Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind amber-400: #FFBA00
In Tailwind CSS v4, amber-400 is defined as --color-amber-400: oklch(82.8% 0.189 84.429), which is #FFBA00 in hex and rgb(255, 186, 0): a very light, vivid amber. In Tailwind v3, amber-400 was #FBBF24.
In OKLCH, amber-400 has a lightness of 82.8%, chroma 0.189 and hue 84.4°. It is the most saturated shade of the amber scale.
This OKLCH value lies outside sRGB. The hex #FFBA00 is the sRGB fallback from the CSS Color 4 gamut mapping algorithm; on Display P3 screens browsers show a more saturated color, close to color(display-p3 0.9592 0.7385 0.1183).
In v3, amber-400 was #FBBF24. The v4 value is ΔE OK 2.6 away; v4 is darker and more saturated.
Tailwind amber sits between orange and yellow and is the conventional warning color; its light shades make readable callout backgrounds.
Color codes for amber-400
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-amber-400 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(82.8% 0.189 84.429) |
| HEX | #FFBA00 |
| RGB | rgb(255, 186, 0) |
| HSL | hsl(44, 100%, 50%) |
| HWB | hwb(44 0% 0%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(0%, 27%, 100%, 0%) |
| Decimal | 16,759,296 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.9592 0.7385 0.1183) |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #FBBF24 |
| Utility classes | bg-amber-400, text-amber-400, border-amber-400 |
Tailwind amber scale
Contrast and accessibility
On amber-400, black text has a contrast ratio of 12.27:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 1.71:1.
WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios (success criteria 1.4.3 and 1.4.6: AA needs 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1 and 4.5:1). APCA Lc is the lightness contrast from the APCA-W3 0.0.98G model proposed for WCAG 3; a higher absolute value is more readable, and Lc 75 is its suggested minimum for body text.
| Pair | Ratio | AA | AA large | AAA | AAA large | APCA Lc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black text on amber-400 | 12.27:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 73.4 |
| White text on amber-400 | 1.71:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −34.2 |
| Amber-400 text on white | 1.71:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 30.4 |
| Amber-400 text on black | 12.27:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −72.4 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-amber-400) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-amber-400), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#ffbd0d - 15%
#ffc426 - 25%
#ffcb40 - 35%
#ffd259 - 45%
#ffd973 - 55%
#ffe08c - 65%
#ffe7a6 - 75%
#ffeebf - 85%
#fff5d9 - 95%
#fffcf2
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#f2b100 - 15%
#d99e00 - 25%
#bf8c00 - 35%
#a67900 - 45%
#8c6600 - 55%
#735400 - 65%
#594100 - 75%
#402f00 - 85%
#261c00 - 95%
#0d0900
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, amber-400's complementary color is #A4C6FF (close to lightskyblue), its analogous colors are #FFAD6B and #C5D300, and its triadic partners are #00E3F7 and #FF98FF. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #a4c6ff |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #ffad6b#c5d300 |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #00e3f7#ff98ff |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #69d4ff#cbb7ff |
Computed in OKLCH: the hue is rotated by 180° (complementary), ±30° (analogous), ±120° (triadic) and 180° ±30° (split-complementary) while lightness and chroma stay fixed. Results that fall outside sRGB are brought back with the CSS Color 4 gamut mapping algorithm. Because this uses OKLCH, the values differ from tools that rotate hue in HSL, but every color keeps the same perceived lightness.
Warm or cool?
Tailwind amber-400 is a warm color: its hue is 44° on the HSL wheel, in the red, orange and yellow range (0° to about 70°, plus reds above 330°) that is conventionally called warm.
Nearest named and Tailwind colors
Distance is ΔE OK, the Euclidean distance in OKLab multiplied by 100. Values under about 2 are hard to tell apart side by side.
Nearest CSS named colors
Nearest Tailwind v4 colors
| Color | HEX | ΔE OK |
|---|---|---|
| yellow-500 | #efb100 | 3.4 |
| yellow-400 | #fcc800 | 3.6 |
| amber-300 | #ffd230 | 5.9 |
Code snippets
<div class="bg-amber-400 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-amber-400 border-amber-400">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-amber-400);
background-color: oklch(82.8% 0.189 84.429);
border-color: #ffba00;
outline-color: rgb(255 186 0);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let amber400 = Color(red: 1.000, green: 0.729, blue: 0.000)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Amber400 = Color(0xFFFFBA00)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const amber400 = Color(0xFFFFBA00);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="amber_400">#FFBA00</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind amber-400?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, amber-400 is oklch(82.8% 0.189 84.429), which converts to #FFBA00 (rgb(255, 186, 0)) in sRGB after gamut mapping, because the OKLCH value is outside sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #FBBF24.
- What is the difference between amber-400 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #FBBF24; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(82.8% 0.189 84.429). In v3, amber-400 was #FBBF24. The v4 value is ΔE OK 2.6 away; v4 is darker and more saturated.
- How do I use amber-400 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-amber-400). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on amber-400?
- White text on amber-400 has a contrast ratio of 1.71:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 12.27:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc −34.2 for white and Lc 73.4 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to amber-400?
- The closest is orange (#FFA500) at ΔE OK 5.9, followed by gold and goldenrod.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.