Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind cyan-500: #00B8DB
In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-500 is defined as --color-cyan-500: oklch(71.5% 0.143 215.221), which is #00B8DB in hex and rgb(0, 184, 219): a light, moderately saturated cyan. In Tailwind v3, cyan-500 was #06B6D4.
In OKLCH, cyan-500 has a lightness of 71.5%, chroma 0.143 and hue 215.2°.
This OKLCH value lies outside sRGB. The hex #00B8DB 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 0.2467 0.71 0.8414).
In v3, cyan-500 was #06B6D4. The v4 value is ΔE OK 1.7 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart; v4 is more saturated.
Tailwind cyan is a bright aqua blue; its light shades are popular for informational backgrounds.
Color codes for cyan-500
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-cyan-500 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(71.5% 0.143 215.221) |
| HEX | #00B8DB |
| RGB | rgb(0, 184, 219) |
| HSL | hsl(190, 100%, 43%) |
| HWB | hwb(190 0% 14%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(100%, 16%, 0%, 14%) |
| Decimal | 47,323 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.2467 0.71 0.8414) |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #06B6D4 |
| Utility classes | bg-cyan-500, text-cyan-500, border-cyan-500 |
Tailwind cyan scale
Contrast and accessibility
On cyan-500, black text has a contrast ratio of 8.87:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 2.36:1.
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-500 | 8.87:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 58.0 |
| White text on cyan-500 | 2.36:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −50.8 |
| Cyan-500 text on white | 2.36:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 45.9 |
| Cyan-500 text on black | 8.87:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −56.1 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-cyan-500) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-cyan-500), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#0dbcdd - 15%
#26c3e0 - 25%
#40cae4 - 35%
#59d1e8 - 45%
#73d8eb - 55%
#8cdfef - 65%
#a6e6f2 - 75%
#bfedf6 - 85%
#d9f4fa - 95%
#f2fbfd
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#00afd0 - 15%
#009cba - 25%
#008aa4 - 35%
#00788e - 45%
#006578 - 55%
#005363 - 65%
#00404d - 75%
#002e37 - 85%
#001c21 - 95%
#00090b
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, cyan-500's complementary color is #EE7F63 (close to salmon), its analogous colors are #00BFAF and #49AAF6, and its triadic partners are #D97EC6 and #BFA114. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #ee7f63 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #00bfaf#49aaf6 |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #d97ec6#bfa114 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #ec7a97#df8e2f |
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-500 is a cool color: its hue is 190° 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 |
|---|---|---|
| deepskyblue | #00bfff | 5.9 |
| lightseagreen | #20b2aa | 6.9 |
| darkturquoise | #00ced1 | 7.3 |
Code snippets
<div class="bg-cyan-500 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-cyan-500 border-cyan-500">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-cyan-500);
background-color: oklch(71.5% 0.143 215.221);
border-color: #00b8db;
outline-color: rgb(0 184 219);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let cyan500 = Color(red: 0.000, green: 0.722, blue: 0.859)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Cyan500 = Color(0xFF00B8DB)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const cyan500 = Color(0xFF00B8DB);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="cyan_500">#00B8DB</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind cyan-500?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-500 is oklch(71.5% 0.143 215.221), which converts to #00B8DB (rgb(0, 184, 219)) in sRGB after gamut mapping, because the OKLCH value is outside sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #06B6D4.
- What is the difference between cyan-500 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #06B6D4; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(71.5% 0.143 215.221). In v3, cyan-500 was #06B6D4. The v4 value is ΔE OK 1.7 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart; v4 is more saturated.
- How do I use cyan-500 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-cyan-500). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on cyan-500?
- White text on cyan-500 has a contrast ratio of 2.36:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 8.87:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc −50.8 for white and Lc 58.0 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to cyan-500?
- The closest is deepskyblue (#00BFFF) at ΔE OK 5.9, followed by lightseagreen and darkturquoise.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.