[TASTE_OS // RETRO_PIXEL_STUDIO.EXE] [RETRO_PIXEL_STUDIO.EXE]
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CANONICAL AESTHETIC // TASTE ENGINE

RETRO PIXEL
DESIGN SYSTEM.

A crafted nostalgic aesthetic uniting late-1980s personal computing, 8-bit & 16-bit pixel illustrations, classic desktop window chrome, stepped pixel bevels, and modern WCAG AA accessibility.

Launch Desktop Studio Explore Components
$ npx skills add kennedys0/taste-engine --skill taste-engine
Retro Pixel Computer Workstation

MATERIAL FIDELITY GATE

Non-negotiable screenshot-level criteria for authentic Retro Pixel interfaces

SCREENSHOT GATE
1. INTEGER PIXEL PRECISION REQUIRED

Graphics adhere to integer alignment without accidental blur. Raster pixel art uses image-rendering: pixelated. Smooth photographic blur and arbitrary vector curves without pixel logic fail this gate.

image-rendering: pixelated;
2. RETRO WINDOW SURFACES REQUIRED

Panels feature classic desktop title bars in desktop purple (#5B438E), stepped bevel shadows (2px inset highlight + 2px inset dark), and square corners (border-radius: 0px).

box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #fff3, ...
3. TACTILE STEPPED FEEDBACK REQUIRED

Buttons physically displace along the integer grid on active click (transform: translate(2px, 2px)) with instant shadow collapse, providing immediate physical confirmation.

transform: translate(2px, 2px);

INTERACTIVE WINDOW STUDIO

Fully functional classic desktop window with draggable/toggleable controls & pixel paint

INTERACTIVE DEMO
DESKTOP WORKSPACE // DISK 1 OF 1 READY
PIXEL_WORKSHOP.EXE — [16x16 SPRITE CANVAS] PIXEL_WORKSHOP.EXE
TOOLS PALETTE
COLOR SWATCHES
CLICK OR DRAG TO PAINT PIXELS
Active Tool: Pencil | Color: #F27D36

COMPONENT LABORATORY

Production-ready retro controls with accessible states and zero AI-slop

INTERACTIVE CONTROLS
BUTTON VARIANTS & DISPLACEMENT TACTILE

Click and hold to test the 2px stepped depression and shadow collapse:

INPUTS & FORM ANATOMY FORM
TABS & STATUS BADGES META

Primary palette: Midnight #10102B, Arcade Orange #F27D36, Retro Teal #2CA7A3, Purple #5B438E, Cream #F2DFB5.

● ONLINE ▲ CAUTION ✕ CRITICAL ◆ 16-BIT

Strict 4px/8px coordinate snapping. Zero border-radius on cards and windows. Circular elements enforce aspect-ratio: 1 / 1.

WCAG AA contrast verified. Dual theme tokens flip background/foreground in tandem. Keyboard focus ring: 2px solid orange with 2px offset.

PORTFOLIO DEMONSTRATION

Real-world showcase cards with category filtering and modal details

HONEST CONTENT
GAMES v1.4.0

Cyber Rogue 16-bit

A turn-based roguelike dungeon crawler built with deterministic tile grids and authentic EGA pixel art assets.

TOOLS OPEN SOURCE

SpriteForge CLI

Terminal and GUI sprite packager that converts SVG vector assets into integer-aligned raster sheets.

UI SYSTEM DESIGN SYSTEM

Arcade UI Tokens

Standardized Tailwind CSS theme extension providing coupled light/dark tokens for retro computer applications.

GAMES WEBGL / 2D

Pixel Orbit

Physics puzzle simulation built with low-resolution ray tracing metaphors and chiptune audio generators.

TOOLS DEV TOOL

Hex Editor 86

In-browser binary inspection tool supporting classic ASCII columns and stepped window split panels.

UI SYSTEM COMPONENT LIB

RetroKit Vue/React

Accessible UI component library rendering classic Windows 95/Amiga styled widgets across React and Vue.

AUTHENTICATION DEMONSTRATION

Deterministic local simulation of retro system logon and validation

LOCAL DEMO
[SECURITY // SYSTEM_LOGON.SYS] ×
⚠ LOCAL SIMULATION ONLY — NO PRODUCTION CREDENTIALS TRANSMITTED
Forgot Access Key?

