playscii/docs/cheatsheet.md

playscii cheatsheet

hotkeys

file operations

key	action
Ctrl+N	new art
Ctrl+O	open art
Ctrl+S	save
Ctrl+W	close art
Ctrl+M	import file
Ctrl+E	export (last used format)
Ctrl+Q	quit

tools

key	tool
A	paint (pencil)
E	erase
R	rotate
Q	grab (eyedropper)
T	text
S	select
V	paste
I	fill

painting & tile properties

key	action
1 / 2	decrease / increase brush size
3	cycle character forward (Shift+3 backward)
4	cycle foreground color forward (Shift+4 backward)
5	cycle background color forward (Shift+5 backward)
6	cycle transform forward (Shift+6 backward)
C	toggle affects: character
F	toggle affects: foreground color
B	toggle affects: background color
X	toggle affects: transform
W	swap foreground / background colors
Space	toggle picker popup (charset + palette)
Return	paint / confirm
Right-click	quick grab (sample tile under cursor)

selection

key	action
Ctrl+A	select all
Ctrl+D	select none
Ctrl+I	invert selection
Ctrl+X	cut
Ctrl+C	copy
Ctrl+V	paste
Delete / Backspace	erase selection (or entire art)
Shift+Return	add to selection
Ctrl+Return	remove from selection

view & camera

key	action
Shift+Z	zoom in
Shift+X	zoom out
= / -	pixel-exact zoom in / out
Z	snap zoom to fit art (toggle)
Shift+Arrow keys	pan camera
Middle mouse drag	pan camera
Scroll wheel	zoom in / out
Home	center cursor in art
Shift+G	toggle grid
Shift+R	toggle CRT filter
Shift+T	toggle camera tilt
Shift+U	toggle UI
Shift+I	toggle overlay image
Alt+Return	toggle fullscreen
Ctrl+= / Ctrl+-	increase / decrease UI scale

layers & frames

key	action
[ / ]	previous / next layer
, / .	previous / next frame
P	toggle animation playback
L	cycle inactive layer visibility (visible / dim / hidden)
O	toggle onion skin
Ctrl+Tab	next art document
Shift+Ctrl+Tab	previous art document

art operations

key	action
Ctrl+R	resize art
Ctrl+K	crop to selection
Ctrl+H	choose character set
Ctrl+P	choose palette
Ctrl+T	run last artscript
Ctrl+Z	undo
Shift+Ctrl+Z	redo

game mode

key	action
G	toggle game mode
Shift+E	toggle game edit UI
F2	reset game (reload last state)
Ctrl+G	load game state
Ctrl+S	save game state
Ctrl+Shift+G	set game directory
Ctrl+L	select objects
Ctrl+P	choose spawn object class
Arrow keys / WASD	move player
Shift+Arrow keys	move selected objects
Z	grab (hold)
X	frob (interact / attack)
F3	toggle collision on selected
F5	toggle all origin visualization
F6	toggle all bounds visualization
F7	toggle all collision visualization

debug & console

key	action
` (backtick)	toggle developer console
F1	open help docs
F8	toggle debug text overlay
F9	toggle FPS counter

menu access

Alt + first letter opens each menu: F(ile), E(dit), T(ool), V(iew), A(rt), R(frame), L(ayer), C(har/color), G(ame), H(elp), S(tate), W(orld), O(bject)

how to do things

painting basics

1. pick a tool: A for paint, E for erase, T for text
2. pick a character: press 3 to cycle, or hold Space to open the picker
3. pick colors: press 4 (foreground) or 5 (background) to cycle, or use the picker — left-click sets foreground, right-click sets background
4. paint: click and drag, or press Return
5. use C/F/B/X to toggle which properties the tool affects — handy for recoloring without changing characters, or vice versa

using the picker

• press or hold Space to open it
• top section: character swatch (click to select)
• middle section: color swatch (left-click = foreground, right-click = background)
• bottom section: transform selector (flip X/Y, rotate 0/90/180/270)
• the picker also has tabs for tool settings
• Ctrl+H to change character set, Ctrl+P to change palette

working with layers

• ] to go to next layer, [ for previous
• layers have Z-depth for parallax (change via Layer menu)
• L cycles how inactive layers display: full / dim / invisible
• add layers from the Layer menu
• each layer is independent — tools only affect the active layer

working with frames (animation)

• . for next frame, , for previous
• P to play/stop animation
• O to toggle onion skin (shows ghost of adjacent frames)
• add frames from the Frame menu — you can set hold times per frame
• frames share the same layers

import and export

importing:

• Ctrl+M to import
• supported: ANSI (.ans), plain text (.txt), bitmaps (.png/.jpg/.bmp/.gif), EDSCII, ENDOOM (.lmp)
• bitmap import converts images to ASCII art using the current charset+palette

exporting:

• Ctrl+E to export (uses last format), or File → Export for format picker
• supported: ANSI (.ans), plain text (.txt), PNG image, animated GIF, PNG sequence, ENDOOM (.lmp)
• PNG export has scale and CRT filter options

bitmap to ASCII conversion

1. File → Import (Ctrl+M)
2. select a bitmap image (.png, .jpg, .bmp, .gif)
3. playscii converts it using the current charset and palette
4. try different charsets (Ctrl+H) for different looks
5. "2-color bitmap" import option for 1-bit black/white conversion

custom character sets

1. create a PNG spritesheet of your characters
2. create a matching .char file with metadata (character width/height, map)
3. drop both in charsets/ directory
4. select via Ctrl+H or the picker

custom palettes

• drop an image file in palettes/ — colors are sampled from it
• or use Art → Palette from image to generate one from any image
• select via Ctrl+P or the picker

artscripts (generative art)

• python scripts that procedurally modify art (.arsc files)
• live in artscripts/ directory
• Art → Run Artscript (Ctrl+T runs the last one)
• scripts use a TileIter helper to iterate over all tiles
• useful for patterns, noise, cellular automata, etc.

game mode basics

1. press G to enter game mode
2. games are folders with art/, scripts/, sounds/, and a start.gs state file
3. Game → New game to create a project, or Game → Open game to load one
4. objects are Python classes extending GameObject
5. edit object properties by clicking them in the editor (Shift+E to show edit UI)
6. Ctrl+P to spawn new objects from the object class list
7. F2 to reset to last saved state — essential for rapid iteration

developer console

• press ` (backtick) to open
• type help for available commands
• run arbitrary python — useful variables:
  • app — the application
  • world — the game world
  • player — the player object
  • camera — the camera
  • art — the current art
  • ui — the UI
  • sel — selected objects
  • hud — the game HUD

rapid iteration workflow

for art:

• edit → Ctrl+S to save → switch to game mode (G) to see changes live

for games:

• edit scripts in your text editor
• Ctrl+S to save game state
• F2 to reload — instant feedback loop
• use the console (`) for live debugging and tuning
• expose tunable values in the Properties Editor for in-app tweaking

configuration

• config files live in OS-specific locations:
  • linux: ~/.config/Playscii/
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Playscii/
  • windows: C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\Playscii\
• playscii.cfg — app settings
• binds.cfg — custom keybindings (copy from binds.cfg.default to customize)

mouse controls

input	action
left click + drag	use current tool
right click	quick grab (sample tile)
middle click + drag	pan camera
scroll wheel	zoom in / out
scroll wheel (on UI)	scroll UI elements