Retro Diffusion MCP Server

Generate real pixel art — sprites, characters, animations, and tilesets — from any MCP-capable AI assistant.
Grid-aligned pixels, controlled palettes, transparent backgrounds. Not "pixel-art style" images. The real thing.

Website · API Docs · API Examples · Discord

This is a hosted, remote MCP server — nothing to install or run locally. Point your client at the endpoint, add your API key, and your assistant can browse 90+ pixel art styles, estimate costs for free, generate game-ready art, and repair enlarged or softened pixel art.

Code

Endpoint:  https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp     (Streamable HTTP)
Auth:      Authorization: Bearer <your API key>   (keys start with rdpk-)

The hosted MCP endpoint remains backward compatible and defaults to Retro Diffusion API v2. Its server-side version policy is described in API compatibility; MCP clients do not change their endpoint or authentication settings.

Get an API key (2 minutes)

Create a free account at retrodiffusion.ai — new accounts include free starter credits.
Open Developer Tools and click Create API Key.

Pricing is pay-per-generation (from ~$0.01 per image), prepaid, no subscription, and credits never expire. Cost estimation is always free, so your agent can check the price of anything before spending.

Setup by client

Claude Code

Terminal

claude mcp add --transport http retro-diffusion https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer rdpk-YOUR-KEY"

Or install the plugin (bundles the server plus a pixel-art workflow skill):

Code

/plugin marketplace add Retro-Diffusion/retro-diffusion-mcp
/plugin install pixel-art@retro-diffusion

Cursor

Click the Add to Cursor badge above, then replace YOUR_API_KEY — or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "retro-diffusion": {
      "url": "https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer rdpk-YOUR-KEY" }
    }
  }
}

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add to mcp.json (Command Palette → "MCP: Add Server" → HTTP):

config.json

{
  "servers": {
    "retro-diffusion": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer rdpk-YOUR-KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "retro-diffusion": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer rdpk-YOUR-KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Use mcp-remote in claude_desktop_config.json:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "retro-diffusion": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer rdpk-YOUR-KEY"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Anything else

Any MCP client that speaks Streamable HTTP works: URL https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp, header Authorization: Bearer rdpk-YOUR-KEY.

Tools

Generate

Tool	What it does
`create_inference`	Generate images, animations (GIF/sprite sheet), or tilesets. Returns hosted URLs and a recovery `request_id`; prefer RD Pro styles for top quality
`get_inference_result`	Recover or refresh signed output URLs for a successful synchronous generation without generating or charging again
`start_inference_job`	Start generation as an async job — recommended for animations and batches
`get_inference_job`	Poll an async job for status and results
`list_inference_jobs`	List your recent async jobs — recover a `task_id` after a lost submission response instead of re-submitting and double-charging
`estimate_inference_cost`	Free price check for any generation before running it

Generation is non-idempotent and may charge before a client timeout or delivery problem is visible. If create_inference succeeds but its output_urls are missing or expired, call get_inference_result(request_id). Never repeat the generation automatically. The MCP omits raw generation base64 to keep Cursor and other tool contexts compact, and uses short-lived hosted URLs for delivery instead.

Edit — post-process any image

Tool	What it does
`list_edit_tools`	Enabled edit tools with their fields, costs, and limits
`run_edit_tool`	Run an edit tool: background remover, palette converter, color reducer, pixel correction, rotation, K-centroid downscale (free–$0.01) · image edit, inpainting, outpainting, seam tiling (premium)
`estimate_edit_tool_cost`	Free cost/duration estimate for any edit
`fix_pixel_art`	Free recovery of the native pixel grid from enlarged, softened, AI-rendered, or compressed pixel art

Styles

Tool	What it does
`list_available_styles`	Live style catalog with per-style size limits and capabilities
`list_available_models`	The model families: RD Fast, RD Plus, RD Pro, RD Mini
`get_style_usage`	Usage guidance and constraints for a specific style
`create_user_style`	Create a custom style from a reference image (RD Pro template)
`update_user_style`	Modify one of your custom styles
`delete_user_style`	Remove one of your custom styles

Account

Tool	What it does
`authenticate`	Validate an API key and attach it to the session
`get_balance`	Check remaining prepaid balance and credits
`get_service_status`	Subsystem health check (no auth required)
`logout`	Clear the stored session key

fix_pixel_art accepts PNG or JPEG as raw base64 or a data URL. Images must be at least 16×16 and no more than 4 megapixels. Standard and neural share a 10 requests/minute limit per API key; request JSON is capped at 900,000 bytes and successful response JSON at 850,000 bytes. Use the standard engine for native Rust grid detection or the neural engine with optional target width and height values.

What you can make

Sprites & characters — 90+ styles: portraits, game assets, isometric, top-down, platformer, 1-bit, Minecraft items/textures, UI elements, item sheets, character turnarounds
Animations — walk/idle/jump/crouch/attack cycles from a start frame, four-angle walk cycles, 8-direction rotations, VFX, battle sprites; GIF or sprite-sheet output
Tilesets — Wang/blob tilesets, tile variations, single tiles, scene objects
Consistent characters — generate once with RD Pro, then pass the output as a reference image in follow-up generations (up to 9 references)
Edits — img2img, seamless tiling, transparent backgrounds, palette-constrained output
Pixel repair — reconstruct enlarged or softened pixel art at its detected native resolution

Example prompts to try once connected:

"List the available pixel art styles for animations, then estimate what a 64×64 walking animation would cost."

"Generate a 128×128 pixel art knight resting by a campfire, RD Pro default style, transparent background."

"Create a 16×16 Wang tileset: grey stone path tiles blending into lush grass."

"Fix this enlarged sprite back to its native pixel grid using the standard Pixel Fixer."

Prompting tips (important)

Describe the subject only — never write "pixel art" in the prompt; the style handles the rendering.
Sizes run 16×16 to 384×384 depending on style; list_available_styles gives exact per-style limits.
Costs range from ~$0.015 (RD Fast) to $0.18/image (RD Pro); animations $0.07–$0.25; tilesets $0.10. estimate_inference_cost is always free — use it first.
Reuse a seed to iterate on the same composition while changing only the prompt.

Who makes this

Retro Diffusion is built by Astropulse — a pixel artist with seven years of freelance experience before building the tool — and is used in production by studios and platforms including Replicate, Poe (Quora), and Scenario. It's designed by artists and held to artist-grade quality standards.

Support

Discord community — fastest answers, the founder is active daily
Full API reference and runnable examples
API v1/v2 compatibility — v2 default, v1 support, error contract, request IDs, and retry rules
Service status (no auth required)

License

The contents of this repository (documentation and manifests) are MIT licensed. The Retro Diffusion service itself is governed by its Terms of Service.