diff --git a/Sources/App/SpriteSlicer.swift b/Sources/App/SpriteSlicer.swift
index 0d225ef..fe4ff7b 100644
--- a/Sources/App/SpriteSlicer.swift
+++ b/Sources/App/SpriteSlicer.swift
@@ -84,7 +84,16 @@ enum SpriteSlicer {
                 for col in segments(colHas) {
                     let rect = CGRect(x: col.lower, y: row.lower,
                                       width: col.upper - col.lower, height: row.upper - row.lower)
-                    if let cropped = image.cropping(to: rect) { clip.append(cropped) }
+                    guard let cropped = image.cropping(to: rect) else { continue }
+                    let fw = Int(rect.width), fh = Int(rect.height)
+                    let space = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB()
+                    let info = CGImageAlphaInfo.premultipliedLast.rawValue
+                    guard let ctx = CGContext(data: nil, width: fw, height: fh,
+                                             bitsPerComponent: 8, bytesPerRow: fw * 4,
+                                             space: space, bitmapInfo: info) else { continue }
+                    ctx.draw(cropped, in: CGRect(origin: .zero, size: CGSize(width: fw, height: fh)))
+                    guard let frame = ctx.makeImage() else { continue }
+                    clip.append(frame)
                 }
                 if !clip.isEmpty { clips.append(clip) }
             }
diff --git a/Tests/AgentPetAppTests/SpriteSlicerTests.swift b/Tests/AgentPetAppTests/SpriteSlicerTests.swift
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a4a85ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Tests/AgentPetAppTests/SpriteSlicerTests.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+import XCTest
+import CoreGraphics
+@testable import agentpet
+
+// MARK: - Helpers
+
+/// Synthesises a 2-row x 3-column spritesheet.
+///
+/// Layout (image coordinates, y=0 at top):
+///   - Outer padding: 6 px on every side
+///   - Cell size: 20 x 24 px
+///   - Gutter between cells: 8 px (fully transparent)
+///
+/// Total sheet: 6 + 20 + 8 + 20 + 8 + 20 + 6 = 88 px wide
+///              6 + 24 + 8 + 24 + 6 = 68 px tall
+///
+/// Row 0 (top in image coords):   cells filled with red / green / blue
+/// Row 1 (bottom in image coords): cells filled with cyan / magenta / yellow
+///
+/// CGContext y=0 is at the BOTTOM, so drawing order is inverted vertically.
+private func makeSynthesisSheet() -> CGImage {
+    let cellW = 20, cellH = 24
+    let pad = 6, gutter = 8
+    let cols = 3, rows = 2
+
+    let sheetW = pad + cols * cellW + (cols - 1) * gutter + pad
+    let sheetH = pad + rows * cellH + (rows - 1) * gutter + pad
+
+    // bitmapInfo: premultipliedLast => RGBA
+    let ctx = CGContext(
+        data: nil,
+        width: sheetW,
+        height: sheetH,
+        bitsPerComponent: 8,
+        bytesPerRow: 0,
+        space: CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB(),
+        bitmapInfo: CGImageAlphaInfo.premultipliedLast.rawValue
+    )!
+
+    // Row 0 colours (top of image -> higher CGContext y)
+    let row0Colors: [CGColor] = [
+        CGColor(red: 1, green: 0, blue: 0, alpha: 1), // red
+        CGColor(red: 0, green: 1, blue: 0, alpha: 1), // green
+        CGColor(red: 0, green: 0, blue: 1, alpha: 1), // blue
+    ]
+    // Row 1 colours (bottom of image -> lower CGContext y)
+    let row1Colors: [CGColor] = [
+        CGColor(red: 0, green: 1, blue: 1, alpha: 1), // cyan
+        CGColor(red: 1, green: 0, blue: 1, alpha: 1), // magenta
+        CGColor(red: 1, green: 1, blue: 0, alpha: 1), // yellow
+    ]
+
+    // In CGContext: y=0 is image-bottom.
+    // Image-top row (row 0)  starts at image-y = pad
+    //   -> CGContext y = sheetH - pad - cellH
+    // Image-bottom row (row 1) starts at image-y = pad + cellH + gutter
+    //   -> CGContext y = sheetH - (pad + cellH + gutter) - cellH
+
+    let cgRow0Y = sheetH - pad - cellH
+    let cgRow1Y = sheetH - pad - 2 * cellH - gutter
+
+    for col in 0..<cols {
+        let x = pad + col * (cellW + gutter)
+
+        ctx.setFillColor(row0Colors[col])
+        ctx.fill(CGRect(x: x, y: cgRow0Y, width: cellW, height: cellH))
+
+        ctx.setFillColor(row1Colors[col])
+        ctx.fill(CGRect(x: x, y: cgRow1Y, width: cellW, height: cellH))
+    }
+
+    return ctx.makeImage()!
