Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind cyan-400: #00D3F2
In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-400 is defined as --color-cyan-400: oklch(78.9% 0.154 211.53), which is #00D3F2 in hex and rgb(0, 211, 242): a light, vivid cyan. In Tailwind v3, cyan-400 was #22D3EE.
In OKLCH, cyan-400 has a lightness of 78.9%, chroma 0.154 and hue 211.5°. It is the most saturated shade of the cyan scale.
This OKLCH value lies outside sRGB. The hex #00D3F2 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 0.2946 0.814 0.935).
In v3, cyan-400 was #22D3EE. The v4 value is ΔE OK 2.2 away; v4 is darker and more saturated.
Tailwind cyan is a bright aqua blue; its light shades are popular for informational backgrounds.
Color codes for cyan-400
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-cyan-400 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(78.9% 0.154 211.53) |
| HEX | #00D3F2 |
| RGB | rgb(0, 211, 242) |
| HSL | hsl(188, 100%, 47%) |
| HWB | hwb(188 0% 5%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(100%, 13%, 0%, 5%) |
| Decimal | 54,258 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.2946 0.814 0.935) |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #22D3EE |
| Utility classes | bg-cyan-400, text-cyan-400, border-cyan-400 |
Tailwind cyan scale
Contrast and accessibility
On cyan-400, black text has a contrast ratio of 11.59:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 1.81:1.
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 cyan-400 | 11.59:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 70.9 |
| White text on cyan-400 | 1.81:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −37.0 |
| Cyan-400 text on white | 1.81:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 33.0 |
| Cyan-400 text on black | 11.59:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −69.7 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-cyan-400) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-cyan-400), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#0dd5f3 - 15%
#26daf4 - 25%
#40def5 - 35%
#59e2f7 - 45%
#73e7f8 - 55%
#8cebf9 - 65%
#a6f0fa - 75%
#bff4fc - 85%
#d9f8fd - 95%
#f2fdfe
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#00c8e6 - 15%
#00b3ce - 25%
#009eb6 - 35%
#00899d - 45%
#007485 - 55%
#005f6d - 65%
#004a55 - 75%
#00353d - 85%
#002024 - 95%
#000b0c
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, cyan-400's complementary color is #FF947E (close to lightsalmon), its analogous colors are #00D9C1 and #5AC4FF, and its triadic partners are #F293E7 and #DEB622. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #ff947e |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #00d9c1#5ac4ff |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #f293e7#deb622 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #ff8db3#ffa143 |
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 cyan-400 is a cool color: its hue is 188° on the HSL wheel, in the green, blue and violet range that is conventionally called cool.
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
| Color | HEX | ΔE OK |
|---|---|---|
| darkturquoise | #00ced1 | 4.6 |
| mediumturquoise | #48d1cc | 6.0 |
| deepskyblue | #00bfff | 6.3 |
Code snippets
<div class="bg-cyan-400 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-cyan-400 border-cyan-400">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-cyan-400);
background-color: oklch(78.9% 0.154 211.53);
border-color: #00d3f2;
outline-color: rgb(0 211 242);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let cyan400 = Color(red: 0.000, green: 0.827, blue: 0.949)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Cyan400 = Color(0xFF00D3F2)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const cyan400 = Color(0xFF00D3F2);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="cyan_400">#00D3F2</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind cyan-400?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-400 is oklch(78.9% 0.154 211.53), which converts to #00D3F2 (rgb(0, 211, 242)) in sRGB after gamut mapping, because the OKLCH value is outside sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #22D3EE.
- What is the difference between cyan-400 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #22D3EE; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(78.9% 0.154 211.53). In v3, cyan-400 was #22D3EE. The v4 value is ΔE OK 2.2 away; v4 is darker and more saturated.
- How do I use cyan-400 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-cyan-400). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on cyan-400?
- White text on cyan-400 has a contrast ratio of 1.81:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 11.59:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc −37.0 for white and Lc 70.9 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to cyan-400?
- The closest is darkturquoise (#00CED1) at ΔE OK 4.6, followed by mediumturquoise and deepskyblue.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.