pixelmator-pxd-editor

name: pixelmator-pxd-editor description: Edit, create, modify, inspect, automate, or export Pixelmator Pro .pxd files. Use whenever Codex needs to work with PXD templates, App Store promotional PXD files, Pixelmator Pro mockups, layer replacement, text replacement, image replacement, PXD-to-PNG export, layer inspection, document resizing, masks, selections, or any user request that asks to edit a PXD file. This skill requires using only Pixelmator Pro's official AppleScript dictionary for editable PXD work and forbids direct PXD zip/SQLite/package mutation as the production path.

Pixelmator PXD Editor

Use this skill for any task involving editable Pixelmator Pro .pxd files.

Hard Rule

Edit PXD files only through Pixelmator Pro's official AppleScript dictionary. Use only the AppleScript commands and properties listed in this skill. If a needed action cannot be expressed with this allowed surface, stop and report the limitation instead of inventing another path.

Never use these as the production edit path:

• Unzipping or rezipping .pxd packages.
• Editing metadata.info SQLite data.
• Byte-patching layer BLOBs.
• Replacing QuickLook thumbnails.
• Replacing files under data/*OriginalContentSource.
• Recreating Apple device frames by hand when the template already contains one.
• Driving the UI with clicks, menu items, keyboard shortcuts, or clipboard state when an official AppleScript command/property exists.

Archive-level inspection is allowed only as read-only diagnostics after official AppleScript automation fails. Never ship a final PXD produced by package mutation unless the user explicitly asks for a forensic experiment.

Safety Defaults

• Never modify the user's original PXD in place.
• Copy the PXD first, then open and edit only the copy.
• Disable Pixelmator Pro autosave while the script runs, then restore the previous value.
• Close only the document opened by the script, using saving no after exporting/saving the intended output.
• If Pixelmator Pro says the copied PXD is damaged or cannot be opened, stop and report that the template is invalid.
• Export a PNG preview after editing and inspect or report it before claiming success.
• For sensitive tasks, verify the original PXD timestamp did not change.

Allowed Command Decision Table

Use this table as the main menu. Pick the row for the user's intent and use the exact command/property family named there.

Allowed Properties And Classes

Use these official properties for direct edits. Do not set undocumented keys.

• application: autosave enabled, appearance, load hdr content, image opening workflow, sidecar enabled, sidecar location, build number.
• document: id, sidecar file, data reference, width, height, resolution, bits per channel, color profile, display hdr content, document info, current layer, selected layers, selection bounds.
• layer: id, index, data reference, name, opacity, visible, locked, selected, clipping mask, blend mode, width, height, position, bounds, rotation, color adjustments, styles, parent, layer mask.
• image layer: file, preserve transparency, constrain proportions.
• shape layer: constrain proportions.
• rounded rectangle shape layer: corner radius.
• polygon shape layer: sides.
• star shape layer: star points, star radius.
• text layer: text content, horizontal alignment, vertical alignment.
• rich text, character, word, paragraph: color, font, size.
• color adjustments: temperature, tint, hue, saturation, vibrance, exposure, highlights, shadows, brightness, contrast, black point, texture, clarity, black and white, sepia, invert, fade, vignette, vignette exposure, vignette black point, vignette softness, grain, grain size, sharpen, sharpen radius, custom lut.
• styles: fill color, fill opacity, fill blend mode, stroke width, stroke position, stroke type, stroke color, stroke opacity, shadow blur, shadow distance, shadow angle, shadow color, shadow opacity, inner shadow blur, inner shadow distance, inner shadow angle, inner shadow color, inner shadow opacity, inner shadow blend mode.
• document info: metadata properties such as author, caption, copyright notice, creation date, headline, keywords, title, location, altitude.
• effect: enabled; specific effect properties include radius, angle, position, amount, blur, transition, scale, rotation, color 1, color 2, width, sharpness, opacity, blend mode, fill color, and image fill/pattern image.