+}
+
+// MARK: - Tests
+
+final class SpriteSlicerTests: XCTestCase {
+
+    // MARK: 1. Grid detection
+
+    func test_slice_detects_grid_rows_and_columns() {
+        let sheet = makeSynthesisSheet()
+        let clips = SpriteSlicer.slice(sheet)
+
+        XCTAssertEqual(clips.count, 2, "Should detect 2 row bands")
+        for (i, clip) in clips.enumerated() {
+            XCTAssertEqual(clip.count, 3, "Row \(i) should contain 3 frames")
+            for (j, frame) in clip.enumerated() {
+                XCTAssertEqual(frame.width, 20,  "Row \(i) col \(j) width should be 20 px")
+                XCTAssertEqual(frame.height, 24, "Row \(i) col \(j) height should be 24 px")
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // MARK: 2. Pixel content preservation
+
+    func test_slice_frames_preserve_pixel_content() {
+        let sheet = makeSynthesisSheet()
+        let clips = SpriteSlicer.slice(sheet)
+
+        // Collect all 6 frames (order may vary) and verify each has a non-transparent centre.
+        let allFrames = clips.flatMap { $0 }
+        XCTAssertEqual(allFrames.count, 6, "Expected 6 frames total")
+
+        for (i, frame) in allFrames.enumerated() {
+            let rgba = centerPixelRGBA(of: frame)
+            XCTAssertGreaterThan(rgba.a, 200,
+                "Frame \(i) centre pixel should be opaque, got alpha=\(rgba.a)")
+        }
+
+        // Verify diverse hues are present across frames.
+        let dominantChannels = Set(allFrames.map { dominantChannel(of: $0) })
+        XCTAssertGreaterThanOrEqual(dominantChannels.count, 3,
+            "Expected diverse pixel colours across 6 frames, got \(dominantChannels)")
+    }
+
+    // MARK: 3. Backing-store ownership (RED -- MUST FAIL with current code)
+
+    func test_slice_frames_own_their_backing_store() {
+        let sheet = makeSynthesisSheet()
+        let clips = SpriteSlicer.slice(sheet)
+
+        for (rowIdx, clip) in clips.enumerated() {
+            for (colIdx, frame) in clip.enumerated() {
+                let expectedBytesPerRow = frame.width * 4
+                XCTAssertEqual(
+                    frame.bytesPerRow,
+                    expectedBytesPerRow,
+                    "Row \(rowIdx) col \(colIdx): bytesPerRow should be \(expectedBytesPerRow) " +
+                    "(frame owns its backing store), but got \(frame.bytesPerRow) " +
+                    "(parent sheet stride -- indicates cropping(to:) view is still alive)"
+                )
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // MARK: 4. Fully transparent image -> empty result
+
+    func test_slice_returns_empty_for_fully_transparent_image() {
+        let ctx = CGContext(
+            data: nil,
+            width: 60,
+            height: 40,
+            bitsPerComponent: 8,
+            bytesPerRow: 0,
+            space: CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB(),
+            bitmapInfo: CGImageAlphaInfo.premultipliedLast.rawValue
+        )!
+        // Draw nothing -- all pixels remain transparent (alpha = 0).
+        let blankSheet = ctx.makeImage()!
+
+        let clips = SpriteSlicer.slice(blankSheet)
+        XCTAssertTrue(clips.isEmpty, "Fully transparent sheet should produce no clips")
+    }
+}
+
+// MARK: - Pixel helpers
+
+private func centerPixelRGBA(of image: CGImage) -> (r: UInt8, g: UInt8, b: UInt8, a: UInt8) {
+    let w = 1, h = 1
+    var data = [UInt8](repeating: 0, count: 4)
+    let ctx = data.withUnsafeMutableBytes { ptr -> CGContext? in
+        CGContext(
+            data: ptr.baseAddress,
+            width: w, height: h,
+            bitsPerComponent: 8,
+            bytesPerRow: w * 4,
+            space: CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB(),
+            bitmapInfo: CGImageAlphaInfo.premultipliedLast.rawValue
+        )
+    }!
+    // Draw the frame scaled down to 1x1 to sample the centre colour.
+    ctx.draw(image, in: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: w, height: h))
+    return (data[0], data[1], data[2], data[3])
+}
+
+/// Returns a string key representing which channel(s) dominate the centre pixel.
+private func dominantChannel(of image: CGImage) -> String {
+    let px = centerPixelRGBA(of: image)
+    let threshold: UInt8 = 128
+    var parts: [String] = []
+    if px.r > threshold { parts.append("R") }
+    if px.g > threshold { parts.append("G") }
+    if px.b > threshold { parts.append("B") }
+    return parts.isEmpty ? "none" : parts.joined()
+}