Tailwind CSS v3 color

Tailwind sky-400 #38BDF8

Tailwind CSS v3's sky-400 is #38BDF8. It is a light soft blue in the blue family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.754, chroma 0.139 and hue 232.7°. The nearest CSS named color is deepskyblue (#00BFFF), ΔE2000 1.3 away.

Relative luminance
0.4401
OKLCH L · C · h
0.754 · 0.139 · 232.7
Best text
Black 9.80:1
Hue family
Blue
Inspect this color Check contrast

#38BDF8 color codes

HEX
#38BDF8
RGB
rgb(56, 189, 248)
HSL
hsl(198, 93%, 60%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.754 0.139 232.7)
OKLab
oklab(0.754 -0.084 -0.111)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 72.23, a* -16.01, b* -39.21
XYZ (D65)
X 36.76, Y 44.01, Z 95.35
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(77%, 24%, 0%, 3%)

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 #38BDF8 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 9.80:1, passing AAA. White text fails at 2.14:1.

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

    9.80:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc +62

  • White text on it

    2.14:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −46

  • As text on black

    9.80:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc −60

  • As text on white

    2.14:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +41

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #007EAC 4.58:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.75 to 0.56 reaches 4.58:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #38BDF8 9.80:1

    It already reaches 9.80:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #38BDF8 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 #38BDF8

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #38BDF8 sits at step 400.

  1. 50#EAF7FF
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.24
  2. 100#D5F0FF
    White
    1.18
    Black
    17.73
  3. 200#A9E0FF
    White
    1.41
    Black
    14.79
  4. 300#62CBFF
    White
    1.82
    Black
    11.50
  5. 400This color#38BDF8
    White
    2.14
    Black
    9.80
  6. 500#0092C6
    White
    3.54
    Black
    5.92
  7. 600#0078A4
    White
    4.97
    Black
    4.22
  8. 700#006084
    White
    6.98
    Black
    3.00
  9. 800#004661
    White
    10.25
    Black
    2.04
  10. 900#002D40
    White
    14.48
    Black
    1.44
  11. 950#001926
    White
    17.99
    Black
    1.16

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

Tailwind CSS v3 sky scale

The real Tailwind palette, for comparison with the computed ramp above.

  1. 50#F0F9FF
    White
    1.06
    Black
    19.69
  2. 100#E0F2FE
    White
    1.14
    Black
    18.30
  3. 200#BAE6FD
    White
    1.32
    Black
    15.82
  4. 300#7DD3FC
    White
    1.66
    Black
    12.59
  5. 400This color#38BDF8
    White
    2.14
    Black
    9.80
  6. 500#0EA5E9
    White
    2.77
    Black
    7.57
  7. 600#0284C7
    White
    4.09
    Black
    5.12
  8. 700#0369A1
    White
    5.93
    Black
    3.53
  9. 800#075985
    White
    7.56
    Black
    2.77
  10. 900#0C4A6E
    White
    9.45
    Black
    2.22
  11. 950#082F49
    White
    13.87
    Black
    1.51

Gamut

How vivid #38BDF8 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.153; #38BDF8 uses 91% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.165 there: 8% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.139
sRGB edge
0.153
Display P3 edge
0.165
Rec. 2020 edge
0.167
Dominant wavelength
482 nm
Excitation purity
45%
Chromaticity
x 0.2088, y 0.2499
  • This color#38BDF8
  • Most vivid in sRGB#11BEFF
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.754 0.165 232.7)

On a screen without Display P3 the last tile shows the sRGB edge instead.

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #38bdf8;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0.2963 0.7354 1); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #38BDF8

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%#9CDEFC
  • OKLab50%#A9DFFD
  • OKLCH50%#A9DFFD

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#1C5F7C
  • OKLab50%#0F4760
  • OKLCH50%#0F4760

Its complement #F39455

  • sRGB50%#96A9A7
  • OKLab50%#AFAFAF
  • OKLCH50%#D990E2
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #38bdf8, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #38bdf8 50%, white);

In use

#38BDF8 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, 4.5:19.80:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:12.14:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:12.14:1 Fails
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:12.14:1 Fails

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #007EAC 4.58:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:19.80:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:18.74:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:18.74:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:18.74:1 Passes

Color vision

How #38BDF8 looks with color blindness

Achromatopsia changes it most, ΔE2000 22.1; deuteranopia changes it least, 15.4.

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

    #A0BBFB ΔE2000 16.3

    Distinct

    Reads as light muted blue

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #86A9F7 ΔE2000 15.4

    Distinct

    Reads as light soft blue

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #00CDD1 ΔE2000 18.0

    Distinct

    Reads as light soft cyan

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #B1B1B1 ΔE2000 22.1

    Distinct

    Reads as light gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #F39455. Their lightness contrast is only 1.06:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#38BDF8 · #F3945549.4Stays distinct
Protanopia#A0BBFB · #AF9F4F46.9Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#86A9F7 · #C6B45551.4Stays distinct
Tritanopia#00CDD1 · #FF818657.5Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#B1B1B1 · #ABABAB1.7Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #38BDF8

Its complement is #F39455, a light soft orange, on the warm side of the wheel.

Hue rotations in OKLCH, mapped into sRGB by trimming chroma so hue and lightness stay put.

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#38BDF8
  • Complement#F39455

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#00C6D2
  • Base#38BDF8
  • +30°#84AEFF

Analogous

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#38BDF8
  • +120°#F188B7
  • +240°#B0B843

Triadic

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#38BDF8
  • +150°#FB8986
  • +210°#DAA632

Split-complementary

Open in Harmony Studio

Code

Design tokens

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

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-sky-400: #38bdf8;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js — already built in as sky-400;
// pin the v3 value explicitly like this:
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        sky: { 400: '#38bdf8' },
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

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

@theme {
  /* v4 has its own sky-400; this pins the v3 value. */
  --color-sky-400: oklch(0.754 0.139 232.7);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "sky-400": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.2196, 0.7412, 0.9725],
        "hex": "#38bdf8"
      },
      "$description": "Tailwind CSS v3 sky-400"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let sky400 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.220, green: 0.741, blue: 0.973, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Sky400 = Color(0xFF38BDF8)
}

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 #38BDF8 in the tools

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