# Color.js: Let’s get serious about color
[](https://app.netlify.com/sites/colorjs/deploys)
[](https://npmjs.com/package/colorjs.io)
[Official website](https://colorjs.io) • [Contribution guide](CONTRIBUTING.md)
Color.js is a color conversion and modification library created by two of the editors of the CSS Color specifications: [Lea Verou](https://lea.verou.me/) and [Chris Lilley](https://svgees.us/).
They continue to work on it, but are also joined by an exceptional [small grassroots team of co-maintainers](#maintainers).
## Features
- **Color space agnostic**: Each color object is basically a list of coords and a color space reference. Operations are color space agnostic.
Modules for a wide variety of color spaces,
including Lab/LCh, OKLab/OKLCh,
sRGB and friends (HSL/HSV/HWB), Display P3,
Jzazbz, REC.2100 and many more.
- **Doesn't gloss over color science**: Actual gamut mapping instead of naïve clipping,
multiple DeltaE methods (76, CMC, 2000, Jz),
multiple chromatic adaptation methods (von Kries, Bradford, CAT02, CAT16),
all with sensible defaults
- **Up to date with CSS Color 4**: Every CSS Color 4 format & color space supported for both input and output, whether your browser supports it or not.
- **Readable, object-oriented API**: Color objects for multiple operations on the same color, and static `Color.something()` functions for one-off calculations
- **Modular & Extensible**: Use only what you need, or a bundle. Client-side or Node. Deep extensibility with hooks.
- **Fast & efficient**: Procedural, tree-shakeable API available for performance sensitive tasks and reduced bundle size
- **Dependency free**: Not that there’s anything wrong with dependencies, but we gotta mention it!
## Impact
- Has been used to create demos for several W3C specifications
- Has been used by browsers to test their CSS Color 4/5 implementations
- Over [235 million total npm downloads](https://limonte.dev/total-npm-downloads/?package=colorjs.io)!
- Used by several [high impact projects](https://www.npmjs.com/browse/depended/colorjs.io), including [Sass](https://sass-lang.com/), [Open Props](https://open-props.style/), [axe](https://www.deque.com/axe/) accessibility testing engine, and [OddContrast](https://www.oddcontrast.com/) and [CSS HD Gradients](https://gradient.style/) color tools
- Parts of Color.js’s API are used as a testing ground for the design of a [native `Color` object for the Web platform](https://github.com/wicg/color-api).
## Installation
Color.js is designed make simple things easy, and complex things possible, and that extends to installation as well.
For quick experiments, you can just import Color.js directly from a CDN such as [esm.sh](https://esm.sh) with all modules included:
```js
import Color from "https://esm.sh/colorjs.io";
```
You can also install via npm if you’d prefer:
```
npm install colorjs.io
```
Whether you’re using NPM, the CDN, or local files, Color.js allows you to also import specific modules by directly importing from `src`:
- `https://colorjs.io/src/` for the CDN
- `node_modules/colorjs.io/src/` for NPM
For example:
```js
import Color from "https://colorjs.io/src/color.js";
import p3 from "https://colorjs.io/src/spaces/p3.js";
import rec2020 from "https://colorjs.io/src/spaces/rec2020.js";
import deltaE200 from "https://colorjs.io/src/deltaE/deltaE2000.js";
```
Warning: To use `import` statements in a browser, your `
```
Read more about installation
## Reading colors
Any color from CSS Color Level 4 should work:
```js
let color = new Color("slategray");
let color2 = new Color("hwb(60 30% 40% / .5)");
let color3 = new Color("color(display-p3 0 1 0 / .9)");
let color4 = new Color("lch(50% 80 30)");
```
You can also create `Color` objects manually:
```js
let color2 = new Color("hwb", [60, 30, 40], .5);
let color3 = new Color({space: "p3", coords: [0, 1, 0], alpha: .9});
```
Read more about color objects
Manipulating colors
You can use properties to modify coordinates
of any color space and convert back
```js
let color = new Color("slategray");
color.lch.l = 80; // Set coord directly in any color space
color.lch.c *= 1.2; // saturate by increasing LCH chroma by 20%
color.hwb.w += 10; // any other color space also available
```
