tiled

Tiled is a map editor built for making tile-based game levels. A tile-based game is one where the world is constructed from a grid of small images, like many classic role-playing games, platformers, or puzzle games. Instead of placing each tile by hand in code, a developer uses Tiled to draw out maps visually and then load them into their game.

The editor handles maps of any size and places no limits on tile sizes, the number of image sets used, or the number of layers stacked on top of each other. Layers let a designer separate background terrain from objects, walls, and interactive elements so they can be edited independently. Maps, layers, tiles, and objects can all receive custom properties, which are named values a game reads at runtime to know how to behave in a given area.

Tiled saves maps in a format called TMX, which is a plain text structure other tools and game engines can read. Many popular game frameworks have built-in support for this format or community plugins that add it.

The editor runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Pre-built downloads are available through GitHub and the itch.io store. Linux users can also install it via Flatpak or Snap for an official, up-to-date package. macOS and Windows releases are code-signed so the operating system does not flag them as unverified software.

Tiled is an open-source project maintained by Thorbjorn Lindeijer and accepts contributions from the community. A Python plugin is available for those who want to extend the editor through scripting.