GPU
Real-time simulation engine
The real thing
This is the actual app
Not a mockup — real screenshots from Phluxel on Windows. Docking panels, a Monaco-powered rule editor, a live GPU grid, and one-click starters.
Add living effects — rain, fire, snow, glow — to your pixel art in minutes, no frame-by-frame. Paint a grid, write one tiny Phlux rule, and the GPU brings it to life in real time — then export a seamless loop as GIF or MP4 in seconds.
// Conway's Life on the green channel LET _n = {COUNTNZ, (-1:1,-1:1).G} - (G > 0) (_n == 3) | (G > 0 & _n == 2) ? G = 255 : G = 0
Draw, script, simulate, and export — without ever leaving the canvas. Built on a tiny rule language and a real-time engine.
Describe how a cell becomes its next self from its neighbors. Channels, math, conditions and scatter — readable in one line, with a cheat sheet, autocomplete and a live preview in the Monaco-powered editor.
Global rules compile to GPU shaders and ping-pong render textures for buttery real-time playback — with toroidal wrapping. Per-cell logic falls back to a precise CPU interpreter automatically.
Drop in PNG, JPG, BMP, animated GIF or WebP — with smart downscaling and palette-lock to turn any illustration into clean pixel art — then let a rule remix it.
One-click GIF with ping-pong for perfect back-and-forth loops, plus PNG sequence, APNG, MP4, sprite sheets and palette-locked exports.
Animate rule parameters over time. Scrub, keyframe, and choreograph evolving simulations.
60 one-click live starters across 6 themed groups, plus a library of 60 rule templates to remix — go from blank to animating in a click.
Capture multiple snapshots of a field and step back through deep, non-destructive undo history.
Built on .NET 10 with a native Raylib + Dear ImGui front end, tuned for Windows 10 & 11 — docking panels, custom themes, and a fully rebindable keymap.
No coding needed to start — pick a starter, or build one from scratch. You can have a shareable GIF in about five minutes.
Brush, fill, shapes and an eyedropper on a pixel grid. Or import an image — a few dots is enough.
One line of Phlux says what each cell becomes from its neighbors. Toggle Global to run it everywhere.
Watch it evolve in real time. Step frame-by-frame, tweak speed, and reset to your design anytime.
Save a seamless ping-pong GIF, an MP4, an APNG, or a full PNG sequence. The result is the ad.
Given this cell and its neighbors right now, what should it become next step?
You write that as an assignment to the cell's R G B A channels. The engine applies it to every cell, over and over — and motion emerges.
N S E W, diagonals, relative (dx,dy) or absolute [x,y].COUNTNZ, the ? : ternary, and multi-cell scatter output.// 1 · a glowing decay trail R *= 0.97; G *= 0.97; B *= 0.99 // 2 · a left-to-right gradient R = X / GW * 255 // 3 · Conway's Game of Life (green) LET _n = {COUNTNZ, (-1:1,-1:1).G} - (G > 0) (_n == 3) | (G > 0 & _n == 2) ? G = 255 : G = 0 // 4 · paint a whole cell with a color literal [255, 255, 0, 0] // opaque red
Full reference ships in-app: Help ▸ Phlux Language Reference
Hand-pixeled characters, monsters and FX — looping right here in your browser, just like the sprites you'll paint, keyframe on the timeline, and export as a GIF.
Not a mockup — real screenshots from Phluxel on Windows. Docking panels, a Monaco-powered rule editor, a live GPU grid, and one-click starters.
No subscriptions, no cloud lock-in. The free edition is the whole toolkit — upgrade to remove the watermark, unlock unlimited grids, MP4/APNG and the right to sell your work. Under the hood that's a full rule-scripting language, a dual CPU/GPU simulation engine, and a keyframe timeline — not just a slider-based effects generator.
Both editions are the same download — your license simply unlocks Pro. One-time purchase, no subscription. Launch price: $19 (regular $29), for a limited time. Prices in USD; available on itch.io and Gumroad. Each Pro license is a personal, single-user license for up to 2 of your own devices (e.g. desktop + laptop) — more devices, or team/bulk, just email help@phluxel.com.
More questions? Read the full FAQ — or send us feedback directly.
Phluxel is sharper because our tester stress-tested it, filed bugs, and pushed the details. Thank you.
Download Phluxel free, paint a few pixels, and write your first rule. Your first seamless loop is about five minutes away.
v0.19.0 · Windows 10 & 11, 64-bit · also coming to Steam
First launch may show a Windows SmartScreen prompt while the app builds reputation — click More info ▸ Run anyway. Phluxel is safe and keeps your projects on your device.