To modify coordinates in any color space you use `color.set()` and `color.setAll()`:
```js
let color = new Color("slategray");
// Multiple coordinates
color.set({
"lch.l": 80, // set lightness to 80
"lch.c": c => c * 1.2 // Relative manipulation
});
// Set single coordinate
color.set("hwb.w", w => w + 10);
```
Coordinates of the color's color space are available without a prefix:
```js
let color = new Color("slategray").to("lch");
// Multiple coordinates
color.set({
l: 80, // set lightness to 80
c: c => c * 1.2 // Relative manipulation
});
// Set single coordinate
color.set("h", 30);
```
Chaining-style modifications are also supported:
```js
let color = new Color("lch(50% 50 10)");
color = color.set({
h: h => h + 180,
c: 60
}).lighten();
```
You can also use properties:
```js
let color = new Color("slategray");
color.lch.l = 80; // Set coord directly in any color space
color.lch.c *= 1.2; // saturate by increasing LCH chroma by 20%
color.hwb.w += 10; // any other color space also available
```
Coordinates of the color's color space are available without a prefix:
```js
let color = new Color("slategray").to("lch");
color.l = 80; // Set LCH lightness
color.c *= 1.2; // saturate by increasing LCH chroma
```
Read more about color manipulation
## Converting between color spaces & stringifying
Convert to any color space:
```js
let color = new Color("slategray");
color.to("lch") // Convert to LCH
```
Output in any color space
```js
let color = new Color("slategray");
color + ""; // default stringification
color.to("p3").toString({precision: 3});
```
Clip to gamut or don't
```js
let color = new Color("p3", [0, 1, 0]);
color.to("srgb") + ""; // Default toString()
color.to("srgb").toString({inGamut: false});
```
Read more about output
## Interpolation
Get a function that accepts a percentage:
```js
let color = new Color("p3", [0, 1, 0]);
let redgreen = color.range("red", {
space: "lch", // interpolation space
outputSpace: "srgb"
});
redgreen(.5); // midpoint
```
Interpolation by discrete steps:
```js
let color = new Color("p3", [0, 1, 0]);
color.steps("red", {
space: "lch",
outputSpace: "srgb",
maxDeltaE: 3, // max deltaE between consecutive steps
steps: 10 // min number of steps
});
```
Shortcut for specific points in the range:
```js
let color = new Color("p3", [0, 1, 0]);
let redgreen = color.mix("red", .5, {space: "lch", outputSpace: "srgb"});
let reddishGreen = color.mix("red", .25, {space: "lch", outputSpace: "srgb"});
```
Static syntax (every color method has a static one too):
```js
Color.mix("color(display-p3 0 1 0)", "red", .5);
```
Read more about interpolation
## Other Color.js Initiatives
These are all very experimental and not as polished as Color.js itself, but we are excited about their potential.
### [Color Elements](https://elements.colorjs.io)
This is a set of (currently 10) web components for building color-related apps (the first library of its kind to our knowledge).
It includes things like color pickers, color charts, interactive color scales, and more.
### [Color Apps](https://apps.colorjs.io)
A set of color-related apps, such as color pickers, converters, and more.
### [Color Palettes](https://palettes.colorjs.io)
A research project which aims to analyze designer-created color palettes in a variety of color spaces,
both to document patterns (e.g. what hue names are most popular?)
and to understand what makes aesthetically pleasing color scales.
## Maintainer team
Color.js is maintained by a small grassroots core team of core maintainers, with [numerous contributions from the community](https://github.com/color-js/color.js/graphs/contributors).
The core team is:
## Sponsor
Color.js is a free and open source project, developed on a volunteer basis.
We very recently started an [Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/color) so you can fund Color.js's development.
**If your company depends on Color.js in any way, it is in your best interest to ensure its future is sustainable.**
The best way to sponsor Color.js is to [become a sponsor on Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/color/donate):
Once there are enough sponsors, **we plan to feature them prominently on our website and README**, so if you want to be among the first ones to get your name in there, now’s the chance!