UI accent palettes
Extract bridge colors from a hero, button, card, or dashboard gradient and reuse them as accents.
Gradient palette extractor
Extract practical swatches from a CSS gradient.
Enter start, middle, and end colors, adjust the gradient angle, and extract five practical swatches from the gradient path. Hue Codex previews the CSS linear-gradient(), samples 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% stops with OKLab interpolation between adjacent colors, and exports copy-ready CSS plus HEX swatches for UI accents, surfaces, documentation, and color roles.
Free color utility
Gradient Extractor
Inputs update live, exports are copy-ready, and the color math stays deterministic.
Gradient
Extract swatches
Instructions
- Enter start, middle, and end colors for the gradient you want to sample.
- Use Swap to reverse the gradient direction without retyping values.
- Adjust the angle to preview the gradient orientation.
- Review the extracted swatches, then copy the gradient palette output for CSS, color roles, or documentation.
How it fits
From color value to usable system.
Hue Codex treats each color as part of a larger workflow: conversion, accessibility, palette roles, CSS syntax, shareable URLs, and production exports.
Deterministic math
Color conversion follows CSS Color 4 conventions, including D50 Lab/LCH, D65 OKLab/OKLCH, and WCAG contrast thresholds.
Readable outputs
Every result is formatted for clear reading, project notes, documentation, and assistive technology.
Free sharing
Palette URLs can be bookmarked and sent without an account, making color decisions easy to revisit.
Quick overview
Hue Codex Gradient Palette Extractor is a free browser-based tool that builds a three-stop CSS linear gradient and extracts five HEX swatches from it. It previews the gradient, samples 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% positions using OKLab interpolation between adjacent stops, and exports copy-ready CSS and swatch values.
- Use the gradient palette extractor to turn a CSS gradient into reusable HEX swatches.
- The tool works with start, middle, and end colors positioned at 0%, 50%, and 100%.
- Extracted swatches are labeled 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%.
- Midpoint swatches use OKLab interpolation, which usually gives smoother visual blends than simple RGB channel mixing.
- Gradient swatches are useful starting points, but text contrast and role fit should still be checked before production use.
What the Hue Codex gradient palette extractor does
The Hue Codex gradient palette extractor converts a three-stop gradient into a small set of reusable swatches. You provide a start color, middle color, end color, and angle; the tool previews the resulting CSS linear-gradient() and extracts five labeled colors along the path.
The copied output includes the gradient CSS followed by the extracted 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% HEX values. This makes it easy to document a gradient, reuse key colors, or turn visual transitions into color-role candidates.
Gradient palette extractor definition
A gradient palette extractor samples representative colors from a gradient so the gradient can be reused as a set of discrete swatches.
Swatches extracted from the gradient
Hue Codex extracts five positions from the generated gradient. The start, middle, and end swatches match the entered colors; the 25% and 75% swatches are calculated between the adjacent stops.
| Swatch | Source | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | The start color at the beginning of the gradient. | Use as the first endpoint, accent, or starting role. |
| 25% | The OKLab midpoint between the start and middle colors. | Use as a bridge swatch or softer transition color. |
| 50% | The middle color placed at the center of the gradient. | Use as the core gradient color or central palette accent. |
| 75% | The OKLab midpoint between the middle and end colors. | Use as a second bridge swatch or intermediate surface color. |
| 100% | The end color at the end of the gradient. | Use as the final endpoint, accent, or closing role. |
Why OKLab sampling is used
The visible CSS gradient is written as a standard linear-gradient() with the three entered HEX colors. For the extracted intermediate swatches, Hue Codex uses OKLab interpolation between adjacent stops so the 25% and 75% colors feel more visually balanced.
Different interpolation models can produce different midpoint colors. OKLab is useful for UI and palette work because it is designed around more perceptual lightness and hue behavior than simple RGB channel interpolation.
- Use the CSS gradient value when you need the actual gradient style.
- Use the extracted HEX values when you need discrete colors for tokens, cards, dividers, badges, or documentation.
- Check extracted swatches against real backgrounds before using them for text or important UI states.
Best uses for gradient palette extraction
Gradient extraction is useful when a gradient already feels right visually and you want a small palette that inherits its direction, mood, and color relationships.
Color roles
Turn gradient positions into named token candidates such as gradient-start, gradient-mid, gradient-bridge, or gradient-end.
Documentation
Copy the CSS gradient and swatch list into brand notes, handoff docs, or component specs.
Palette cleanup
Use extracted swatches as a controlled alternative to manually sampling arbitrary points from a gradient screenshot.
Gradient extraction caveats
Extracted swatches summarize a gradient, but they do not replace contrast checks. A color that looks good inside a gradient can still fail as text, icon, border, or component fill on a specific background.
The CSS gradient itself uses browser gradient rendering, while the extracted intermediate swatches use OKLab interpolation. Treat the HEX swatches as practical palette samples rather than exact screenshots of every rendered pixel.
Quick answers
Gradient Extractor FAQ
What is the Hue Codex gradient palette extractor?
Hue Codex Gradient Palette Extractor is a free browser-based tool that creates a three-stop CSS linear gradient and extracts five reusable HEX swatches from it.
Which gradient stops does the tool use?
The tool uses a start color at 0%, a middle color at 50%, and an end color at 100%.
Which swatches are extracted?
Hue Codex extracts swatches at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%.
How are the 25% and 75% colors calculated?
The 25% color is mixed between the start and middle colors, and the 75% color is mixed between the middle and end colors using OKLab interpolation.
Can I change the gradient angle?
Yes. The angle slider sets the CSS linear-gradient() angle from 0 to 360 degrees.
Can I swap the gradient endpoints?
Yes. The swap control reverses the start and end colors while keeping the middle color in place.
Can I copy the CSS gradient and HEX swatches?
Yes. The export includes the generated CSS linear-gradient() followed by the extracted HEX swatches.
Are extracted gradient swatches automatically accessible?
No. Extracted swatches should be checked for contrast and role fit before they are used for text, icons, controls, or important UI states.