HEX to RGB
Convert a hex colour to rgb, hsl and back.
About this converter
Paste a hex colour and get it back as rgb, hsl, and the CSS line to use — plus, because it is nearly always the next question, whether white or black text will be readable on it.
All the hex forms are accepted: three digits, six, and the four- and eight-digit versions that carry transparency. So are rgb(), hsl() and the common CSS colour names, because a converter that only accepts one direction is an annoyance rather than a tool.
The contrast figures are WCAG ratios against pure white and pure black. Anything at 4.5:1 or above passes AA for normal-size text; 3:1 is the bar for large text. That number decides whether a button label is legible, and guessing it from the swatch is how inaccessible interfaces get built.
Frequently asked questions
What do the extra two digits in an 8-digit hex mean?
Transparency. #RRGGBBAA puts the alpha channel last, where ff is fully opaque and 00 fully transparent. It is well supported in current browsers. The four-digit form is its shorthand, the same way three digits shorthand six.
When would I use HSL instead of HEX?
When you want related colours rather than one colour. HSL separates hue from saturation and lightness, so a hover state is the same value with the lightness moved a few percent, and a palette is one hue rotated. Doing either in hex means arithmetic in your head.
What does the contrast number mean?
It is the WCAG contrast ratio, from 1:1 (identical) to 21:1 (black on white). Normal text needs at least 4.5:1 to pass AA, large or bold text 3:1, and AAA asks for 7:1. The figures here are against pure white and pure black — if your background is neither, the real ratio will differ.
Does what I paste get sent anywhere?
No. The conversion runs in your browser, on your own machine — that is why the result appears as you type rather than after a wait. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is logged, and closing the tab is the end of it. This matters more here than on most pages: tokens, keys and internal data get pasted into tools like this constantly, and most of them are a form that posts to a server.