Spritemate - C64 Sprite Editor (VS Code Plugin)
Run Spritemate, the browser-based Commodore 64 sprite editor, directly inside VS Code.
This extension is a VS Code plugin that wraps the original Spritemate web app in a VS Code webview panel, so it runs "as-is" in the editor — no browser required.
Usage
- Open the Command Palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P).
- Run Spritemate: Open C64 Sprite Editor.
- Or press
Ctrl+Alt+S (Cmd+Alt+S on macOS).
Features
- 16-color C64 palette (Colodore, PALette, Pepto + custom)
- Draw pixels on a 24×21 (single color) or 12×21 (multicolor) canvas
- Select, fill, shift, flip, invert, move, erase, copy & paste sprites
- Sprite overlays, double width/height, animation, playfield preview
- Undo / redo, multiple sprites, sprite sorting
- Import/export: SpritePad (
.spd), project (.spm), PNG, VICE snapshot (.vsf), assembly, BASIC code
File handling
- Open / Import uses VS Code's native file picker.
- Save / Export triggers a file download. Export your
.spm, .spd, PNG or code to disk from there.
Notes
- The app stores its settings and autosave in the webview's local storage. Use File → Save Project to keep your work as a
.spm file.
Authors
- Spritemate (the application) is created by Ingo Hinterding (awsm) and released under the MIT license.
- This VS Code extension is packaged by Menno Homan (Windigo).
Development
Spritemate is included as a git submodule, which points at an exact commit of the upstream project.
Build locally
./build-extension.sh
This builds spritemate, copies its output into media/, and produces spritemate-<version>.vsix.
Update spritemate to a newer version
Automated (Dependabot): Dependabot checks daily for new spritemate commits and opens a pull request. Just review and merge it — GitHub Actions then rebuilds the .vsix automatically.
Manual:
(cd spritemate && git fetch origin && git checkout main) # or a commit SHA
git add spritemate
git commit -m "Update spritemate"
git push
Spritemate has no tags/releases, so you follow the main branch (or pin a specific commit SHA).
Release a new version
- Bump
version in package.json.
- Tag and push:
git tag v1.3.0
git push origin v1.3.0
GitHub Actions builds the .vsix on every push. When you push a v* tag, it also creates a GitHub Release with the .vsix attached.