Allowed Enumerations

• Save formats for save as new document: Pixelmator Pro, HEIC, JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, SVG, GIF, PSD.
• Export formats for export: PNG, TIFF, JPEG/JPG, HEIC, GIF, JPEG2000, BMP, WebP, SVG, PDF, PSD, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, MP4, QuickTime Movie, Animated GIF, Animated PNG, OpenEXR, HDR JPEG, HDR HEIC, HDR AVIF, HDR PNG.
• Export-for-web formats: PNG, JPEG, GIF, SVG, WebP.
• Scale modes: original, stretch, scale to fill, scale to fit.
• Selection modes: new selection, add selection, subtract selection, intersect selection.
• Mask modes: reveal all, hide all.
• Resize algorithms: bilinear, lanczos, nearest, ml super resolution.
• Canvas anchors: top left, top center, top right, middle left, middle center, middle right, bottom left, bottom center, bottom right.
• Trim modes: transparency, top left color, bottom right color.
• Color profile modes: assign, match.
• Text horizontal alignment: left, center, right, justify.
• Text vertical alignment: top, center, bottom.
• Stroke position: inside, center, outside.
• Stroke type: line, dash, dot.
• Blend modes: normal, darken, multiply, color burn, linear burn, darker color, lighten, screen, color dodge, linear dodge, lighter color, overlay, soft light, hard light, vivid light, linear light, pin light, hard mix, difference, exclusion, subtract, divide, hue blend mode, saturation blend mode, color blend mode, luminosity, pass through, behind blend mode.

Layer Handling

Do not assume placeholders are top-level. Many Pixelmator templates nest the device screen inside a device group.

Example verified path:

group layer "iPhone 16 Pro" -> image layer "Media Placeholder: Replace With Your Media"

Inspect first:

tell application "Pixelmator Pro"
  set d to open (POSIX file "/path/to/copied-template.pxd")
  tell d
    set reportText to "top text: " & ((name of every text layer) as text) & linefeed
    set reportText to reportText & "top images: " & ((name of every image layer) as text) & linefeed
    set reportText to reportText & "top groups: " & ((name of every group layer) as text)
    return reportText
  end tell
end tell

If nested groups are likely, inspect by known group names first, then recurse manually through group layer references. Prefer named placeholders over selected/current layers.

Safe Edit Pattern

Use this shape for normal PXD edits:

set copiedPXD to POSIX file "/path/to/copied-template.pxd"
set screenshotFile to POSIX file "/path/to/screenshot.png"
set outputPXD to POSIX file "/path/to/output/page1.pxd"
set outputPNG to POSIX file "/path/to/output/page1.png"
set headlineText to "A quiet place for memories"

tell application "Pixelmator Pro"
  activate
  set oldAutosave to autosave enabled
  set autosave enabled to false

  set demoDoc to open copiedPXD
  delay 1

  tell demoDoc
    try
      set text content of text layer "Headline" to headlineText
    end try

    set phoneGroup to group layer "iPhone 16 Pro"
    set screenLayer to image layer "Media Placeholder: Replace With Your Media" of phoneGroup
    replace image screenLayer with screenshotFile scale mode scale to fill

    save as new document it in outputPXD as Pixelmator Pro
    export it to outputPNG as PNG
  end tell

  close demoDoc saving no
  set autosave enabled to oldAutosave
end tell

If a script fails after changing autosave enabled, restore it before stopping. If the document is still open, close only the document this script opened.

Forbidden Fallbacks

Do not use these unless the user explicitly asks for an experiment and accepts that the output may not be a valid editable PXD:

• Direct package mutation.
• SQLite metadata writes.
• Binary/BLOB edits.
• QuickLook thumbnail swaps.
• Raw replacement of embedded source files.
• Manually drawn Apple device frames when a template frame exists.
• GUI automation in place of available AppleScript commands.

What To Say Back

Report:

• The edited .pxd path.
• The exported .png path.
• Whether the original PXD was left untouched.
• The AppleScript commands used.
• Any layer names or operations that could not be found/supported.