Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind mauve-500: #79697B
In Tailwind CSS v4, mauve-500 is defined as --color-mauve-500: oklch(54.2% 0.034 322.5), which is #79697B in hex and rgb(121, 105, 123): a medium-dark, grayish purple.
In OKLCH, mauve-500 has a lightness of 54.2%, chroma 0.034 and hue 322.5°. It is the most saturated shade of the mauve scale.
The value fits inside sRGB, so the hex #79697B represents it without loss on any screen.
Tailwind mauve is one of four tinted neutral scales added in Tailwind CSS v4.2: a gray with a purple-pink cast. It has no v3 equivalent.
Color codes for mauve-500
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-mauve-500 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(54.2% 0.034 322.5) |
| HEX | #79697B |
| RGB | rgb(121, 105, 123) |
| HSL | hsl(293, 8%, 45%) |
| HWB | hwb(293 41% 52%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(2%, 15%, 0%, 52%) |
| Decimal | 7,956,859 |
| Utility classes | bg-mauve-500, text-mauve-500, border-mauve-500 |
Tailwind mauve scale
Contrast and accessibility
On mauve-500, white text has a contrast ratio of 5.09:1 and passes AA for normal text; black text reaches 4.11:1.
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 mauve-500 | 4.11:1 | Fail | Pass | Fail | Fail | 28.9 |
| White text on mauve-500 | 5.09:1 | Pass | Pass | Fail | Pass | −80.6 |
| Mauve-500 text on white | 5.09:1 | Pass | Pass | Fail | Pass | 75.2 |
| Mauve-500 text on black | 4.11:1 | Fail | Pass | Fail | Fail | −26.5 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-mauve-500) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-mauve-500), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#807182 - 15%
#8d808f - 25%
#9b8f9c - 35%
#a89ea9 - 45%
#b5adb6 - 55%
#c3bcc4 - 65%
#d0cbd1 - 75%
#dedade - 85%
#ebe9eb - 95%
#f8f8f8
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#736475 - 15%
#675969 - 25%
#5b4f5c - 35%
#4f4450 - 45%
#433a44 - 55%
#362f37 - 65%
#2a252b - 75%
#1e1a1f - 85%
#121012 - 95%
#060506
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, mauve-500's complementary color is #647562 (close to dimgray), its analogous colors are #6F6C82 and #806771, and its triadic partners are #796E59 and #587578. For text on top, white gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #647562 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #6f6c82#806771 |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #796e59#587578 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #6f725b#5b766d |
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 mauve-500 is a cool color: its hue is 293° 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.
Code snippets
<div class="bg-mauve-500 text-white">...</div>
<p class="text-mauve-500 border-mauve-500">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-mauve-500);
background-color: oklch(54.2% 0.034 322.5);
border-color: #79697b;
outline-color: rgb(121 105 123);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let mauve500 = Color(red: 0.475, green: 0.412, blue: 0.482)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Mauve500 = Color(0xFF79697B)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const mauve500 = Color(0xFF79697B);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="mauve_500">#79697B</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind mauve-500?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, mauve-500 is oklch(54.2% 0.034 322.5), which converts to #79697B (rgb(121, 105, 123)) in sRGB.
- Is mauve-500 available in Tailwind v3?
- No. The mauve scale was added in Tailwind CSS v4.2. In v3 you can recreate it in tailwind.config.js under theme.extend.colors with the hex #79697B.
- How do I use mauve-500 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-mauve-500). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on mauve-500?
- White text on mauve-500 has a contrast ratio of 5.09:1, which passes AA for normal text but not AAA under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 4.11:1 and passes AA only for large text (24 px, or 18.66 px bold, and up). In APCA terms that is Lc −80.6 for white and Lc 28.9 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to mauve-500?
- The closest is dimgray (#696969) at ΔE OK 4.0, followed by slategray and gray.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.