Game Control

Game Control Skill

You can control a running Tiny game engine by sending HTTP requests to the debug server.

Server

The game debug server runs on http://localhost:8081 by default (started with tiny-cli run).

Available Endpoints

List available keys

curl -s http://localhost:8081/control/keys

Press a key (stays pressed until released)

curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/press?key=KEY_NAME"

Release a key

curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/release?key=KEY_NAME"

Tap a key (press + auto-release after ~50ms)

curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/tap?key=KEY_NAME"

Available Keys

Direction: ARROW_LEFT, ARROW_RIGHT, ARROW_UP, ARROW_DOWN Action: SPACE, ENTER, ESCAPE, TAB, BACKSPACE, DELETE Letters: A through Z Numbers: NUM0 through NUM9 Modifiers: SHIFT, CTRL, ALT Function: F1 through F12

Usage Patterns

Tap a key once (one-shot action like jump or shoot)

curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/tap?key=SPACE"

Hold a key for sustained movement

# Hold right for 500ms then release
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/press?key=ARROW_RIGHT"
sleep 0.5
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/release?key=ARROW_RIGHT"

Multiple rapid taps

for i in $(seq 1 5); do
  curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/tap?key=SPACE"
  sleep 0.1
done

Simultaneous keys (e.g., diagonal movement)

curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/press?key=ARROW_RIGHT"
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/press?key=ARROW_UP"
sleep 0.5
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/release?key=ARROW_RIGHT"
curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8081/control/release?key=ARROW_UP"

How to Use

When the user provides $ARGUMENTS:

1. If arguments describe an action (e.g., "move right", "jump", "press space 3 times"):

   • Translate the instruction into the appropriate curl commands
   • Execute them

2. If arguments are a key name (e.g., "SPACE", "ARROW_LEFT"):

   • Tap that key once

3. If no arguments or "help":

   • List the available keys by calling GET /control/keys
   • Show usage examples

4. If "play" or complex instructions (e.g., "play the game", "explore the level"):

   • Take a screenshot first to see the game state (if possible via the serve endpoint or playwright)
   • Send appropriate inputs based on what you observe
   • Iterate: act, observe, act again

Error Handling

• If curl fails with connection refused, the game is not running. Tell the user to start it with tiny-cli run.
• If the response contains "error":"Engine not ready", the game is still loading. Wait a moment and retry.
• If the response contains "error":"Unknown key", check the key name against the available keys list.

Response Format

All endpoints return JSON:

• Success: {"ok":true,"action":"press","key":"ARROW_LEFT"}
• Error: {"error":"Missing 'key' query parameter"}

Source: minigdx/tiny — distributed by TomeVault.