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Turn any image into hardware-accurate retro pixel art

bitmapped doesn’t just swap palettes — it reproduces the actual color limitations of real hardware. Palette quantization, spatial constraints, and display characteristics, all in a zero-dependency TypeScript library.

import { process } from 'bitmapped';
 
const result = process(imageData, {
  blockSize: 4,
  palette: preset.palette,
  dithering: 'floyd-steinberg',
});
 
ctx.putImageData(result.imageData, 0, 0);

Try it live

Pick a system preset and see the output update in real time:

Original
Game Boy (DMG)

Why bitmapped?

Not just palette swapping

Real retro hardware doesn’t let you use any color anywhere. The NES forces colors into 16×16 blocks. The ZX Spectrum locks brightness per 8×8 cell. bitmapped enforces these spatial constraints — that’s what makes the output look authentic.

54 real hardware presets

From the 4-shade Game Boy to the 32,768-color SNES, from Atari 2600 scanline limits to Amiga HAM mode. Each preset includes the correct palette, resolution, constraint type, and display characteristics.

Zero dependencies

Pure TypeScript, no native modules, no WASM. Works in browsers, Node.js, Deno, and web workers. Every algorithm — color distance, dithering, constraint solving — implemented from scratch.

Quick example

import { process } from 'bitmapped';
import { getPreset, enumerateColorSpace } from 'bitmapped/presets';
 
// Load a preset
const nes = getPreset('nes-ntsc');
 
// Process your image
const result = process(imageData, {
  blockSize: 4,
  palette: nes.palette,
  dithering: 'floyd-steinberg',
  distanceAlgorithm: 'redmean',
  constraintType: nes.constraintType,
  attributeBlockConfig: {
    width: 16,
    height: 16,
    maxColors: 4,
  },
});
 
// Render the result
ctx.putImageData(result.imageData, 0, 0);

System presets

NES

256×240
25 of 54 colors
16×16 attribute blocks

Game Boy

160×144
4 of 4 colors
4 green shades

ZX Spectrum

256×192
15 of 15 colors
8×8 attribute clash

SNES

256×224
256 of 32768 colors
Per-tile palette

Genesis

320×224
61 of 512 colors
9-bit RGB, nonlinear DAC

Commodore 64

320×200
16 of 16 colors
Hires / multicolor modes

Apple II

280×192
6 of 6 colors
NTSC artifact colors

Amiga

320×256
4096 of 4096 colors
Hold-And-Modify

PlayStation 1

320×240
32768 of 32768 colors
15-bit + ordered dither

Atari 2600

160×192
4 of 128 colors
4 colors per scanline

GBA

240×160
32768 of 32768 colors
15-bit RGB direct

Master System

256×192
32 of 64 colors
Per-tile palette

Neo Geo

320×224
4096 of 65536 colors
16-bit color, 256 palettes

Game Gear

160×144
32 of 4096 colors
12-bit RGB

Get started

Install bitmapped and convert your first image in under 5 minutes.

npm install bitmapped

Read the getting started guide →

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