Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind gray-50: #F9FAFB
In Tailwind CSS v4, gray-50 is defined as --color-gray-50: oklch(98.5% 0.002 247.839), which is #F9FAFB in hex and rgb(249, 250, 251): a neutral near-white. In Tailwind v3, gray-50 was #F9FAFB.
In OKLCH, gray-50 has a lightness of 98.5%, chroma 0.002 and hue 247.8°.
The value fits inside sRGB, so the hex #F9FAFB represents it without loss on any screen.
In v3, gray-50 was #F9FAFB. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.0 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart.
Tailwind gray is a cool gray with a lighter blue tint than slate, the default neutral in many Tailwind projects.
Color codes for gray-50
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-gray-50 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(98.5% 0.002 247.839) |
| HEX | #F9FAFB |
| RGB | rgb(249, 250, 251) |
| HSL | hsl(210, 20%, 98%) |
| HWB | hwb(210 98% 2%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(1%, 0%, 0%, 2%) |
| Decimal | 16,382,715 |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #F9FAFB |
| Utility classes | bg-gray-50, text-gray-50, border-gray-50 |
Tailwind gray scale
Contrast and accessibility
On gray-50, black text has a contrast ratio of 20.09:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 1.04:1.
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 gray-50 | 20.09:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 103.0 |
| White text on gray-50 | 1.04:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 0.0 |
| Gray-50 text on white | 1.04:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 0.0 |
| Gray-50 text on black | 20.09:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −104.5 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-gray-50) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-gray-50), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#f9fafb - 15%
#fafbfc - 25%
#fbfbfc - 35%
#fbfcfc - 45%
#fcfcfd - 55%
#fcfdfd - 65%
#fdfdfe - 75%
#fefefe - 85%
#fefefe - 95%
#ffffff
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#edeeee - 15%
#d4d5d5 - 25%
#bbbcbc - 35%
#a2a3a3 - 45%
#898a8a - 55%
#707071 - 65%
#575858 - 75%
#3e3f3f - 85%
#252626 - 95%
#0c0d0d
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, gray-50's complementary color is #FBFAF9 (close to snow), its analogous colors are #F9FAFB and #FAFAFB, and its triadic partners are #FBF9FA and #FAFAF9. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #fbfaf9 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #f9fafb#fafafb |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #fbf9fa#fafaf9 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #fbfaf9#fafaf9 |
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 gray-50 is close to neutral: its OKLCH chroma is only 0.002, so its temperature comes from context. It has no perceptible hue.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| snow | #fffafa | 0.8 |
| ghostwhite | #f8f8ff | 0.9 |
| mintcream | #f5fffa | 1.4 |
Nearest Tailwind v4 colors
| Color | HEX | ΔE OK |
|---|---|---|
| slate-50 | #f8fafc | 0.1 |
| zinc-50 | #fafafa | 0.2 |
| neutral-50 | #fafafa | 0.2 |
Code snippets
<div class="bg-gray-50 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-gray-50 border-gray-50">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-gray-50);
background-color: oklch(98.5% 0.002 247.839);
border-color: #f9fafb;
outline-color: rgb(249 250 251);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let gray50 = Color(red: 0.976, green: 0.980, blue: 0.984)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Gray50 = Color(0xFFF9FAFB)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const gray50 = Color(0xFFF9FAFB);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="gray_50">#F9FAFB</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind gray-50?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, gray-50 is oklch(98.5% 0.002 247.839), which converts to #F9FAFB (rgb(249, 250, 251)) in sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #F9FAFB.
- What is the difference between gray-50 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #F9FAFB; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(98.5% 0.002 247.839). In v3, gray-50 was #F9FAFB. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.0 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart.
- How do I use gray-50 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-gray-50). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on gray-50?
- White text on gray-50 has a contrast ratio of 1.04:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 20.09:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc 0.0 for white and Lc 103.0 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to gray-50?
- The closest is snow (#FFFAFA) at ΔE OK 0.8, followed by ghostwhite and mintcream.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.