# Retro Diffusion

> Retro Diffusion generates real, grid-aligned, palette-controlled pixel art — sprites, characters, animations, tilesets, and game assets. Designed by artists and held to artist-grade quality standards. Web app, developer API, and hosted MCP server. New accounts get 50 free credits; prepaid credits never expire and there is no subscription.

## Key facts

- True pixel art: pixel-perfect grids, controlled palettes, transparent backgrounds, animation frames, and sprite sheets — not "pixel-art style" images with uneven grids.
- Models: RD Fast (speed), RD Plus (specialized styles), RD Pro (up to 9 reference images, highest quality). Output sizes 16x16 up to 512x512.
- 100+ styles: characters, isometric, top-down, platformer, 1-bit, Minecraft items and textures, UI elements, item sheets, character turnarounds, and more.
- Animation: walking, idle, jump, crouch, attack, custom actions, 8-direction rotation (from a prompt, or of an uploaded sprite); GIF or sprite-sheet output.
- Tilesets: Wang/blob tilesets, tile variations, single tiles, and scene objects.
- Low-Poly 3D models: real low-poly 3D models with hand-painted pixel-art textures from a prompt and/or reference images (16³ to 256³), which can be revised, animated (rigging is free), and exported for Godot, Unity, Unreal, Blender, Blockbench, Minecraft, and the web. From $0.25.
- Generation Assistant: a chat on the canvas that plans and runs multi-step work (a sprite, then its animation; item sets; variants; edits) with an exact price shown before anything is charged. 2D by default; 3D models on request. Also available as an API.
- Edit tools: inpainting, outpainting, seamless tiling, background removal, palette conversion, color reduction, pixel correction, rotation, K-centroid downscaling.
- Free Pixel Art Fixer (https://retrodiffusion.ai/tools/pixel-art-fixer): converts "pixel-style" AI output from any model into real, grid-aligned pixel art — detects the implied grid, snaps every cell to a true pixel, and restores clean edges. No sign-up, runs in the browser; also available in bulk on the API.
- Pricing: pay per generation (from about $0.01 per image); free cost estimation before you pay; credits never expire; no subscription. Commercial use of generated art is allowed.
- Made by Astropulse, a pixel artist with 7 years of freelance experience; used in production by studios and platforms including Replicate, Poe (Quora), and Scenario.

## Pages

- [Web app](https://retrodiffusion.ai/app): generate pixel art in the browser
- [All pixel art styles](https://retrodiffusion.ai/styles/): browsable catalog of every style
- [Pixel art tools](https://retrodiffusion.ai/tools/): AI and free editing tools
- [Pixel Art Fixer](https://retrodiffusion.ai/tools/pixel-art-fixer): free, no-signup tool that converts fake "pixel-style" AI images into real, grid-aligned pixel art
- [How it works](https://retrodiffusion.ai/learn-more): models, tech, and FAQ
- [User guide](https://retrodiffusion.ai/app/guide): every model, the Generation Assistant, Low-Poly 3D, settings, and editing tools

## Developers

- [API reference](https://retrodiffusion.ai/app/guide/api): every endpoint, including Low-Poly 3D models and assistant sessions
- [API examples on GitHub](https://github.com/Retro-Diffusion/api-examples): Python and Node.js quickstarts
- Default API base URL: https://api.retrodiffusion.ai/v2 (X-RD-Token authentication; generation returns a task to poll)
- V1 compatibility base URL: https://api.retrodiffusion.ai/v1 (still supported; no retirement plan)
- MCP server: https://mcp.retrodiffusion.ai/mcp — typed tools to list styles, estimate costs, and generate pixel art and Low-Poly 3D models from any MCP-capable assistant
- Low-Poly 3D API: https://api.retrodiffusion.ai/v2/lowpoly (generate, revise, animate, export)
- Assistant API: https://api.retrodiffusion.ai/v1/assistant (conversational sessions with priced plans; $0.01 per message)
- Hosted models: [Replicate](https://replicate.com/retro-diffusion), [Poe](https://poe.com/Retro-Diffusion-Core)

## Community

- [Discord](https://discord.gg/retrodiffusion)
- [X / Twitter](https://x.com/RealAstropulse)
- [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@realastropulse)
- [itch.io](https://astropulse.itch.io)