emulator: Pyxel
type: standalone
core_classification: game_engine
source: "https://github.com/kitao/pyxel"
upstream: "https://github.com/kitao/pyxel"
profiled_date: "2026-10-04"
source_commit: "50f9bd77780c993aca62b5b221766bde5791081d"
core_version: "v2.9.9"
display_name: "Pyxel"
cores: [pyxel]
systems: []
verification: existence

notes: |
  Retro game engine for Python by Takashi Kitao. The engine is a Python
  package with a Rust-based extension (crates/pyxel-core, built via maturin).
  Pyxel programs are either .py scripts that import pyxel or self-contained
  .pyxapp bundles (zip archives containing a startup script plus assets).

  There is no external BIOS, firmware, or retail data to collect. Everything
  the engine needs ships inside the Python wheel:
    python/pyxel/: Python API, fonts, shader, examples
    crates/pyxel-core/: Rust engine (compiled as pyxel_extension)
    crates/pyxel-platform/: SDL2 wrapper
    crates/pyxel-wrapper/: Python to Rust glue (PyO3)

  Batocera's packaging (package/batocera/emulators/python-pyxel/python-pyxel.mk)
  installs the wheel into site-packages, drops the examples, and provides a
  pyxel.keys evmapy layout. The content run by Pyxel is the user's .pyxapp or
  .py file, which plays the role of a cartridge; those are user content, not
  pack contents.

  The engine refuses nothing on startup; a bare `pyxel init` plus a user
  script is enough to run.

files: []