Image Color Extractor - Get Palette Free

Extract dominant colors and palettes from any image. Get HEX and RGB values instantly. Export as CSS variables. Free and private.

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Drop an image here or click to select

JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF - max 10 MB

Extract color palettes from any image

Upload any image to instantly extract its dominant colors. The tool analyzes pixel data using the Canvas API to identify and group the most prominent colors, then presents them as a clean palette with HEX and RGB values. Click any color to copy it, or export the entire palette as CSS custom properties. Perfect for designers building color schemes from photos, branding projects, or mood boards.

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Extracting colors from an existing image is a common design workflow. A brand might derive its color palette from a hero photograph, ensuring the website colors harmonize naturally with the imagery. Interior designers extract colors from inspiration photos. App designers pull accent colors from app store screenshots of competing products to understand visual trends.

The accuracy of color extraction depends on the image content. Photographs with distinct color regions - a red car against a blue sky - produce clean, usable palettes. Images with subtle gradients or many similar colors yield palettes with less contrast between swatches. For best results, use high-quality images with clear color areas.

After extracting a palette, use our Color Contrast Checker to verify that extracted colors meet accessibility standards when used for text and backgrounds. Combine extracted colors with our Tint & Shade Generator to create full color scales from each dominant color, building a complete design system from a single photograph.

How the Image Color Extractor Works

  1. 01Upload an image by dragging and dropping or clicking the upload area
  2. 02Adjust the slider to extract between 5 and 10 dominant colors
  3. 03View the palette bar and individual color swatches with HEX and RGB values
  4. 04Click any color to copy its HEX value to your clipboard
  5. 05Use the export button to copy the full palette as CSS custom properties

Color Extraction Best Practices

For the best results, use high-quality images with distinct color regions. The tool downscales images to 100x100 pixels for analysis, which works well for most photos. Images with gradients will produce more colors from the transition zones, while flat-color illustrations yield cleaner palettes. The extracted palette is sorted by color frequency, so the most dominant color appears first.

When to Use an Image Color Extractor

Use this tool when building a brand color palette from a photograph, matching website colors to a hero image, creating design mockups inspired by existing artwork, or analyzing the color composition of any visual content.

Common Use Cases

Expert Tips

  • Use high-quality images with distinct color regions for the cleanest palette extraction results.
  • After extracting colors, run each one through a contrast checker to verify accessibility before using them for text or backgrounds.
  • Export the palette as CSS custom properties and use them directly in your stylesheet for a photo-matched color scheme.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the color extraction work?→
The image is drawn to a small canvas (100x100 pixels) and all pixel colors are analyzed. Similar colors are grouped together using a distance threshold, then sorted by frequency. The top N most frequent color groups become your palette.
Is my image uploaded to a server?→
No. All processing happens entirely in your browser using the Canvas API. Your image never leaves your device.
What image formats are supported?→
Any format supported by your browser, including JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, and SVG.
Can I export the palette?→
Yes. Click the export button to copy the palette as CSS custom properties (variables) that you can paste directly into your stylesheet.

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