Frequently asked questions

Phluxel is a desktop cellular-automata studio for Windows. You paint a pixel grid, write a tiny rule in the Phlux language (or pick one of the built-in templates), watch it evolve in real time on the GPU, and export the result as a seamless animated loop — GIF, PNG sequence, and on Pro also MP4 and APNG.

Not to start. The Starter Gallery and rule templates get you animating with a single click. When you're curious, Phlux rules are usually one short, readable line — and the editor has a cheat sheet, autocomplete and inline hints.

Windows only — Windows 10 (1809+) and Windows 11, 64-bit. Phluxel targets a single platform so every feature, including the Monaco-powered script editor, is fully supported and tuned for it.

Minimum: a 64-bit dual-core CPU, an OpenGL 3.3 GPU, 4 GB RAM and ~300 MB of disk. Recommended: a quad-core CPU, a dedicated GPU (for the GPU engine and large grids), and 8 GB+ RAM.

No. Phluxel is a one-time purchase with a perpetual license — buy it once and it's yours, including future updates within the same major version. There's also a genuinely free edition to start with.

Free includes every creative feature — drawing, rules, GPU simulation, timeline, import, user functions, GIF/PNG export. The differences are output-side: Free exports carry a "MADE WITH PHLUXEL" watermark, are capped at 1024 px / 300 frames, grids at 128×128, and are licensed for personal, non-commercial use. Pro removes the watermark and all caps, adds MP4/APNG export, and grants commercial rights.

Yes — no account, no trial timer, no feature unlocks that expire. Use it as long as you like for personal, non-commercial work. Sharing watermarked exports on personal, non-monetized social media or portfolios is welcome.

Yes. Everything you make is yours. The Pro edition grants a full commercial license so you can sell your loops, use them in games, videos, or client work. The Free edition is for personal, non-commercial projects and watermarks its exports — monetized or client work needs Pro.

A Pro license is a personal, single-user license for up to 2 of your own devices (for example your desktop and your laptop). It can't be shared between different people. Need more devices, or licenses for a team or classroom? Email help@phluxel.com.

No — your license is a key, not an installation. Uninstalling Phluxel removes everything (settings and the stored license key included), so after reinstalling just enter your key again (Help ▸ License) — the key validates instantly and locally. Keep the email that delivered your key; if you've lost it, email help@phluxel.com from your purchase address and we'll re-send it.

Unlocking is offline — keys carry a cryptographic signature, so entering one never needs a server, an account, or an internet connection, and Phluxel always runs without one. It does send small anonymous pings (a usage heartbeat on every edition, and — on Pro — a hashed-key activation check that helps detect key sharing); these carry no personal data, name, or project content. See the Privacy Policy for exactly what's sent.

See the Refund Policy. In short: if a refund is granted, the associated license key is revoked and the app reverts to the Free edition — everything you created stays yours.

The $19 early-bird price runs for a limited time after release, then the price is $29. Occasional store sales (Steam, itch.io) may happen, but the early-bird price is the lowest planned.

Still images: PNG, JPG, BMP. Animation: GIF and PNG sequence on every edition; MP4 (H.264) and APNG (full-color, lossless, transparent) on Pro. Ping-pong looping, region/scale options and a "from start" clean-loop mode are built in.

Global rules are compiled to GLSL shaders and run as ping-pong render textures for real-time playback — including toroidal wrap. Per-cell rules, user functions and scatter run on a precise CPU interpreter, and Phluxel switches between them automatically.

Your projects, fields and exports never leave your machine, and there's no behavioral analytics or ad tracking. Network calls are limited to: an update check at startup (so fixes reach you fast), a tiny anonymous usage heartbeat at most once a day — edition, version, UI language and a random counting ID (no name, no hardware fingerprint, not linked to your license) — so we know roughly how many people use Phluxel, Help ▸ Send Feedback (you-triggered, sending only what's shown on screen), and — on Pro only — a minimal automatic license activation check that sends just a hash of your license key and a random install ID (no name, no email, no project content) so we can detect key sharing. Full detail is in the Privacy Policy.

Use Help ▸ Send Feedback inside the app — it sends your report (with your Phluxel version and OS attached) straight to us — or use the feedback form here on the site. Please describe what you did, what you expected, and what happened instead.

Send it via Help ▸ Send Feedback in the app, or the feedback form. We read everything.

The full user manual — getting started, tools, the Phlux language reference, import/export — lives at phluxel.com/docs. The same pages open from the app's Help menu.