Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind zinc-400: #9F9FA9
In Tailwind CSS v4, zinc-400 is defined as --color-zinc-400: oklch(70.5% 0.015 286.067), which is #9F9FA9 in hex and rgb(159, 159, 169): a light, grayish blue. In Tailwind v3, zinc-400 was #A1A1AA.
In OKLCH, zinc-400 has a lightness of 70.5%, chroma 0.015 and hue 286.1°.
The value fits inside sRGB, so the hex #9F9FA9 represents it without loss on any screen.
In v3, zinc-400 was #A1A1AA. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.7 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart; v4 is darker.
Tailwind zinc is a nearly neutral gray with a faint cool violet cast, sitting between the bluish gray and the hueless neutral.
Color codes for zinc-400
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-zinc-400 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(70.5% 0.015 286.067) |
| HEX | #9F9FA9 |
| RGB | rgb(159, 159, 169) |
| HSL | hsl(240, 5%, 64%) |
| HWB | hwb(240 62% 34%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(6%, 6%, 0%, 34%) |
| Decimal | 10,461,097 |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #A1A1AA |
| Utility classes | bg-zinc-400, text-zinc-400, border-zinc-400 |
Tailwind zinc scale
Contrast and accessibility
On zinc-400, black text has a contrast ratio of 8.00:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 2.62:1.
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 zinc-400 | 8.00:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 52.8 |
| White text on zinc-400 | 2.62:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −56.3 |
| Zinc-400 text on white | 2.62:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 51.2 |
| Zinc-400 text on black | 8.00:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −50.7 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-zinc-400) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-zinc-400), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#a4a4ad - 15%
#adadb6 - 25%
#b7b7bf - 35%
#c1c1c7 - 45%
#cacad0 - 55%
#d4d4d8 - 65%
#dddde1 - 75%
#e7e7ea - 85%
#f1f1f2 - 95%
#fafafb
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#9797a1 - 15%
#878790 - 25%
#77777f - 35%
#67676e - 45%
#57575d - 55%
#48484c - 65%
#38383b - 75%
#28282a - 85%
#181819 - 95%
#080808
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, zinc-400's complementary color is #A1A196 (close to darkgray), its analogous colors are #9AA1A9 and #A49DA6, and its triadic partners are #A89D98 and #98A39E. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #a1a196 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #9aa1a9#a49da6 |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #a89d98#98a39e |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #a59f96#9ca299 |
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 zinc-400 is close to neutral: its OKLCH chroma is only 0.015, so its temperature comes from context. The faint 240° hue gives it a slightly cool cast.
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-zinc-400 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-zinc-400 border-zinc-400">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-zinc-400);
background-color: oklch(70.5% 0.015 286.067);
border-color: #9f9fa9;
outline-color: rgb(159 159 169);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let zinc400 = Color(red: 0.624, green: 0.624, blue: 0.663)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Zinc400 = Color(0xFF9F9FA9)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const zinc400 = Color(0xFF9F9FA9);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="zinc_400">#9F9FA9</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind zinc-400?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, zinc-400 is oklch(70.5% 0.015 286.067), which converts to #9F9FA9 (rgb(159, 159, 169)) in sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #A1A1AA.
- What is the difference between zinc-400 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #A1A1AA; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(70.5% 0.015 286.067). In v3, zinc-400 was #A1A1AA. 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 zinc-400 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-zinc-400). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on zinc-400?
- White text on zinc-400 has a contrast ratio of 2.62:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 8.00:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc −56.3 for white and Lc 52.8 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to zinc-400?
- The closest is darkgray (#A9A9A9) at ΔE OK 3.3, followed by rosybrown and cadetblue.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.