Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind neutral-400: #A1A1A1
In Tailwind CSS v4, neutral-400 is defined as --color-neutral-400: oklch(70.8% 0 none), which is #A1A1A1 in hex and rgb(161, 161, 161): a light neutral gray. In Tailwind v3, neutral-400 was #A3A3A3.
In OKLCH, neutral-400 has a lightness of 70.8% and zero chroma: a gray with no hue at all.
The value fits inside sRGB, so the hex #A1A1A1 represents it without loss on any screen.
In v3, neutral-400 was #A3A3A3. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.7 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart; v4 is darker.
Tailwind neutral is a true gray: its OKLCH chroma is zero in every shade, so it has no hue at all.
Color codes for neutral-400
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-neutral-400 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(70.8% 0 none) |
| HEX | #A1A1A1 |
| RGB | rgb(161, 161, 161) |
| HSL | hsl(0, 0%, 63%) |
| HWB | hwb(0 63% 37%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 37%) |
| Decimal | 10,592,673 |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #A3A3A3 |
| Utility classes | bg-neutral-400, text-neutral-400, border-neutral-400 |
Tailwind neutral scale
Contrast and accessibility
On neutral-400, black text has a contrast ratio of 8.12:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 2.58:1.
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 neutral-400 | 8.12:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 53.5 |
| White text on neutral-400 | 2.58:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −55.7 |
| Neutral-400 text on white | 2.58:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 50.5 |
| Neutral-400 text on black | 8.12:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −51.4 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-neutral-400) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-neutral-400), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#a6a6a6 - 15%
#afafaf - 25%
#b9b9b9 - 35%
#c2c2c2 - 45%
#cbcbcb - 55%
#d5d5d5 - 65%
#dedede - 75%
#e8e8e8 - 85%
#f1f1f1 - 95%
#fafafa
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#999999 - 15%
#898989 - 25%
#797979 - 35%
#696969 - 45%
#595959 - 55%
#484848 - 65%
#383838 - 75%
#282828 - 85%
#181818 - 95%
#080808
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, neutral-400's complementary color is #A1A1A1 (close to darkgray), its analogous colors are #A1A1A1 and #A1A1A1, and its triadic partners are #A1A1A1 and #A1A1A1. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #a1a1a1 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #a1a1a1#a1a1a1 |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #a1a1a1#a1a1a1 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #a1a1a1#a1a1a1 |
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 neutral-400 is close to neutral: its OKLCH chroma is only 0.000, 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.
Code snippets
<div class="bg-neutral-400 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-neutral-400 border-neutral-400">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-neutral-400);
background-color: oklch(70.8% 0 none);
border-color: #a1a1a1;
outline-color: rgb(161 161 161);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let neutral400 = Color(red: 0.631, green: 0.631, blue: 0.631)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Neutral400 = Color(0xFFA1A1A1)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const neutral400 = Color(0xFFA1A1A1);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="neutral_400">#A1A1A1</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind neutral-400?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, neutral-400 is oklch(70.8% 0 none), which converts to #A1A1A1 (rgb(161, 161, 161)) in sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #A3A3A3.
- What is the difference between neutral-400 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #A3A3A3; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(70.8% 0 none). In v3, neutral-400 was #A3A3A3. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.7 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart; v4 is darker.
- How do I use neutral-400 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-neutral-400). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on neutral-400?
- White text on neutral-400 has a contrast ratio of 2.58:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 8.12:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc −55.7 for white and Lc 53.5 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to neutral-400?
- The closest is darkgray (#A9A9A9) at ΔE OK 2.7, followed by rosybrown and cadetblue.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.