top of page

AseNav

logo512.png

AseNav is a real-time preview and recording tool designed to enhance the workflow for artists using Aseprite. It provides a dedicated, scalable window that mirrors your Aseprite canvas, allowing you to see your pixel art and animations at any size, on a separate monitor, or alongside your workspace.

Key Features

  • Real-Time Preview: Instantly see changes from your Aseprite canvas in a separate, resizable window.

  • Pan and Zoom Controls: Freely navigate your canvas using mouse drag (pan) and the scroll wheel (zoom) for detailed inspection.

  • Customizable Background: Switch between a solid color background (with full RGB control) and a classic checkerboard pattern to suit your artwork.

  • Frame-Perfect Video Recording: Capture every single frame exported from Aseprite without loss, even during rapid changes.

  • High-Quality Video Export: Record your animation and export it to standard video resolutions like 720p, 1080p, 2K, or 4K. AseNav intelligently scales your pixel art without any blurring, maintaining its sharp, pixel-perfect aesthetic.

  • Adjustable FPS: Set the frames per second for your final video output, from 12 to 60 FPS.

  • Clean, Native UI: A minimal interface with a settings panel that gets out of your way. The application has no right-click context menu for a clean, professional feel.

 How to Use

Download the file and setup.​

​

Step 1: Aseprite Setup (The Lua Script)

AseNav works by watching a specific folder for new image files. You need to configure Aseprite to save a frame to this folder every time the canvas changes. This is typically done with a Lua script.

  1. Drop a Lua script (Asenav.lua) in Aseprite script file (File > Scripts > Open Scripts Folder).

  2. Run Asenav.lua script in Aseprite (File > Scripts > Asenav).

  3. Click trust script and click okay the page of Asenav inside the Aseprite.

image_2025-11-08_222740220.png

​​

Step 2: Launch AseNav

Run the AseNav.exe application. It will open a dark gray window.

 

Step 3: Start Previewing

As you work in Aseprite , your canvas will automatically appear and update in the AseNav window.

  • To Pan: Click and drag the image with your mouse.

  • To Zoom: Use your mouse scroll wheel.

 

Step 4: Record a Video

  1. Click the gear icon (⚙️) in the top-right corner to open the settings panel.

  2. Configure your recording options (see "The Settings Panel" section below). The most important are FPS and Output Quality.

  3. Click the "Start Recording" button.

  4. Switch to Aseprite and draw or play through your animation. The frame counter at the bottom of AseNav will show how many frames have been captured.

  5. When you are finished, click the "Stop & Save Video" button in AseNav.

  6. A file save dialog will appear. Choose a location and name for your MP4 video file. AseNav will then process the frames and create the video.

Setting Panel

  • Background Style:

    • Solid Color: Displays a solid background. Use the R, G, B inputs to change the color.

    • Checkerboard: A standard light and dark gray checkerboard pattern, useful for viewing transparency.

  • Zoom: A slider to control the current zoom level of the preview image.

  • Panel Opacity: Adjusts the transparency of the settings panel itself.

  • Video Recording:

    • FPS (Frames Per Second): Determines the playback speed of the final video. Higher values result in smoother motion.

    • Output Quality: This sets the resolution of the final MP4 file. AseNav calculates the best integer scaling factor to reach the target resolution without blurring your pixels.

      • Source: Exports the video at the original resolution of your artwork.

      • HD (720p), Full HD (1080p), etc.: Upscales the video to that standard resolution.

  • Buttons:

    • Start Recording: Begins capturing frames for a video.

    • Stop & Save Video: Stops the recording and opens a dialog to save the captured frames as an MP4 video.

    • Cancel Recording: Appears while recording. Stops the recording and discards all captured frames without saving.

image.png

Technical Requirements

  • Operating System: Windows.

  • Aseprite: A working installation of Aseprite that can run Lua scripts.

  • FFmpeg: This is critical. FFmpeg is required to create the video files.

    1. Download FFmpeg from ffmpeg.org.

    2. Extract the files to a permanent location on your computer (e.g., C:\ffmpeg).

    3. You MUST add the bin folder inside your FFmpeg directory to your system's PATH environment variable. If you don't do this, video creation will fail.

Troubleshooting (FAQ)

  • Q: I see a white screen or no image appears in AseNav.

  • A: This is almost always an issue with the Aseprite Lua script.

  • Ensure the script is running correctly.

  • Double-check that the save path in your script is exactly C:\Users\[Your_Username]\AppData\Local\Temp\aseprite_navigator_frames.

  • Make sure you replaced [Your_Username] correctly.

  • Q: Video creation fails with an "FFmpeg error".

  • A: This means AseNav cannot find or run FFmpeg.

  • Verify that you have downloaded FFmpeg.

  • Confirm that you have added its bin directory to your system's PATH variable. You may need to restart your computer after changing the PATH for it to take effect.

  • Q: Can I use this on macOS or Linux?

  • A: The application logic is cross-platform, but the hardcoded file path is specific to Windows. 

bottom of page