Color picker from image: find the HEX code of any color

Add the image, then click the spot you want. Its hex code shows right away next to a large swatch of the color, ready to copy into a design app, a website or a message.

For a solid pixel, the code is its exact value. It's read from the full-size image, never from a smaller preview, so a tiny detail in a 12 MP photo keeps its true color.

This matters because photos are noisy. Two pixels side by side can differ by a few shades, even in a clear blue sky. The loupe marks the center pixel, so you know which code you'll get before you click.

In a PNG screenshot, the pixels inside a flat area like a button usually share one code. In a JPG, pick away from edges and text, where compression shifts colors the most.

Every code is an sRGB value, the standard for web colors. Some iPhone photos hold a wider range of colors. Those are converted to sRGB, so a very vivid shade can get a slightly duller code.

In Chrome, Edge or Opera on a computer, click Pick from screen. Your pointer becomes an eyedropper tool that reads any pixel on your screen, such as a website, an app or a document. Click a spot, and its codes show here like any other pick.

Firefox, Safari and phone browsers can't read the screen this way, so the button doesn't show there. Take a screenshot instead, then paste it here with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac) and pick from it.

On a phone, take a screenshot, then add it from your photos. Either way, there's no browser extension or desktop app to install.

Every pick shows the same color in five formats, each with its own copy button. Here's one purple pixel:

• HEX: #8338ec, the short code most websites and design apps use
• RGB: rgb(131 56 236), the amounts of red, green and blue, from 0 to 255
• HSL: hsl(265 83% 57%), the hue, saturation and lightness
• HSV: hue 265°, saturation 76% and value 93%, the model many design apps use in their color pickers
• CMYK: 44% cyan, 76% magenta, 0% yellow and 7% black, as an estimate for print

The HEX, RGB and HSL codes are valid CSS, so they paste straight into a stylesheet. If a pixel is partly see-through, as at the soft edge of a PNG logo, the codes keep its transparency too, and the color is as close as the browser can read it.

Find the name of a color

Each pick also gets a name. The picker finds the nearest of the 148 CSS color names and shows it as Close to, so that purple pixel reads Close to: blueviolet. Use the name to describe a color in words, or paste it into CSS as it is.

Which color code should you use?

Use HEX for most jobs, since websites and most design apps accept it. The other codes help in a few cases:

• RGB when an app asks for separate red, green and blue numbers
• HSL or HSV when you want to make a color lighter, darker or more muted by hand
• CMYK as a rough starting point for print. It comes from a simple formula, not a printer profile, so ask your printer to match the final color

Any image works, from a phone photo to a screenshot of a web page. Common jobs:

• Screenshots: copy a screenshot and paste it here to grab a color from a website or an app
• Logos: pick a brand color from a logo file when you don't have the brand's style guide
• Photos: get the color of a sky, a dress or a painted wall from a picture

Save the colors you pick

Every pick joins Your colors, newest first, with room for 24. Copy or remove any color, or clear the list. Then export the whole list as:

• CSS variables to paste into a stylesheet
• A Tailwind config snippet
• JSON with the HEX, RGB and HSL of each color
• A PNG image of your swatches to share

The list is saved in your browser, so it's still there after a reload or when you open another image. It holds only the color codes, never your images. When the list is full, the oldest color drops off.

See the main colors of your image

The picker also shows the 6 main colors of your image. Click one to add it to Your colors. To get the main colors of the whole image as a palette, with 4 to 12 colors, open the palette extractor.

This color picker is free, with no sign-up and no account, even to export your colors. Your images open on your phone or computer and are never uploaded. It runs in the browser, so there's no app to download.

• Works on phones, tablets and computers. On a touchscreen, the loupe sits above your finger, so your finger never hides the pixel.
• Works with a keyboard too. Tab to the image, move the crosshair with the arrow keys (Shift moves it 10 px), and press Enter to pick.
• Opens JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, BMP, SVG, HEIC, HEIF and TIFF files up to 50 MB. A GIF uses its first frame.
• iPhone HEIC photos open as they are, with no converting first.
• Works on one image at a time. Open another, and Your colors stays as it is.