app)
• pnpm tauri:build: Build the desktop application
• pnpm asm:expand: Expand INCLUDE directives in RASM assembly files

Demo Programs

The asm/src/ folder contains Z80 assembly demonstration programs for displaying exported images on Amstrad CPC:

Program	Description
scr-plus-raster	CPC Plus standard screen with rasters
scr-plus-raster-overscan	CPC Plus overscan (96×280) with rasters
scr-classic-raster	CPC Classic standard screen with rasters
scr-classic-raster-overscan	CPC Classic overscan (96×280) with rasters

Each program includes a Makefile for building with RASM and running on an emulator. Extract the Pixsaur ZIP export to the data/ folder of the demo program.

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 19 - Modern UI library
• TypeScript - Type-safe development
• Vite - Lightning-fast build tool
• Jotai - Atomic state management

Desktop

• Tauri 2 - Lightweight cross-platform framework
• Rust - High-performance backend

Image Processing

• pixsaur-color - Custom colorimetric library (RGB color space)
• WebGL - GPU-accelerated processing with CPU fallback

Code Quality

• Biome - Ultra-fast linting and formatting
• Vitest - Unit testing framework
• TypeScript - Static type checking

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Whether it's:

• Bug reports
• Feature requests
• Documentation improvements
• Code contributions

Please read our Contributing Guide to get started.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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Made for the Amstrad CPC community