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ray.so turns a code snippet into a styled image you can export and share. Paste your code into the editor, pick a theme and window style, adjust the layout, then export the rendered result as an image. This works best for short snippets you want to post on social media, in docs, or in chat — not for long files, since the image grows with the code.

Before you start

• Have the code snippet ready to paste, and know which language it's in so the highlighting matches.
• Decide where the image will live (a post, a slide, a README). That tells you whether you want a background, a light or dark window, and how much padding.
• Keep the snippet short. A few dozen lines read well as an image; hundreds do not.

Step-by-step

1. Paste or type your code

Put the snippet into the editor. Check that the syntax highlighting matches your language — keywords, strings, and comments should be colored, not flat text. If the colors look wrong, the language isn't being detected correctly; adjust it before you style anything else, since the theme you pick later depends on it.

2. Choose a color theme

Pick from the available syntax color themes. This controls how the code itself is colored. Choose one with enough contrast that the code stays readable when the image is scaled down in a feed or a slide.

3. Toggle the window and background

• Dark or light window — switches the frame around your code between a dark and light appearance.
• Background — show or hide the colored background behind the window.

If you're posting on a light page, a light window with no background blends in; a dark window with a background stands out. Match this to where the image will appear.

4. Adjust padding, line numbers, and window controls

• Padding — the space around the code inside the frame. More padding gives a calmer, more presentable image; less padding fits more code.
• Line numbers — turn them on if you or your readers need to reference specific lines; turn them off for a cleaner look.
• Window controls — the traffic-light buttons on the frame. Keep them for a familiar editor look, or hide them for a more neutral image.

5. Export the image

Export the rendered snippet as an image and let the file download. Before you post it, open the downloaded file and check:

• The code isn't clipped at the edges.
• Highlighting is present and correct.
• The background is the one you intended (not blank or missing).
• Text is still legible at the size it will be displayed.

Common export problems and fixes

When this is the right tool

Use ray.so when you want a single, self-contained image of a short snippet that looks polished without design work. Skip it when the code is long, when readers need to copy and run it (share a gist or repo instead), or when you need the code to stay searchable and accessible as text.

A battle map is a scaled, top-down map used during tabletop RPG encounters to show where characters, monsters, and terrain sit relative to each other. You use one when positioning matters — combat, chases, traps, room-by-room exploration — and skip it for purely narrative scenes. You can make one by drawing terrain in a vector editor, placing assets, then exporting for screen, print, or a virtual tabletop. DungeonFog is one tool built for exactly this workflow.

Battle map vs. world map: what's the difference

These two map types answer different questions, and mixing them up is the most common early mistake.

A battle map zooms in far enough that a single chair or pillar changes your tactics. A world map zooms out far enough that a single chair is invisible. You generally need both over a campaign, but they serve different moments at the table.

When to actually put a battle map down

Reach for a battle map when the answer to "where exactly is everyone?" changes the outcome:

• Combat — line of sight, flanking, area-of-effect spells, and movement speed all depend on position.
• Dungeon crawling — doors, corridors, and room shapes matter for exploration and ambushes.
• Chases and escapes — distance and obstacles drive the tension.
• Stealth and traps — who is standing where determines what gets triggered.

Skip the map for shopping, negotiation, travel montages, and any scene where nobody cares about exact distance. Forcing a grid onto a conversation slows the game down.

How to make a custom battle map

DungeonFog describes a three-step process: create a map, place assets, then export and play. Here's what each step involves and what to expect.

1. Draw the terrain

Start with the layout — dungeon walls, building floor plans, or overland terrain. DungeonFog uses a vector-based editor, which means shapes stay sharp when you scale or print them, rather than turning blurry like a stretched bitmap. Draw the rooms and corridors first; decoration comes later.

2. Place assets

Populate the map with props, furniture, and terrain features. DungeonFog's library lists over 3,000 assets spanning different time periods and settings, and new asset packs are released monthly as part of its premium content subscription. Search the library for the pieces that match your story rather than settling for whatever's closest.

3. Export and play

You can play with others inside DungeonFog itself, or export and print the map. Exporting is where your earlier choices pay off — a vector map holds up at print resolution, and a well-scaled grid keeps tokens aligned.

Key considerations before you commit

• Grid scale. Decide your squares-per-inch (or per-5-feet) before you draw, not after. Changing it later means redoing the layout.
• Resolution. If you plan to print, you need higher resolution than for on-screen play. Vector output helps here.
• Asset library size. A bigger library means less time hunting for the right prop — but also more browsing. Check whether the library covers your campaign's setting (fantasy, modern, horror, etc.).
• Where you'll play. On screen, printed, or inside a virtual tabletop each has different export needs.

