Tailwind CSS v3 color

Tailwind zinc-50 / neutral-50 #FAFAFA

Tailwind CSS v3's zinc-50 and neutral-50 are both #FAFAFA. It is a near-white in the neutral family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.985 with chroma 0.000, too low for hue to matter. The nearest CSS named color is white (#FFFFFF), ΔE2000 1.0 away.

Relative luminance
0.9560
OKLCH L · C · h
0.985 · 0.000 · —
Best text
Black 20.11:1
Hue family
Neutral
Inspect this color Check contrast

#FAFAFA color codes

HEX
#FAFAFA
RGB
rgb(250, 250, 250)
HSL
hsl(0, 0%, 98%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.985 0.000 0)
OKLab
oklab(0.985 0.000 0.000)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 98.27, a* 0.00, b* 0.00
XYZ (D65)
X 90.86, Y 95.60, Z 104.09
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 2%)

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 #FAFAFA accessible?

Black text on it reaches 20.11:1, passing AAA. White text fails at 1.04:1.

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

    20.11:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc +103

  • White text on it

    1.04:1

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

    Text is here, unreadable at 1.04:1

  • As text on black

    20.11:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc −104

  • As text on white

    1.04:1

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

    Text is here, unreadable at 1.04:1

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #767676 4.54:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.99 to 0.57 reaches 4.54:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #FAFAFA 20.11:1

    It already reaches 20.11:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #FAFAFA 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 #FAFAFA

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #FAFAFA sits at step 50.

  1. 50This color#FAFAFA
    White
    1.04
    Black
    20.11
  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. 950#161616
    White
    18.09
    Black
    1.16

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

Tailwind CSS v3 zinc scale

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

  1. 50This color#FAFAFA
    White
    1.04
    Black
    20.11
  2. 100#F4F4F5
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.10
  3. 200#E4E4E7
    White
    1.26
    Black
    16.55
  4. 300#D4D4D8
    White
    1.47
    Black
    14.20
  5. 400#A1A1AA
    White
    2.56
    Black
    8.19
  6. 500#71717A
    White
    4.83
    Black
    4.34
  7. 600#52525B
    White
    7.72
    Black
    2.71
  8. 700#3F3F46
    White
    10.44
    Black
    2.01
  9. 800#27272A
    White
    14.89
    Black
    1.40
  10. 900#18181B
    White
    17.71
    Black
    1.18
  11. 950#09090B
    White
    19.89
    Black
    1.05

Tailwind CSS v3 neutral scale

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

  1. 50This color#FAFAFA
    White
    1.04
    Black
    20.11
  2. 100#F5F5F5
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.26
  3. 200#E5E5E5
    White
    1.25
    Black
    16.67
  4. 300#D4D4D4
    White
    1.48
    Black
    14.16
  5. 400#A3A3A3
    White
    2.52
    Black
    8.32
  6. 500#737373
    White
    4.74
    Black
    4.42
  7. 600#525252
    White
    7.81
    Black
    2.68
  8. 700#404040
    White
    10.36
    Black
    2.02
  9. 800#262626
    White
    15.13
    Black
    1.38
  10. 900#171717
    White
    17.92
    Black
    1.17
  11. 950#0A0A0A
    White
    19.79
    Black
    1.06

Gamut

How vivid #FAFAFA can get

A gray has no hue, so no gamut holds a more vivid version of #FAFAFA: 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 #FAFAFA

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%#FDFDFD
  • OKLab50%#FCFCFC
  • OKLCH50%#FCFCFC

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#7D7D7D
  • OKLab50%#616161
  • OKLCH50%#616161
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #fafafa, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #fafafa 50%, white);

In use

#FAFAFA 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, 4.5:120.11:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:11.04:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:11.04:1 Fails
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:11.04:1 Fails

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #767676 4.54:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:120.11:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:117.94:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:117.94:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:117.94:1 Passes

Color vision

How #FAFAFA 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

    #FAFAFA ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as white

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #FAFAFA ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as white

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #FAFAFA ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as white

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #FAFAFA ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as white

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 #FAFAFA

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 950 #161616 · 17.33:1

    Body text, AAA

  • Step 700 #585858 · 6.81:1

    Body text, AA

  • Step 300 #BEBEBE · 1.78:1

    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-zinc-50: #fafafa;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js — already built in as zinc-50;
// pin the v3 value explicitly like this:
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        zinc: { 50: '#fafafa' },
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

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

@theme {
  /* v4 has its own zinc-50; this pins the v3 value. */
  --color-zinc-50: oklch(0.985 0.000 0);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "zinc-50": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.9804, 0.9804, 0.9804],
        "hex": "#fafafa"
      },
      "$description": "Tailwind CSS v3 zinc-50 / neutral-50"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let zinc50 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.980, green: 0.980, blue: 0.980, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Zinc50 = Color(0xFFFAFAFA)
}

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 #FAFAFA in the tools

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