Tailwind CSS v3 color

Tailwind purple-500 #A855F7

Tailwind CSS v3's purple-500 is #A855F7. It is a vivid violet in the violet family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.627, chroma 0.233 and hue 303.9°. The nearest CSS named color is mediumorchid (#BA55D3), ΔE2000 7.0 away.

Relative luminance
0.2154
OKLCH L · C · h
0.627 · 0.233 · 303.9
Best text
Black 5.30:1
Hue family
Violet
Inspect this color Check contrast

#A855F7 color codes

HEX
#A855F7
RGB
rgb(168, 85, 247)
HSL
hsl(271, 91%, 65%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.627 0.233 303.9)
OKLab
oklab(0.627 0.130 -0.193)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 53.53, a* 62.66, b* -67.97
XYZ (D65)
X 36.18, Y 21.54, Z 90.23
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(32%, 66%, 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 #A855F7 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 5.30:1, passing AA. White text manages only 3.95:1, enough for large text only.

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

    5.30:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +37

  • White text on it

    3.95:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −71

  • As text on black

    5.30:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −35

  • As text on white

    3.95:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +66

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #9D49EB 4.57:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.63 to 0.59 reaches 4.57:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #A855F7 5.30:1

    It already reaches 5.30:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #A855F7 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 #A855F7

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #A855F7 sits at step 500.

  1. 50#F7F2FF
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.09
  2. 100#F0E6FF
    White
    1.20
    Black
    17.46
  3. 200#E1CCFF
    White
    1.47
    Black
    14.28
  4. 300#CFA9FF
    White
    1.94
    Black
    10.77
  5. 400#BB7EFF
    White
    2.78
    Black
    7.54
  6. 500This color#A855F7
    White
    3.95
    Black
    5.30
  7. 600#8D36D8
    White
    5.75
    Black
    3.65
  8. 700#7516BB
    White
    8.11
    Black
    2.58
  9. 800#580090
    White
    11.55
    Black
    1.81
  10. 900#3A0061
    White
    15.52
    Black
    1.35
  11. 950#21003B
    White
    18.61
    Black
    1.12

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

Tailwind CSS v3 purple scale

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

  1. 50#FAF5FF
    White
    1.07
    Black
    19.56
  2. 100#F3E8FF
    White
    1.17
    Black
    17.79
  3. 200#E9D5FF
    White
    1.36
    Black
    15.42
  4. 300#D8B4FE
    White
    1.76
    Black
    11.87
  5. 400#C084FC
    White
    2.64
    Black
    7.94
  6. 500This color#A855F7
    White
    3.95
    Black
    5.30
  7. 600#9333EA
    White
    5.38
    Black
    3.90
  8. 700#7E22CE
    White
    6.98
    Black
    3.00
  9. 800#6B21A8
    White
    8.72
    Black
    2.40
  10. 900#581C87
    White
    10.87
    Black
    1.93
  11. 950#3B0764
    White
    14.99
    Black
    1.40

Gamut

How vivid #A855F7 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.250; #A855F7 uses 93% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.271 there: 8% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.233
sRGB edge
0.250
Display P3 edge
0.271
Rec. 2020 edge
0.275
Dominant wavelength
Complementary 565 nm
Excitation purity
57%
Chromaticity
x 0.2446, y 0.1456
  • This color#A855F7
  • Most vivid in sRGB#AB4EFF
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.627 0.271 303.9)

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

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #a855f7;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0.6316 0.2905 1); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #A855F7

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%#D4AAFB
  • OKLab50%#D2AFFF
  • OKLCH50%#D2AFFF

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#542B7C
  • OKLab50%#3F1C60
  • OKLCH50%#3F1C60

Its complement #759700

  • sRGB50%#8F767C
  • OKLab50%#8D839C
  • OKLCH50%#0099B1
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #a855f7, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #a855f7 50%, white);

In use

#A855F7 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, 4.5:15.30:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:13.95:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:13.95:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:13.95:1 Passes

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #9D49EB 4.57:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.30:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:14.73:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:14.73:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:14.73:1 Passes

Color vision

How #A855F7 looks with color blindness

Achromatopsia changes it most, ΔE2000 30.0; tritanopia changes it least, 19.3.

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

    #007EFC ΔE2000 24.2

    Distinct

    Reads as vivid blue

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #1980F3 ΔE2000 25.0

    Distinct

    Reads as vivid blue

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #99799F ΔE2000 19.3

    Distinct

    Reads as muted magenta

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #808080 ΔE2000 30.0

    Distinct

    Reads as gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #759700. Their lightness contrast is only 1.16:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#A855F7 · #75970082.1Stays distinct
Protanopia#007EFC · #A08C0062.3Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#1980F3 · #9C8B1B59.5Stays distinct
Tritanopia#99799F · #7B8F8028.3Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#808080 · #8B8B8B4.0Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #A855F7

Its complement is #759700, a soft yellow.

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

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#A855F7
  • Complement#759700

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#6676FF
  • Base#A855F7
  • +30°#D53CC1

Analogous

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#A855F7
  • +120°#C27200
  • +240°#009E90

Triadic

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#A855F7
  • +150°#A28600
  • +210°#00A359

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-purple-500: #a855f7;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js — already built in as purple-500;
// pin the v3 value explicitly like this:
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        purple: { 500: '#a855f7' },
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

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

@theme {
  /* v4 has its own purple-500; this pins the v3 value. */
  --color-purple-500: oklch(0.627 0.233 303.9);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "purple-500": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.6588, 0.3333, 0.9686],
        "hex": "#a855f7"
      },
      "$description": "Tailwind CSS v3 purple-500"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let purple500 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.659, green: 0.333, blue: 0.969, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Purple500 = Color(0xFFA855F7)
}

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 #A855F7 in the tools

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