Ways to play with your map

• On screen — display the map on a TV or monitor laid flat or mounted, and move physical minis on top.
• Printed — export at print resolution and tile the pages for a physical battle mat.
• In a virtual tabletop — play with others inside DungeonFog, or export the file for use in your VTT of choice.

The practical takeaway

If you only need a quick sketch, paper and a marker still work. If you want reusable, high-detail maps that survive printing and scaling, a vector editor with a large asset library saves real time across a campaign. DungeonFog fits that second case — free to sign up, with premium memberships and a marketplace for additional content. Check the pricing page for current tiers before committing, since asset packs and premium features sit behind that subscription.

Piskel is a free, open-source, browser-based editor for animated sprites and pixel art. You can design characters, animations, and tiles directly in your browser, then export them as animated GIFs, PNG spritesheets, or ZIP files. It works best in a desktop browser in landscape orientation, and offline desktop versions are available for Windows, OSX, and Linux if you prefer not to work in the browser.

Getting Started

Open piskelapp.com in a desktop browser. You have two starting points:

• Start from scratch — create a blank sprite and set your own canvas size.
• Try an example — load one of the built-in sprite examples (characters, tilesets, layered backgrounds, Gameboy retro graphics) to see how a finished sprite is structured before making your own.

If you're on a phone or tablet, Piskel will warn you that it's best used in a desktop browser in landscape orientation. You can open it anyway, but the drawing tools are designed around a mouse and a wider canvas.

Drawing Pixel Art Frame by Frame

Piskel's workflow is frame-based: each frame is a single still image, and the animation plays them in sequence.

1. Set up your canvas. Choose a small pixel grid (classic sprites are often 16×16, 32×32, or 64×64). Small canvases keep individual pixels visible and editable.
2. Draw with the pen tool. Click individual pixels to place color. This is the core action for pixel art — every pixel is a deliberate decision.
3. Fill areas with the fill tool. Use it to flood a region with a single color instead of clicking pixel by pixel.
4. Pick and manage colors. Choose from the color palette, or select an existing color from your canvas to reuse it consistently across frames.
5. Add frames. Duplicate the current frame and modify it slightly to create motion — this is how walk cycles, blinking, and idle animations are built.

The key habit for animation: keep changes between consecutive frames small. A two-pixel shift in a leg position reads as movement; a ten-pixel jump reads as a glitch.

Previewing and Tuning the Animation

Piskel shows a live preview of your animation in real time as you draw, so you don't have to export to check whether the motion works.

• Adjust frame delay on the fly. Each frame's delay controls how long it stays on screen. Shorter delays make fast motion; longer delays make slow, deliberate movement.
• Watch the loop. Because the preview loops continuously, you'll immediately see whether the first and last frames connect smoothly or whether there's a visible jump.

Tune the delay while watching the preview rather than guessing — the same frames can feel completely different at different speeds.

Exporting Your Work

Piskel supports several export modes depending on what you need the file for:

Choose GIF when the animation is the final product. Choose a spritesheet PNG or ZIP when the sprite is an asset that another program will read.

Options for Kids and Offline Use

• Piskel for Kids is a child-friendly version of the editor, designed to be safe and distraction-free. It's aimed at kids, teachers, and parents who want the same pixel art workflow without extra interface elements.
• Offline versions are free desktop applications for Windows, OSX, and Linux, available from the download page. Use these if you need to work without an internet connection or want a dedicated application window.

Common Sticking Points

• Working on a small screen. The editor is built for desktop and landscape orientation; drawing precision suffers on a phone.
• Frames that don't loop cleanly. If the animation snaps when it restarts, the last frame doesn't lead back into the first — adjust the final frame's pose or delay.
• Exporting the wrong format. A GIF is for viewing; a spritesheet is for importing into a game. Picking the wrong one means re-exporting later.

All of Piskel's code is open-source and available on GitHub, so the tool itself can be inspected, modified, or self-hosted if you need that level of control.

In chiptune and keygen music circles, a "tune" is simply one piece of music — a single track or melody, not the act of adjusting pitch. When people say "play a tune" on a tracker music site, they mean loading and streaming one module file in the browser. You can do this without installing anything on keygenmusic.tk, which runs an online tracker music player (currently labeled β19) that supports .mod, .xm, .s3m, and .it files. The site states plainly: "No keygens here. Just the music."

What "Tune" Actually Refers To

The word carries two related meanings in this scene:

• A single track. In playlists, charts, and favorites lists, each entry is a tune — one song file with its own title and metadata.
• A melody or composition, especially one written in a tracker rather than recorded with live instruments.

It does not usually mean "tuning" an instrument or a synthesizer. If you see "tune" in a tracker context, read it as "song."