SYSTEM DASHBOARD

Information-dense process monitor with live search and tabular data

TELEMETRY
[PROCESS_MONITOR // TASK_MANAGER.EXE]
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PID PROCESS NAME MEMORY CPU % STATUS ACTION
1001 pixel-kernel.sys 14.2 MB 1.8% ACTIVE
1024 render-raster.exe 42.8 MB 12.4% ACTIVE
1048 chiptune-synth.drv 8.6 MB 3.1% STANDBY
1089 dither-stream.dpl 22.1 MB 8.7% THROTTLED
1112 net-floppy-link.vxd 5.4 MB 0.4% ACTIVE
5 tasks listed Allocated Memory: 93.1 MB / 640 KB Base Conventional OK

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Engineering architecture, fidelity gates, and usability answers

DOCUMENTATION
Retro Terminal models CRT developer developer consoles, green/amber phosphor radiation, static scanline overlays, bracketed ASCII frames, and command prompt workflows. Retro Pixel models classic graphical operating systems (Windows 95 / Amiga / System 7), integer pixel illustrations, desktop purple window headers, arcade orange/teal accents, and stepped 3D pixel bevels. They are never aliased together.
Never. The style enforces a paired typography rule: chunky pixel display fonts are strictly reserved for headlines, badges, and window headers. All multi-line paragraphs, tables, inputs, and explanatory text use highly legible humanist sans-serif (Inter) or clean monospace (JetBrains Mono).
Dark mode uses a midnight navy canvas (#10102B) with desktop purple headers and vintage cream text. Light mode uses vintage cream/parchment (#F2DFB5) with warm beige window panels and midnight ink text. In both modes, tokens flip in synchronized pairs to guarantee WCAG AA contrast with zero color collision.
Taste Engine v0.13.1 includes official Tailwind tokens (colors.taste.pixel-*, boxShadow.pixel-*) in presets/tailwind/tailwind.preset.js and ready-to-use classes in presets/tailwind/taste-components.css, plus shadcn/ui theme variable overrides in presets/shadcn/shadcn-themes.css.

INSTALLATION & AGENT INTEGRATION

Official Agent Skills workflow & CLI commands for developer agents

SUPPORTED CLI

OPTION A // DEDICATED RETRO-PIXEL SKILL

Installs only the standalone 8-bit & 16-bit Retro Pixel style pack. Recommended when your project has committed to this aesthetic and does not need multi-style dynamic routing.

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BASH // AGENT_SKILLS.EXE
# Install portable Retro-Pixel skill via universal Agent Skills CLI:
$npx skills add kennedys0/taste-engine --skill taste-style-retro-pixel
# Or copy directly into your Google Antigravity IDE global skills:
$git clone https://github.com/kennedys0/taste-engine.git && cp -r taste-engine/optional-standalone-skills/taste-style-retro-pixel ~/.gemini/config/skills/

OPTION B // FULL TASTE ENGINE (ALL 10 STYLES + ROUTER + SEO)

Equips your AI agent with the full 10-style autonomous design intelligence, dynamic router, preflight interview, anti-slop audits, and conditional SEO.

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BASH // MULTI_AGENT_INSTALL.BAT
# Universal Agent Skills CLI (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Antigravity):
$npx skills add kennedys0/taste-engine --skill taste-engine
# Or run native zero-dependency CLI installer for all project agents:
$node bin/taste-engine.mjs install --agent all --project
# Or install globally for Google Antigravity IDE / CLI (agy):
$node bin/taste-engine.mjs install --agent antigravity --global

OPTION C // TAILWIND CSS & SHADCN/UI PRESETS

Scaffold official Retro Pixel color tokens, stepped shadow variables, and component presets directly into your frontend repository.

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BASH // SCAFFOLD_PRESET.CMD
# Scaffold presets directly into your repository:
$taste-engine init
// Or import directly into tailwind.config.js:
module.exports = {
  presets: [require('@kennedys0/taste-engine/presets/tailwind/tailwind.preset.js')],
};
SUPPORTED AGENTS: Antigravity (IDE & CLI) Claude Code Cursor Codex Windsurf Cline GitHub Copilot