CSS named color

Black #000000

The CSS keyword black is #000000. It is pure black in the neutral family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.000 with chroma 0.000, too low for hue to matter.

Relative luminance
0.0000
OKLCH L · C · h
0.000 · 0.000 · —
Best text
White 21.00:1
Hue family
Neutral
Inspect this color Check contrast

#000000 color codes

HEX
#000000
RGB
rgb(0, 0, 0)
HSL
hsl(0, 0%, 0%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.000 0.000 0)
OKLab
oklab(0.000 0.000 0.000)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 0.00, a* 0.00, b* 0.00
XYZ (D65)
X 0.00, Y 0.00, Z 0.00
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 100%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

Legibility

Contrast: is #000000 accessible?

White text on it reaches 21.00:1, passing AAA. Black text fails at 1.00:1.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System

  • Black text on it

    1.00:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc 0

    Text is here, unreadable at 1.00:1

  • White text on it

    21.00:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc −107

  • As text on black

    1.00:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc 0

    Text is here, unreadable at 1.00:1

  • As text on white

    21.00:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc +106

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #000000 21.00:1

    It already reaches 21.00:1 on white, so no change is needed.

  • For text on black

    #767676 4.62:1

    Lightening its OKLCH lightness from 0.00 to 0.57 reaches 4.62:1 on black, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #000000 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #000000

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #000000 sits at step 950.

  1. 50#F5F5F5
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.26
  2. 100#EBEBEB
    White
    1.19
    Black
    17.61
  3. 200#D7D7D7
    White
    1.43
    Black
    14.59
  4. 300#BEBEBE
    White
    1.85
    Black
    11.29
  5. 400#A1A1A1
    White
    2.58
    Black
    8.12
  6. 500#868686
    White
    3.64
    Black
    5.76
  7. 600#6F6F6F
    White
    5.02
    Black
    4.17
  8. 700#585858
    White
    7.11
    Black
    2.95
  9. 800#404040
    White
    10.36
    Black
    2.02
  10. 900#292929
    White
    14.54
    Black
    1.44
  11. 950This color#000000
    White
    21.00
    Black
    1.00

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Gamut

How vivid #000000 can get

A gray has no hue, so no gamut holds a more vivid version of #000000: more chroma would make it another color.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.000
sRGB edge
No hue
Display P3 edge
No hue
Rec. 2020 edge
No hue
Dominant wavelength
None, near white
Excitation purity
0%
Chromaticity
x 0.3127, y 0.3290

Mixing

Mixing #000000

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#808080
  • OKLab50%#636363
  • OKLCH50%#636363

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#000000
  • OKLab50%#000000
  • OKLCH50%#000000
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #000000, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #000000 50%, white);

In use

#000000 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:121.00:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:121.00:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:121.00:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:121.00:1 Passes

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:121.00:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:11.12:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:11.12:1 Fails
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:11.12:1 Fails

Color vision

How #000000 looks with color blindness

As a neutral it barely changes under any simulation, ΔE2000 0.0 at most.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees

  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #000000 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as black

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #000000 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as black

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #000000 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as black

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #000000 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as black

Pairing check

A near-neutral has no complementary hue to pair with, so tell it apart from neighboring grays by lightness contrast alone.

Harmony

Color harmonies for #000000

A neutral has no hue to rotate, so every harmony collapses back to the same gray. Pair it with an accent color instead.

Or pair it by lightness: steps of its own scale as text on it, and what each can carry.

Build a lightness scale in Harmony Studio

  • Step 50 #F5F5F5 · 19.26:1

    Body text, AAA

  • Step 300 #BEBEBE · 11.29:1

    Body text, AAA

  • Step 700 #585858 · 2.95:1

    Decoration only, under 3:1

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-black: #000000;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        black: '#000000',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-black: oklch(0.000 0.000 0);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "black": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0, 0, 0],
        "hex": "#000000"
      },
      "$description": "CSS named color black"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let black = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.000, green: 0.000, blue: 0.000, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Black = Color(0xFF000000)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Neighbors

The eight nearest colors on this site by ΔE2000, closest first. Under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side.

Tools

Open #000000 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.