Screen Color Picker

About this tool

Pick the exact color of any pixel on your screen — not just within this page, but anywhere: another browser tab, a desktop app, an image viewer. Click "Pick a color", then click anywhere on your screen; the tool shows the hex and RGB value and keeps a running history for the session.

How it works. This uses the browser's native EyeDropper API, which hands off to the operating system to sample a single pixel from anywhere currently visible on the display — including windows that belong to entirely different applications. That's a meaningfully different (and more capable) approach than a canvas-based color picker, which can only read pixels from an image already loaded into the page itself.

Why match a color from a screenshot or design file. Matching a brand color from a logo, pulling an exact shade out of a competitor's site, sampling a photo for a palette, or grabbing a color from a design mockup a client sent as an image — all common tasks that used to mean opening an image editor just to read one pixel value.

Hex vs. RGB. Both describe the same color; hex (#RRGGBB) packs the red, green, and blue channels into a compact 6-digit code that's the standard for CSS and design tools, while RGB spells out each channel as a 0–255 number, which is easier to read at a glance or feed into code that expects separate numeric channels. This tool shows both for every pick, plus a one-click copy for each.

Browser support is the main limitation: the EyeDropper API currently only ships in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, Brave, and Chromium-based Brave/Vivaldi) version 95 and later. Firefox and Safari haven't implemented it. If the button is disabled or missing, that's why — see the FAQ for a workaround.

Once you have a hex value, feed it into the color converter for other formats (HSL, CMYK, etc.), build a matching set with the color palette generator, or check how it reads for color-blind visitors with the colorblind simulator. To sample colors from a static image file instead of your live screen, use the image color extractor.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the button disabled / missing?

The EyeDropper API is currently only supported in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, Brave) version 95+. Firefox and Safari don't support it yet — for those, try this site's image color extractor on a screenshot instead.

Can this pick colors from outside my browser window?

Yes — the picker covers your entire screen, not just the browser tab, so you can sample a color from any visible application.

Is anything uploaded or recorded?

No — the picked color never leaves your device, and the history list only exists in this page's memory for the current session; it's gone on refresh.

Why does the sampled color look slightly different from what I expected?

Screen color reproduction varies by monitor calibration, and if the source is a video or a compressed image, nearby pixel blending or compression artifacts can shift the exact sampled value by a few points. Sample a large, flat area of the color rather than an edge or gradient for the most accurate read.

Can I pick multiple colors before copying them?

Yes — every pick is added to the "Picked this session" history below the main result, so you can sample several colors in a row and copy any of them afterward.

Does this work on a touchscreen or mobile device?

Only if the browser itself supports the EyeDropper API, which today means Chromium-based desktop and Android browsers — it's not available on iOS Safari.