Why These Tunes Need a Special Player

Chiptune and keygen tunes are typically distributed as module files — .mod, .xm, .s3m, and .it — not as MP3s or WAVs. A module file stores note patterns and instrument samples separately, and the playback software reconstructs the audio in real time. That's why a normal audio player often can't open them, and why a dedicated player (or a browser-based one built on a library like libopenmpt) is required.

This also explains the "keygen music" label: the same tracker formats were widely used for the background music bundled with old key generators, and that catalog has since been collected and preserved.

How to Play Tunes in Your Browser

keygenmusic.tk streams module files directly in the browser, so the basic flow is short:

1. Open the player page. The site loads as an online tracker music player; no account is mentioned or required.
2. Pick a tune. Use the library, the Top 100 charts (All Time, Month, Week), or your Favorites list. There's also a search function, added back in β10 as search by mod titles.
3. Press play. Playback controls include play/pause and next/previous, and since β13 these also respond to your keyboard's media keys.
4. Adjust as needed. A volume control (VOL) and a shuffle (SHUF) toggle are available in the interface.
5. Verify it's working. You should see the currently playing track and its metadata, plus a spectrum display (added in β6). If nothing plays, jump to the troubleshooting section below.

If you want to keep a tune, a download button was added in the β19 update.

Compatibility and Troubleshooting

The most common blocker is browser audio support. The site displays the message "Your browser does not support AudioContext. Use FireFox." when it can't initialize Web Audio.

• If you see that message, switch to Firefox, or update your current browser to a version with AudioContext support.
• If playback is silent, check the volume control and confirm the track isn't paused; autoplay was removed in β15, so playback starts only after you press play.
• On mobile, support was added in β16, but older mobile browsers may still fail the AudioContext check.
• On Chromium-based browsers, a known issue was fixed back in β11 — if you're on a very old build, updating should resolve it.

Privacy and Practical Notes

The site's own privacy note states: no accounts, no tracking cookies, only anonymous stats. That's a reasonable default if you just want to listen without signing up. Contact is listed as keygenmusic.tk {at} outlook.com.

One caveat worth knowing: this is a β-version player, and the changelog shows a long history of fixes across browsers and devices. If something breaks, checking whether you're on an up-to-date Firefox is the fastest first step.

Strawberry Music Player is a free, cross-platform music player and music collection organizer for Linux, macOS, and Windows, aimed at music collectors and audiophiles. If you have a local digital music library you want to play, tag, and organize — or you want to stream radio and Subsonic-compatible servers — Strawberry is built for that. It is free software released under the GPL, written in C++ with the Qt framework and GStreamer, and is a fork of Clementine.

What Strawberry can do

The feature set centers on managing a local collection and getting clean audio out of it:

• Play and organize music — supports WAV, FLAC, WavPack, Ogg Vorbis, Speex, MPC, TrueAudio, AIFF, MP4, MP3, ASF, and Monkey's Audio.
• Playlist management — playlists in multiple formats, plus smart and dynamic playlists that update based on rules.
• Tag editing — edit tags on audio files directly, and automatically retrieve tags from MusicBrainz.
• Album art and lyrics — cover art pulled from Last.fm, MusicBrainz, Discogs, Musixmatch, Deezer, Tidal, and Spotify; lyrics from multiple sources.
• Audio tools — audio analyzer, audio equalizer, and advanced audio output and device configuration for bit-perfect playback on Linux.
• Scrobbling — support for Last.fm and ListenBrainz.
• Streaming — support for Subsonic-compatible servers, plus radio streaming.
• Device transfer — move music to mass-storage USB players, MTP-compatible devices, and iPod Nano/Classic.
• Audio CD playback — with a platform caveat noted below.
• Native desktop notifications.

Platform caveats worth knowing before you install

Two limitations come directly from the project's own notes:

• Audio CD and device support is not available on Windows. If CD ripping/playback or syncing to portable players is central to your workflow, Windows is not the right platform for those tasks in Strawberry.
• Only older iPod models work. If you rely on a newer iPod or iPhone-style device, don't expect that sync path to function.

Linux is where the deepest audio configuration lives — the bit-perfect playback and advanced output/device settings are described specifically for Linux.

Who it fits, and who it doesn't

How it's funded and maintained

Strawberry is free software and depends on donations. The project states that most development is done by one person, and that maintaining the app, services, releases, and bug handling is time-consuming. Sponsorship options listed are Patreon, GitHub, Ko-fi, and PayPal, with monthly donations through Patreon, Ko-fi, or GitHub preferred and one-time PayPal donations also possible. The source code is available on GitHub.

Getting started

Downloads are available from the project's Downloads page for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Once installed, the practical first steps are to point it at your music folders, let it index the collection, then use tag editing and MusicBrainz lookups to clean up metadata, and configure your audio output device if you're on Linux and want bit-perfect playback.