QuickTooly

Free Image Color Palette Extractor - Instant, Private, No Upload

Extract the dominant colors from any photo or graphic instantly in your browser. No upload, no sign-up, completely free. Get a ready-to-use palette as HEX codes or CSS custom properties in seconds.

Palette · HEX · CSS Variables · Free · Private · No Upload

Drop an image to pull out its dominant colors, choose how many swatches you want, then copy the palette as a HEX list or as :root CSS custom properties ready to paste straight into your stylesheet. Your image never leaves your device - no server, no storage, completely private.

Drop your image here or click to select

Supports PNG, JPG, and WebP - up to 50 MB

Last updated: June 7 2026

Reviewed by the QuickTooly Team

Color Palette Extraction Guide

What Is a Color Palette Extractor?

A color palette extractor analyzes every pixel in an image and groups them into clusters of similar colors, then returns the most dominant shades as a ready-to-use palette. It's the fastest way to pull a brand's colors from a logo, match a website theme to a hero photo, or build a cohesive palette from a piece of artwork or a photograph - without opening a design tool.

Who Uses Color Palette Extraction

  • Designers: Pull a starting palette from a moodboard photo or client logo to kick off a new project in seconds.
  • Brand teams: Reverse-engineer the exact HEX values used in existing brand assets when style guides are missing or outdated.
  • Social media managers: Match graphics, captions, and templates to the dominant colors of a campaign photo for a consistent feed.
  • Developers: Export a palette straight to CSS custom properties and drop it into a stylesheet without manually typing out HEX codes.

How to Extract a Color Palette - 3 Steps

Step 1: Upload Your Image

Drag and drop a PNG, JPG, or WebP file into the upload area, or click "Select Image" to browse. A thumbnail preview appears so you can confirm the right file is loaded.

Step 2: Choose Palette Size

Use the slider to pick how many colors to extract - anywhere from 2 bold tones to 10 detailed shades. Fewer colors highlight the strongest dominant hues; more colors capture subtler accents and gradients.

Step 3: Extract and Copy

Click "Extract Palette." Each swatch shows its HEX code - click any swatch to copy that single color, or use "Copy as CSS Variables" to grab the whole palette as a :root block (--color-1, --color-2, …) ready to paste into your stylesheet, or "Copy as HEX List" for a plain comma-separated list. The extraction runs entirely in your browser - no data is sent to any server.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the color extractor pick which colors to show?

It samples the pixels in your image and groups similar shades into clusters using color quantization, then returns the most prominent cluster colors as your palette - the same general approach used by professional design tools to find dominant colors in a photo.

What does "Copy as CSS Variables" actually copy?

It copies a complete :root { } block defining each extracted color as a CSS custom property - for example --color-1: #3B82F6;. Paste it directly into your stylesheet and reference the colors anywhere with var(--color-1), instantly matching your design to the source image.

How many colors should I extract?

5–6 colors is a good default for most photos and logos - enough to capture primary, secondary, and accent tones without redundancy. Drop to 2–3 for a minimal palette from simple graphics, or go up to 10 for photos with rich gradients and varied lighting.

Is my image uploaded to a server?

No. All processing happens locally in your browser - your image never leaves your device and is never stored anywhere. This makes the tool safe for confidential brand assets, unreleased designs, and any sensitive imagery.

What's the difference between this and the Color Picker?

The Image Color Picker samples one exact pixel at a time - perfect for matching a single specific shade. This tool analyzes the whole image and returns a complete palette of its dominant colors - better for getting an overall sense of an image's color scheme in one click.

What's the maximum file size I can use?

The tool supports images up to 50 MB. Very large images may take a few seconds to process because the browser has to read every pixel to build the palette.

More Free Image Tools

Looking for other ways to work with images?

Extract Color Palettes Online - No Software Required

Upload any photo, logo, or graphic to get its dominant color palette - completely free, no sign-up, no file size limits beyond 50 MB. All extraction happens in your browser in seconds.