Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind lime-400: #9AE600
In Tailwind CSS v4, lime-400 is defined as --color-lime-400: oklch(84.1% 0.238 128.85), which is #9AE600 in hex and rgb(154, 230, 0): a very light, vivid yellow-green. In Tailwind v3, lime-400 was #A3E635.
In OKLCH, lime-400 has a lightness of 84.1%, chroma 0.238 and hue 128.8°. It is the most saturated shade of the lime scale.
This OKLCH value lies outside sRGB. The hex #9AE600 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 0.6687 0.8938 0.2088).
In v3, lime-400 was #A3E635. The v4 value is ΔE OK 3.2 away; v4 is darker and more saturated.
Tailwind lime is a yellow-green between yellow and green, bright and acidic in its mid shades.
Color codes for lime-400
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-lime-400 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(84.1% 0.238 128.85) |
| HEX | #9AE600 |
| RGB | rgb(154, 230, 0) |
| HSL | hsl(80, 100%, 45%) |
| HWB | hwb(80 0% 10%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(33%, 0%, 100%, 10%) |
| Decimal | 10,151,424 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.6687 0.8938 0.2088) |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #A3E635 |
| Utility classes | bg-lime-400, text-lime-400, border-lime-400 |
Tailwind lime scale
Contrast and accessibility
On lime-400, black text has a contrast ratio of 13.69:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 1.53:1.
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 lime-400 | 13.69:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 79.4 |
| White text on lime-400 | 1.53:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −27.6 |
| Lime-400 text on white | 1.53:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 24.4 |
| Lime-400 text on black | 13.69:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −78.8 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-lime-400) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-lime-400), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#9fe70d - 15%
#a9ea26 - 25%
#b3ec40 - 35%
#bdef59 - 45%
#c7f173 - 55%
#d2f48c - 65%
#dcf6a6 - 75%
#e6f9bf - 85%
#f0fbd9 - 95%
#fafef2
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#92db00 - 15%
#83c400 - 25%
#74ad00 - 35%
#649600 - 45%
#557f00 - 55%
#456700 - 65%
#365100 - 75%
#273a00 - 85%
#172300 - 95%
#080c00
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, lime-400's complementary color is #E4B2FF (close to plum), its analogous colors are #EBCA00 and #00F494, and its triadic partners are #94D1FF and #FFABBB. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #e4b2ff |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #ebca00#00f494 |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #94d1ff#ffabbb |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #bcc4ff#ffa2ec |
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 lime-400 sits on the boundary: its hue of 80° on the HSL wheel is a yellow-green, which reads warm next to blues and cool next to reds and oranges.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| lawngreen | #7cfc00 | 5.8 |
| chartreuse | #7fff00 | 6.4 |
| greenyellow | #adff2f | 7.2 |
Code snippets
<div class="bg-lime-400 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-lime-400 border-lime-400">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-lime-400);
background-color: oklch(84.1% 0.238 128.85);
border-color: #9ae600;
outline-color: rgb(154 230 0);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let lime400 = Color(red: 0.604, green: 0.902, blue: 0.000)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Lime400 = Color(0xFF9AE600)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const lime400 = Color(0xFF9AE600);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="lime_400">#9AE600</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind lime-400?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, lime-400 is oklch(84.1% 0.238 128.85), which converts to #9AE600 (rgb(154, 230, 0)) in sRGB after gamut mapping, because the OKLCH value is outside sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #A3E635.
- What is the difference between lime-400 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #A3E635; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(84.1% 0.238 128.85). In v3, lime-400 was #A3E635. The v4 value is ΔE OK 3.2 away; v4 is darker and more saturated.
- How do I use lime-400 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-lime-400). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on lime-400?
- White text on lime-400 has a contrast ratio of 1.53:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 13.69:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc −27.6 for white and Lc 79.4 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to lime-400?
- The closest is lawngreen (#7CFC00) at ΔE OK 5.8, followed by chartreuse and greenyellow.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.