/getting-started

name: pixi-vn
description: Index and entry point of the Pixi'VN skill set — start here for any task on a @drincs/pixi-vn project, then follow the skill map to the right skill (narration, canvas, characters, assets, sound, storage, saves, history, ui, minigames, testing, migration). Use when setting up a new or existing project, wiring the main.ts entry point, or calling the top-level Game API (Game.init, Game.start, Game.onEnd, Game.addOnError, Game.onNavigate, Game.clear) — every Pixi'VN project needs this before touching canvas, narration, sound, storage, or history.

Pixi'VN skill index, project initialization and the Game API

Official docs: [pixi-vn.com/start](https://pixi-vn.com/start). For a full machine-readable index of every Pixi'VN doc page — useful whenever a task needs more detail than this skill set covers — see [pixi-vn.com/llms.txt](https://pixi-vn.com/llms.txt). For the exact signature, parameters and types of any exported class, function or interface, use the generated JSDoc API reference: [jsdocs.pixi-vn.com/pixi-vn](https://jsdocs.pixi-vn.com/pixi-vn).

Skill map: which skill to load

This is the index of the Pixi'VN skill set. Find the task below, then load the matching skill before writing code. Several tasks usually need more than one skill (e.g. a new scene: `pixi-vn-narration` + `pixi-vn-characters` + `pixi-vn-canvas`).

| Task | Skill | | --- | --- | | Create/set up a project, wire `main.ts`, `Game.init`/`Game.start`, Vite plugin | **pixi-vn** (this skill) | | Write story content: labels, dialogue, choices, jumps/calls, branching | [pixi-vn-narration](../narration/SKILL.md) | | Define and register characters used in dialogue | [pixi-vn-characters](../characters/SKILL.md) | | Show/move/remove images, sprites, text, video; transitions, effects, animations | [pixi-vn-canvas](../canvas/SKILL.md) | | Register and load images/audio/video (local vs. online, manifest/bundles) | [pixi-vn-assets](../assets/SKILL.md) | | Music, sound effects, voice, audio channels, filters | [pixi-vn-sound](../sound/SKILL.md) | | Game variables, flags, custom persisted classes | [pixi-vn-storage](../storage/SKILL.md) | | Save/load, save slots, quick-save, continue game | [pixi-vn-saves](../saves/SKILL.md) | | Go back/rewind, backlog/history log | [pixi-vn-history](../history/SKILL.md) | | Menus, HUD, dialogue box, settings screens, UI routing and theming | [pixi-vn-ui](../ui/SKILL.md) | | Add a minigame (snake, quiz, puzzle, ...) | [pixi-vn-minigames](../minigames/SKILL.md) | | Play-test the running game from an AI agent/script (`Game.testing`) | [pixi-vn-testing](../testing/SKILL.md) | | Upgrade a project to a newer version, fix a breaking-change error | [pixi-vn-migration](../migration/SKILL.md) |

If none fits, or a task needs more detail than the skills cover, consult [pixi-vn.com/llms.txt](https://pixi-vn.com/llms.txt) for the docs and the [JSDoc API reference](https://jsdocs.pixi-vn.com/pixi-vn) for exact signatures and types.

Companion packages

These are separate npm packages built on `@drincs/pixi-vn`; they are not covered by the skills above:

| Package | Use it for | Skills / docs | | --- | --- | --- | | `@drincs/pixi-vn-ink` | Writing the story in [ink](https://github.com/inkle/ink) (`.ink` files, hashtag commands) instead of TypeScript labels | Own skill set, install it alongside this one: `npx skills@latest add DRincs-Productions/pixi-vn-ink@latest --skill '*' -g -y`. Entry point: `pixi-vn-ink`. Docs: [pixi-vn.com/ink](https://pixi-vn.com/ink) | | `@drincs/nqtr` | NQTR (Navigation Quest Time Routine): locations/navigation, quests, time management and game state for a not-quite-point-and-click adventure | Own skill set, install it alongside this one: `npx skills@latest add DRincs-Productions/nqtr@latest --skill '*' -g -y`. Entry point: `nqtr`. Docs: [pixi-vn.com/nqtr](https://pixi-vn.com/nqtr) |

When a project uses one of these, load its skills (if any) in addition to the matching skill from the map; the plain-TypeScript skills in this set still apply to everything outside the ink/nqtr-specific parts.

When to use this skill

Use this skill whenever you are bootstrapping a Pixi'VN project from scratch, wiring up `src/main.ts`, or need to understand what `Game.init`/`Game.start` actually do before wiring narration, canvas, sound, storage, or history features. Every other Pixi'VN skill assumes `Game.init` has already run.

Installing the library

Two paths, depending on whether a project already exists:

• **New project** — scaffold from an official template (recommended for anything from scratch):

  npm create pixi-vn@latest

This generates a working project (index.html, entry point, bundler config) already wired to call `Game.init`, with pre-built menu/narration screens, VS Code launch configs, and (since template v2.0.0) TanStack Router for navigation. See [pixi-vn.com/start/templates](https://pixi-vn.com/start/templates) for the full generated project structure, available templates/demos, and how to run/customize one.

The wizard asks for a narrative language and **defaults/suggests _Ink + TypeScript_** (it's listed first and pre-selected in the prompt for the Visual Novel, Text-based Story, and Point & Click Adventure project types) — plain **TypeScript** narration (what every skill in this set documents) is the other option, selectable in the same prompt. Ink support is a separate narrative language with its own syntax and its own skill set (`pixi-vn-ink`, see [Companion packages](#companion-packages)); nothing in this skill set requires it.

The wizard's first question is the project/game type; the docs have a dedicated getting-started walkthrough for some of them — [pixi-vn.com/start/make-visual-novel](https://pixi-vn.com/start/make-visual-novel) for "Visual Novel", [pixi-vn.com/nqtr/make-point-and-click](https://pixi-vn.com/nqtr/make-point-and-click) for "Point & Click Adventure" — worth pointing a developer to the matchin