colorize
ColorKit
CK

Color Picker

Pick any color and instantly copy its value in HEX, RGB, or HSL format.

What is a Color Picker?

A color picker is a digital utility that allows you to visually select a color and instantly translate it into mathematical color codes. It is used by web developers, UI/UX designers, and digital artists to guarantee color consistency across screens and codebases.

What does this tool do?

  • Visual Selection: Click and drag on the color canvas to select the exact shade and lightness you need.
  • Instant Conversion: Translates your visual choice into perfectly formatted, copyable HEX, RGB, and HSL values.
  • Local Processing: All color calculations happen instantly within your web browser. Absolutely no data is transmitted to a server.

What input formats are supported?

You can interact with the visual color canvas and hue slider, or you can directly type a 6-digit or 3-digit HEX code (e.g., #FF0000 or #F00) into the input field to reverse-lookup the color's position and values.

How to copy color values?

Every output format features a dedicated Copy button. Clicking it instantly saves the exact formatted string (e.g., rgb(255, 0, 0)) to your clipboard for easy pasting into CSS files, Tailwind configs, or Figma.

What do the output color formats mean?

  • HEX (Hexadecimal): A base-16 numerical representation universally used in HTML and CSS. Example: #FF5733 (where FF is Red intensity, 57 is Green intensity, and 33 is Blue intensity).
  • RGB (Red, Green, Blue): Defines how much red, green, and blue light is emitted on a digital display from 0 to 255. Example: rgb(255, 87, 51).
  • HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness): A human-friendly format where Hue is the color's position on the color wheel (0-360°), Saturation is the color's intensity (0-100%), and Lightness is how dark or light the color is (0-100%).

Related Tools

If you need to extract colors directly from a photograph or screenshot, try our Image Color Extractor. To verify if your chosen colors are readable and meet accessibility laws, use the WCAG Contrast Checker.

Knowledge Base & FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Direct answers and solutions to common questions, technical challenges, and industry standards.

How do I calculate the exact complementary, analogous, or triadic color to my hex code?expand_more
Color harmony calculations are based on angular rotations around the 360-degree color wheel:
  • Complementary: Rotate the hue by 180° (e.g. (hue + 180) % 360). A pure blue at 240° pairs with a vibrant orange at 60°.
  • Analogous: Rotate by ±30°. A green at 120° pairs harmoniously with spring green at 90° and teal at 150°.
  • Triadic: Rotate by +120° and +240° to form an equilateral triangle of balanced, high-energy contrast.
  • Split-Complementary: Find the complement (180°) and select the two adjacent hues at ±30° (150° and 210°).
Why does an 8-character hex code exist and how do I read it?expand_more
An 8-character hex code (e.g. #4F46E580) includes an Alpha (transparency) channel. The first 6 characters represent standard Red, Green, and Blue (#RRGGBB), while the 7th and 8th characters represent opacity from 00 (0% / fully transparent) to FF (100% / fully opaque). For example, 80 in base-16 equals 128 in decimal, which represents 128 / 255 = 50% opacity. Modern browsers natively support 8-digit hex in CSS properties.
What is the difference between HSV (HSB) and HSL in color pickers?expand_more
While both are cylindrical color models derived from RGB:
  • HSV / HSB (Hue, Saturation, Value/Brightness): Defines brightness based on the brightest color channel. Pure red, pure white, and pure cyan all have a Value of 100%. HSV is used in 2D color picker square canvases (like Photoshop and Figma).
  • HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness): Defines lightness along a symmetrical axis where 0% is pure black, 50% is the pure chromatic hue, and 100% is pure white. HSL is universally supported in native CSS via hsl(h s l).
How do I create cohesive tints and shades from a single brand color?expand_more
To generate a clean palette from a single base hex code:
  • Tints (Lighter): Keep the Hue constant and increase Lightness toward 100% while subtly decreasing Saturation to prevent fluorescent pastel artifacts.
  • Shades (Darker): Decrease Lightness toward 0%. Avoid simply adding black, which can create a muddy appearance; instead, subtly rotate the Hue toward a cooler tone (like deep indigo or slate) as you decrease lightness.
How can I copy color values directly into CSS format?expand_more
Every color format in this picker has a dedicated Copy button. Clicking it copies ready-to-paste syntax:
  • HEX: #4F46E5 for standard CSS styling.
  • RGB: rgb(79, 70, 229) or modern space-separated alpha rgb(79 70 229 / 0.8).
  • HSL: hsl(244, 76%, 59%) for easy manipulation of hover states.