Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind cyan-900: #104E64
In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-900 is defined as --color-cyan-900: oklch(39.8% 0.07 227.392), which is #104E64 in hex and rgb(16, 78, 100): a dark, muted sky blue. In Tailwind v3, cyan-900 was #164E63.
In OKLCH, cyan-900 has a lightness of 39.8%, chroma 0.070 and hue 227.4°.
The value fits inside sRGB, so the hex #104E64 represents it without loss on any screen.
In v3, cyan-900 was #164E63. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.4 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart.
Tailwind cyan is a bright aqua blue; its light shades are popular for informational backgrounds.
Color codes for cyan-900
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-cyan-900 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(39.8% 0.07 227.392) |
| HEX | #104E64 |
| RGB | rgb(16, 78, 100) |
| HSL | hsl(196, 72%, 23%) |
| HWB | hwb(196 6% 61%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(84%, 22%, 0%, 61%) |
| Decimal | 1,068,644 |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #164E63 |
| Utility classes | bg-cyan-900, text-cyan-900, border-cyan-900 |
Tailwind cyan scale
Contrast and accessibility
On cyan-900, white text has a contrast ratio of 9.14:1 and passes AAA at any text size; black text reaches 2.29:1.
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-900 | 2.29:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 13.2 |
| White text on cyan-900 | 9.14:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −95.1 |
| Cyan-900 text on white | 9.14:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 90.7 |
| Cyan-900 text on black | 2.29:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −11.6 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-cyan-900) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-cyan-900), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#1c576c - 15%
#34697b - 25%
#4c7a8b - 35%
#648c9a - 45%
#7c9eaa - 55%
#93afb9 - 65%
#abc1c9 - 75%
#c3d3d8 - 85%
#dbe4e8 - 95%
#f3f6f7
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#0f4a5f - 15%
#0e4255 - 25%
#0c3b4b - 35%
#0a3341 - 45%
#092b37 - 55%
#07232d - 65%
#061b23 - 75%
#041419 - 85%
#020c0f - 95%
#010405
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, cyan-900's complementary color is #663B24 (close to saddlebrown), its analogous colors are #005254 and #2E486C, and its triadic partners are #62374E and #4B4A17. For text on top, white gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #663b24 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #005254#2e486c |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #62374e#4b4a17 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #683739#5c4215 |
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-900 is a cool color: its hue is 196° 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 |
|---|---|---|
| darkslategray | #2f4f4f | 4.3 |
| darkslateblue | #483d8b | 10.8 |
| dimgray | #696969 | 14.1 |
Code snippets
<div class="bg-cyan-900 text-white">...</div>
<p class="text-cyan-900 border-cyan-900">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-cyan-900);
background-color: oklch(39.8% 0.07 227.392);
border-color: #104e64;
outline-color: rgb(16 78 100);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let cyan900 = Color(red: 0.063, green: 0.306, blue: 0.392)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Cyan900 = Color(0xFF104E64)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const cyan900 = Color(0xFF104E64);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="cyan_900">#104E64</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind cyan-900?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-900 is oklch(39.8% 0.07 227.392), which converts to #104E64 (rgb(16, 78, 100)) in sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #164E63.
- What is the difference between cyan-900 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #164E63; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(39.8% 0.07 227.392). In v3, cyan-900 was #164E63. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.4 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart.
- How do I use cyan-900 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-cyan-900). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on cyan-900?
- White text on cyan-900 has a contrast ratio of 9.14:1, which passes both AA and AAA under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 2.29:1 and fails AA even for large text. In APCA terms that is Lc −95.1 for white and Lc 13.2 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to cyan-900?
- The closest is darkslategray (#2F4F4F) at ΔE OK 4.3, followed by darkslateblue and dimgray.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.