SpriteCook Workflow Essentials

Use this alongside the SpriteCook image or animation skill whenever SpriteCook MCP tools are available.

Requires: SpriteCook MCP server connected to your editor. Set up with npx spritecook-mcp setup or see spritecook.ai.

Preflight Checklist

1. Check credits first with get_credit_balance before starting a batch or multi-asset workflow.
2. Prefer presigned download URLs over authenticated asset endpoints.
3. Save important asset_id values in a local manifest whenever there is a writable workspace, unless the user explicitly wants a throwaway result.
4. When a workflow involves follow-up generations or animations for the same subject, identify and reuse the canonical asset_id instead of generating from scratch again.
5. If the agent loses track of generated asset IDs, recover them with list_recent_assets(limit=...) before failing.

Credential Safety

• Never ask the user to paste a SpriteCook API key into chat, prompts, code blocks, shell commands, or generated files.
• Never print, persist, echo, or inline API keys or Authorization headers in agent output.
• Prefer SpriteCook MCP tools, presigned URLs, or a preconfigured local connector/helper that handles authentication outside the prompt.
• If a raw API call is required and no authenticated helper exists, stop and ask the user to configure one.

Asset Library Tools

• Use spritecook-upload-assets plus create_asset_upload and finalize_asset_upload when a local file path needs to become a SpriteCook asset before animation, editing, reference, or tileset-style reuse.
• Use import_asset(image=..., pixel=..., display_name=..., file_name=...) only when the image is already a small data URL or raw base64 value that can be passed without printing it.
• Use remove_background(asset_id=...) for owned SpriteCook assets that need a transparent cutout. Use remove_background(image=...) only when the user supplies local image data and does not need a reusable imported asset first.
• Use update_asset_label(asset_id=..., label=...) after generation, import, or cleanup when a clearer asset name will help the project manifest or future agent steps.
• Do not tell the user to use the SpriteCook HTTP API or API keys for local image import when the SpriteCook MCP tools are available. Prefer the upload bridge for file paths.

Preset Tools

• When the user says to use one of their saved presets, call list_presets(query=...) first and identify the best matching preset by title, mode, and status.
• Then call get_preset_settings(preset_id=...) and apply the returned settings as guidance for the next SpriteCook MCP generation or edit tool.
• Treat presets as saved settings and reference guidance, not as a separate generation path.
• Private draft presets can return owned reference asset IDs in settings.reference.styleAssetIds, contextAssetId, and editAssetId.
• For still-image generation, map settings.reference.styleAssetIds to style_asset_ids on generate_game_art; use up to 10 IDs.
• Treat style guide images as ambient style context for new related assets; agents do not need to restate them in the prompt unless calling out a specific visual trait.
• Map settings.reference.contextAssetId to reference_asset_id when the preset provides one specific visual/context reference asset.
• Use reference_asset_id when a prompt refers to one specific source or context asset, such as a particular building, character, prop, or part.
• Use edit_asset_id only for the one asset being directly modified.
• Published presets can return frozen preset media URLs in settings.reference.styleUploadUrls, contextUploadUrl, and editUploadUrl; use these only when the target MCP tool supports upload URL references.
• Use save_private_preset(...) only when the user explicitly asks to save a private preset. It creates a private draft preset only and does not publish, share, or submit anything for moderation.

Defaults

• Prefer smart_crop_mode="tightest" for the best default results. Use "power_of_2" only when the user explicitly asks for it.
• Model guidance:
• gemini-2.5-flash-image: cheapest
• gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview: recommended default
• gemini-3-pro-image-preview: most expensive

Asset Manifest

• Treat asset_id as the primary stable identifier.
• Store a 12-character SHA-256 prefix (sha12) for saved local files.
• Use a minimal manifest entry shape:
• asset_id
• sha12
• optional label
• Prefer a simple machine-readable file such as spritecook-assets.json unless the project already has an asset manifest.
• Before generating a new reference asset or asking the user for an asset id, check the local manifest first.
• Before reusing a local file, compute its sha12 and match it against the manifest to recover the correct asset_id.

Downloading Assets

• For recent-asset recovery flows, prefer list_recent_assets(limit=...).
• Treat sprite_url as the single primary asset URL to inspect, save, or hand off to downstream tools.
• Treat spritesheet_url as an optional secondary artifact. Use it only when present and only when you specifically need a spritesheet export.
• For single-asset inspection flows, get_asset_metadata(asset_id) also exposes a primary url plus optional spritesheet_url.
• Avoid relying on low-level internal fields such as _presigned_pixel_url or _presigned_url in agent-facing workflows unless no higher-level field is available.
• Avoid direct authenticated download endpoints in skill-driven workflows unless a helper handles auth out of band.