What color formats does this tool support?

HEX (3, 4, 6, or 8 digits — 4 and 8 digits include an alpha channel), RGB/RGBA, HSL/HSLA, HSV/HSB, and CMYK. Editing any one of them updates all the others instantly.

Why do HSV and CMYK not have an alpha/transparency option?

Alpha is a transparency value layered on top of a color, not a property of the HSV or CMYK color models themselves — CMYK in particular describes ink coverage on a physical medium, where transparency isn't a meaningful concept. Setting alpha via HEX, RGB, or HSL still carries through correctly; switching to HSV or CMYK simply doesn't expose a separate alpha control, and editing those formats preserves whatever alpha was already set.

Why does a 3-digit hex code like #0f0 convert to bright green, not a very dark green?

Each digit in 3-digit shorthand hex is duplicated to make a full byte — #0f0 expands to #00ff00, not #000f00. Reading the digits directly as a byte value is a common mistake; #0f0 is pure green at full brightness, matching what browsers render for that shorthand.

Why don't my HSL/HSV/CMYK numbers exactly match a color picker I used elsewhere?

Small rounding differences (typically ±1) can appear between tools because HSL/HSV/CMYK values are derived through floating-point math and then rounded to whole numbers for display — different tools round at different points in the calculation. The underlying color is the same; only the last digit of a derived value can vary slightly.

What's the difference between HSL and HSV/HSB?

Both describe a color as hue, saturation, and a third channel, but that third channel means different things: HSL's 'lightness' runs from black through the pure hue to white, while HSV's 'value' (also called 'brightness', hence HSB) runs from black to the pure hue only — full lightness in HSL is always white, but full value in HSV is the saturated color itself. They're both valid, widely-used ways to describe the same RGB color, just organized around different intuitions.

Can I convert a screen color (RGB) to CMYK for print accurately?

This tool uses the standard, uncalibrated RGB-to-CMYK formula, which gives a reasonable approximation but does not account for a specific printer's ink profile or color gamut. For production print work, use your print shop's actual ICC color profile — the CMYK values here are a solid starting point, not a substitute for a calibrated proof.

Does this tool recognize CSS named colors like 'rebeccapurple'?

Not currently — input is via hex code or the individual RGB/HSL/HSV/CMYK number fields, not free-text color names. You can still find a named color's hex code elsewhere and paste it into the hex field to convert it into every other format.

Is anything I type here uploaded anywhere?

No. All conversion math runs locally in your browser using JavaScript. No network request is made, and nothing you enter is stored or transmitted.

Color Converter — Convert Between HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV, and CMYK

Our Color Converter lets you edit a color in any of five formats — HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV/HSB, or CMYK — and see every other format update instantly to match. Alpha/transparency is supported for HEX, RGB, and HSL, so you can work with translucent CSS colors (rgba()/hsla()/8-digit hex) as easily as opaque ones. It's built for developers who need a CSS-ready rgb()/hsl() string, designers translating a screen color into CMYK for print, and anyone who just needs to know what a hex code looks like in another format.

Quick Answer

Color Converter lets you edit a color in HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV/HSB, or CMYK and see every other format update instantly, with alpha/transparency support for HEX, RGB, and HSL. Free, and everything runs instantly in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Hex

Alpha — 100%

RGB

HSL

HSV

CMYK

How to Use the Color Converter — HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV, CMYK

1
Type a hex code, or set RGB, HSL, HSV, or CMYK values directly — whichever format you already have your color in.
2
Every other format updates instantly to match as you type or adjust a value.
3
Adjust the alpha slider if you need a translucent color — the hex field automatically expands to 8 digits and the RGB/HSL strings switch to rgba()/hsla().
4
Check the live swatch preview (shown over a checkerboard so transparency is visible) to confirm the result looks right.
5
Click a copy button to copy the hex code, rgb()/rgba() string, or hsl()/hsla() string straight to your clipboard.

Why Use Color Converter — HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV, CMYK?

Color values rarely stay in one format for long: a designer hands over a hex code from a Figma file, a developer needs it as an rgba() string for a CSS variable with transparency, and a print shop wants CMYK percentages for an offset run — and converting by hand between these five representations (HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV/HSB, CMYK) means memorizing formulas most people looked up once and forgot. This tool removes that friction: edit the color in whichever format you have on hand, and every other format recomputes instantly using the same standard conversion math used across design and browser tooling. Because the tool tracks one canonical color internally and derives every displayed format from it, the values never drift out of sync with each other the way manually re-typing a converted value into a second tool sometimes does. HSV/HSB and CMYK are included specifically because they show up in different contexts than the web-native HEX/RGB/HSL — HSV in a lot of design-software color pickers (Photoshop's classic wheel-and-slider dialog, for example), and CMYK anywhere a color needs to become physical ink rather than a screen pixel.

Frequently Asked Questions

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