What is Color Picker & Converter?
A colour picker and converter lets you choose a colour visually and then get its code in every format designers and developers use. The same shade can be written as a HEX code for a stylesheet, as RGB for a screen, as HSL for easy tweaking of lightness, or as CMYK for print. Converting by hand is slow and error-prone. This tool does it instantly, shows a live preview with a readability check, and can also look inside any photo or logo you upload to pull out its main colours, which is ideal when you want a website or slide to match an image.
How Does It Work?
Your colour is stored as red, green and blue values from 0 to 255. HEX is the same three numbers written in base sixteen. HSL and CMYK are calculated from them with standard formulas, and typing into any box converts back the other way. The palette finder shrinks your image, groups similar pixels with a method called median cut, refines the groups, and averages each into one representative colour. It then shows how much of the picture each colour covers. All of this happens inside your browser. Your image is never uploaded or stored, so private pictures stay private.
How to Use It
- Click the colour box to open the picker and choose a shade, or type a value into any format.
- Check the HEX, RGB, HSL and CMYK boxes, which all update together.
- Press Copy next to the format you need, such as the HEX code for your stylesheet.
- Read the contrast lines to see whether white or black text is easier to read on that colour.
- To use a photo, drop it into the palette area, choose how many colours you want, and click a swatch or any pixel of the picture to select it.
Key Features
- Visual colour picker with a large live preview
- Two-way conversion between HEX, RGB, HSL and CMYK
- One-click copy for each format and for a whole palette
- WCAG contrast ratios for white and black text
- Palette extraction from any image with 4, 6, 8 or 10 colours
- Click any pixel of an uploaded picture to pick its exact colour
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between HEX, RGB, HSL and CMYK?
HEX and RGB describe a colour by its red, green and blue light, and are used for screens. HSL describes hue, saturation and lightness, which is handy for making a colour lighter or darker. CMYK describes ink amounts for printing.
Why does my CMYK colour look different when printed?
CMYK here is a simple mathematical conversion. Real printers and papers vary, and screens can show brighter colours than ink can reproduce. For exact print work, check a printed proof or use your printer's colour profile.
Can I type a short HEX code like #0f8?
Yes. Three-digit codes are expanded automatically, so #0f8 becomes #00FF88. You can also leave out the hash sign, and you can type values into the RGB, HSL and CMYK boxes the same way.
How does the palette extractor choose its colours?
It samples your image, splits the pixels into groups of similar colour, and shows the average of each group, ordered by how much of the picture it covers. Choosing more colours gives finer detail.
Is the image I upload sent to a server?
No. The picture is read and analysed entirely inside your browser, and nothing is uploaded or saved. When you close or refresh the page, the image is gone.