BYTETOOLS

Image Color Palette Extractor

Extract the dominant color palette from any image online. Median-cut analysis returns 2–12 colors with HEX, RGB and HSL codes plus copyable CSS variables.

Drop an image to extract its color paletteProcessed locally — never uploaded

What is the Image Color Palette Extractor?

This tool analyses a photo and extracts its dominant colors as a ready-to-use palette. It uses median-cut quantization — the same family of algorithm behind GIF palettes — repeatedly splitting the image's color cloud along its widest channel until the requested number of representative colors remains.

  • Median-cut quantization over the full image
  • 2 to 12 dominant colors per palette
  • HEX, RGB and HSL values for every swatch
  • One-click copy of individual colors or CSS variables
  • Instant results via smart subsampling
  • 100% private — no image ever leaves the browser

How to use the Image Color Palette Extractor

  1. 1

    Upload the image to analyse.

  2. 2

    Choose how many colors you want in the palette (2–12).

  3. 3

    Click any swatch to copy its HEX code.

  4. 4

    Copy the whole palette as CSS variables with one click.

About the Image Color Palette Extractor

This tool analyses a photo and extracts its dominant colors as a ready-to-use palette. It uses median-cut quantization — the same family of algorithm behind GIF palettes — repeatedly splitting the image's color cloud along its widest channel until the requested number of representative colors remains. The result reflects what the image is actually made of, not just a few sampled pixels.

Each extracted color is shown as a swatch with its HEX, RGB and HSL values, and the whole palette can be copied as CSS custom properties for immediate use in a stylesheet. Designers use it to build brand palettes from photography; developers use it for theme colors, placeholders and chart palettes that match hero images.

The analysis runs 100% locally in your browser — your image is never uploaded, and results appear in a fraction of a second because the image is subsampled before quantization.

Frequently asked questions

How does the color palette extractor find the dominant colors?

It uses median-cut quantization: all pixels are placed in one box in RGB space, and the box is repeatedly split at the median of its widest color channel. After enough splits, the average color of each box is a dominant color. This weighs colors by how much area they actually cover.

What is the difference between this and a color picker?

A color picker (eyedropper) reads the single pixel you click, which may be noise or a compression artifact. A palette extractor statistically summarises the whole image, so you get the colors a human would say the image 'is made of'. ByteTools offers both tools.

How many colors should I extract?

For a brand or UI palette, 4–6 colors usually captures an image well: a dominant tone, one or two secondary tones and a couple of accents. Extracting more colors gives finer shades of the same families, which is useful for gradients and data-visualization ramps.

Can I use the extracted palette directly in CSS?

Yes. The tool generates a :root block with each color as a CSS custom property (--color-1, --color-2, …) that you can copy and paste straight into a stylesheet, then reference with var() anywhere in your design.

Why do my extracted colors look slightly muted?

Each palette color is the average of a whole region of similar pixels, and averaging softens extremes. If you need the single most vivid pixel rather than a representative tone, use the eyedropper-style color picker tool instead.

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