aseprite-tags_skill

Overview

This skill extracts animation tag metadata (names, inclusive frame ranges, directions, and colors) directly from .aseprite files without requiring Aseprite. It scans files, folders, or glob patterns and returns deduplicated tag lists in Markdown or JSON for integration into pipelines. Use it to quickly enumerate actions and audit tag consistency across multiple assets.

How this skill works

The script parses the Aseprite binary format to locate tag chunks and reads each tag's name, from-to frame range (inclusive), direction, and color. It scans a single file, recurses a directory for *.aseprite files, or accepts glob input. Output is Markdown by default and can be emitted as structured JSON for automation.

When to use it

• You need a machine-readable list of animations/actions from Aseprite files without installing Aseprite.
• Auditing or validating animation tag consistency across many assets.
• Generating animation maps or clips for game engines using tag names and frame ranges.
• Batch-processing assets in CI to detect missing or malformed tags.
• Converting tag metadata into animation definitions for importers or tools.

Best practices

• Pass a folder or glob to process many .aseprite files at once and capture summarized output.
• Use the --json option when integrating with build scripts or asset pipelines.
• Treat reported frame ranges as inclusive when mapping to engine frame indices.
• Check for duplicate tag entries; the tool de-duplicates identical tags but flags files with no tags.
• Name tags consistently in your art pipeline to simplify automatic mapping to actions.

Example use cases

• Generate an animations list for a character folder and feed JSON into an engine importer.
• Run nightly CI checks to ensure every sprite asset includes required action tags.
• Create a report of tag colors and directions to verify naming conventions across artists.
• Quickly list frame ranges for a specific .aseprite file when writing animation code.
• Audit an asset pack to find files that lack any tags and need artist attention.