Color Palette Extractor — Pull Colors From Any Image
Upload a photo and get its dominant colors instantly. See HEX, RGB, and HSL values with proportional swatches. All processing happens in your browser — nothing gets uploaded.
Drop an image here
or click to select — JPG, PNG, WebP all work
Why Extract a Color Palette From an Image
Design Inspiration
Found a photo with colors that work together? Pull the palette and use it in your next project. Photographers, illustrators, and brand designers often stumble on color combinations in the wild that are hard to replicate from scratch.
Web Development
Match your website's color scheme to a client's brand photo or product shot. Extract the exact colors from a reference image and export them as CSS variables or Tailwind config entries.
UI/UX Work
Create cohesive interfaces by pulling palettes from mood boards or screenshot references. When the buttons, backgrounds, and accents all trace back to the same source image, the design feels intentional.
100% Private
Your image never leaves your browser. The extractor runs entirely on Canvas — everything stays local. No uploads, no servers, no privacy concerns.
How the Palette Extraction Works
Upload Your Image
Drag and drop any photo or click to select. JPG, PNG, and WebP all work. The image loads directly into your browser's memory — nothing gets sent to a server, so it stays private and processes instantly.
Choose Your Color Count
Use the slider to pick how many colors you want. The default is 8, which works well for most photos. Go lower (3-5) for bold, minimal palettes. Go higher (up to 20) if you need subtle variations and secondary tones.
Get Your Palette
Click extract and the algorithm analyzes every pixel. It groups similar colors together and finds the dominant shades. The results show each color's proportion, plus HEX and RGB values you can copy directly or export for use in design tools.
Tips for Getting Better Palettes
Start With Images That Have Strong Color Identity
Photos with clear, distinct color themes give cleaner palettes. A sunset with oranges and purples, a forest scene with greens and browns, or a product shot with a limited color palette all work better than a cluttered street scene with random colors scattered everywhere.
Crop to the Area That Matters
If your image has a background that's throwing off the palette, crop it first. You don't need the whole frame — just the part with the colors you actually want to use. A tight crop of a flower petal gives a very different palette than the full garden photo.
Adjust the Color Count Based on Your Use Case
For brand colors and primary UI elements, stick to 3-5 colors. Too many options make it hard to maintain consistency. For illustration work or data visualization, 8-12 colors give you room for accents and variations without overwhelming the palette.
Check the Proportions
The percentage next to each color tells you how dominant it is in the image. A color that appears 40% of the time is probably your primary. Something at 5% might be an accent or highlight — use it sparingly or it stops being an accent.
Grayscale and Low-Contrast Images Need Care
Black and white photos or images with a muted color range can give you very similar colors that are hard to distinguish. If your palette looks like five shades of gray, try a different image with more saturation and contrast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this tool upload my image anywhere?
No. Everything happens in your browser using Canvas. Your image is processed locally and never leaves your computer. That's why it works offline after the page loads.
What image formats work?
JPG, PNG, and WebP are all supported. If your image is in another format like GIF or BMP, convert it to one of these first using PicEte's format converter tools.
How many colors should I extract?
Start with 8 — that's the default for a reason. It gives you enough variety to work with without overwhelming your palette. Drop to 3-5 for minimal designs, or go up to 12-15 if you need nuanced shades for detailed work.
Why do some colors look very similar?
Images often have subtle gradients and shadows that register as distinct colors but look close to the eye. If you see colors that are too similar, reduce the color count or try a different image with more contrast.
Can I use these colors in commercial projects?
Yes. The colors themselves aren't copyrightable — they're just RGB values extracted from an image. Whether you can use the underlying image depends on where you got it, but the palette output is yours to use however you want.
What's the difference between HEX, RGB, and HSL?
HEX is a 6-digit code like #FF5733, common in web design. RGB expresses colors as red, green, and blue values (0-255). HSL uses hue, saturation, and lightness — useful when you want to adjust brightness or saturation programmatically.