Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind zinc-600: #52525C
In Tailwind CSS v4, zinc-600 is defined as --color-zinc-600: oklch(44.2% 0.017 285.786), which is #52525C in hex and rgb(82, 82, 92): a dark, grayish blue. In Tailwind v3, zinc-600 was #52525B.
In OKLCH, zinc-600 has a lightness of 44.2%, chroma 0.017 and hue 285.8°. It is the most saturated shade of the zinc scale.
The value fits inside sRGB, so the hex #52525C represents it without loss on any screen.
In v3, zinc-600 was #52525B. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.2 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart.
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-600
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-zinc-600 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(44.2% 0.017 285.786) |
| HEX | #52525C |
| RGB | rgb(82, 82, 92) |
| HSL | hsl(240, 6%, 34%) |
| HWB | hwb(240 32% 64%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(11%, 11%, 0%, 64%) |
| Decimal | 5,395,036 |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #52525B |
| Utility classes | bg-zinc-600, text-zinc-600, border-zinc-600 |
Tailwind zinc scale
Contrast and accessibility
On zinc-600, white text has a contrast ratio of 7.71:1 and passes AAA at any text size; black text reaches 2.72:1.
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-600 | 2.72:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 17.2 |
| White text on zinc-600 | 7.71:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −91.6 |
| Zinc-600 text on white | 7.71:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 86.8 |
| Zinc-600 text on black | 2.72:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −15.3 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-zinc-600) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-zinc-600), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#5b5b64 - 15%
#6c6c74 - 25%
#7d7d85 - 35%
#8f8f95 - 45%
#a0a0a5 - 55%
#b1b1b6 - 65%
#c2c2c6 - 75%
#d4d4d6 - 85%
#e5e5e7 - 95%
#f6f6f7
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#4e4e57 - 15%
#46464e - 25%
#3e3e45 - 35%
#35353c - 45%
#2d2d33 - 55%
#252529 - 65%
#1d1d20 - 75%
#151517 - 85%
#0c0c0e - 95%
#040405
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, zinc-600's complementary color is #545449 (close to darkslategray), its analogous colors are #4D545D and #57505A, and its triadic partners are #5C504B and #4B5651. For text on top, white gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #545449 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #4d545d#57505a |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #5c504b#4b5651 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #595249#4f554c |
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-600 is close to neutral: its OKLCH chroma is only 0.017, 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.
Nearest CSS named colors
| Color | HEX | ΔE OK |
|---|---|---|
| darkslategray | #2f4f4f | 5.7 |
| dimgray | #696969 | 8.1 |
| darkslateblue | #483d8b | 11.1 |
Nearest Tailwind v4 colors
| Color | HEX | ΔE OK |
|---|---|---|
| neutral-600 | #525252 | 1.7 |
| gray-600 | #4a5565 | 1.8 |
| mauve-600 | #594c5b | 2.0 |
Code snippets
<div class="bg-zinc-600 text-white">...</div>
<p class="text-zinc-600 border-zinc-600">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-zinc-600);
background-color: oklch(44.2% 0.017 285.786);
border-color: #52525c;
outline-color: rgb(82 82 92);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let zinc600 = Color(red: 0.322, green: 0.322, blue: 0.361)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Zinc600 = Color(0xFF52525C)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const zinc600 = Color(0xFF52525C);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="zinc_600">#52525C</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind zinc-600?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, zinc-600 is oklch(44.2% 0.017 285.786), which converts to #52525C (rgb(82, 82, 92)) in sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #52525B.
- What is the difference between zinc-600 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #52525B; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(44.2% 0.017 285.786). In v3, zinc-600 was #52525B. The v4 value is ΔE OK 0.2 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart.
- How do I use zinc-600 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-zinc-600). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on zinc-600?
- White text on zinc-600 has a contrast ratio of 7.71:1, which passes both AA and AAA under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 2.72:1 and fails AA even for large text. In APCA terms that is Lc −91.6 for white and Lc 17.2 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to zinc-600?
- The closest is darkslategray (#2F4F4F) at ΔE OK 5.7, followed by dimgray and darkslateblue.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.