color-convert vs color vs chroma-js vs tinycolor
Color Manipulation Libraries Comparison
1 Year
color-convertcolorchroma-jstinycolorSimilar Packages:
What's Color Manipulation Libraries?

Color manipulation libraries are essential tools in web development that allow developers to work with colors in a more intuitive and efficient manner. These libraries provide functionalities for color conversion, manipulation, and generation, enabling developers to create visually appealing designs and user interfaces. They simplify tasks such as color interpolation, contrast checking, and color space conversions, making it easier to implement color schemes and ensure accessibility in web applications.

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color-convert212,323,80776044.6 kB142 months agoMIT
color26,232,2924,83526.3 kB172 months agoMIT
chroma-js1,031,60010,339396 kB656 months ago(BSD-3-Clause AND Apache-2.0)
tinycolor88,58618-613 years ago-
Feature Comparison: color-convert vs color vs chroma-js vs tinycolor

Color Manipulation

  • color-convert:

    Color-convert is primarily focused on color conversion rather than manipulation. It allows for straightforward conversions between various color formats, but does not provide manipulation features like blending or adjusting color properties.

  • color:

    Color provides basic color manipulation functionalities such as adjusting brightness, saturation, and hue. It allows for simple operations like darkening or lightening colors but lacks advanced features like interpolation or blending.

  • chroma-js:

    Chroma-js offers extensive color manipulation capabilities, including color interpolation, blending, and generating color scales. It supports multiple color spaces like RGB, HSL, LAB, and more, making it suitable for complex color operations and data visualizations.

  • tinycolor:

    Tinycolor excels in color manipulation with features like adjusting brightness, saturation, and hue, as well as generating contrasting colors. It also supports color validation and accessibility checks, making it a comprehensive choice for web developers.

Ease of Use

  • color-convert:

    Color-convert is extremely straightforward, focusing solely on conversions. Its simplicity makes it easy to integrate into any project without a steep learning curve.

  • color:

    Color is very easy to use, with a simple API that allows for quick color conversions and adjustments. This makes it ideal for beginners or projects that require minimal color manipulation.

  • chroma-js:

    Chroma-js has a moderate learning curve due to its extensive feature set, but its API is well-documented and intuitive for users familiar with color theory. It may require some time to fully leverage its capabilities.

  • tinycolor:

    Tinycolor is user-friendly, with a clear API that makes it easy to perform color manipulations. It is well-suited for developers of all skill levels, providing both simplicity and powerful features.

Performance

  • color-convert:

    Color-convert is highly efficient for color conversions due to its focused functionality. It performs well even in resource-constrained environments, making it a good choice for simple applications.

  • color:

    Color is lightweight and performs well for basic color operations. However, it may not be as optimized for complex manipulations compared to more feature-rich libraries like chroma-js.

  • chroma-js:

    Chroma-js is optimized for performance, especially in scenarios involving large datasets or complex color calculations. Its efficient algorithms ensure smooth rendering and responsiveness in applications that require real-time color manipulation.

  • tinycolor:

    Tinycolor balances performance with functionality, providing efficient color manipulation without significant overhead. It is suitable for most web applications, ensuring quick response times.

Community and Support

  • color-convert:

    Color-convert is a straightforward library with a focus on conversion, leading to a smaller community. However, it is well-documented, making it easy to understand and use without extensive support.

  • color:

    Color has a smaller community but is still well-maintained. Its simplicity means that there are fewer issues to troubleshoot, but resources may be limited compared to larger libraries.

  • chroma-js:

    Chroma-js has a growing community and is actively maintained, with a wealth of resources and examples available online. This makes it easier to find help and inspiration for complex color manipulation tasks.

  • tinycolor:

    Tinycolor boasts a robust community and extensive documentation, providing ample resources for developers. Its popularity ensures that users can find support and examples easily.

Extensibility

  • color-convert:

    Color-convert is designed for specific tasks and does not provide extensibility features. It is best used as a complementary tool within a larger color manipulation framework.

  • color:

    Color is less extensible than chroma-js, focusing on core functionalities. While it can be used alongside other libraries, it does not offer built-in mechanisms for extension.

  • chroma-js:

    Chroma-js is highly extensible, allowing developers to create custom color scales and functions. Its modular design makes it easy to integrate with other libraries and frameworks for enhanced functionality.

  • tinycolor:

    Tinycolor offers some extensibility options, allowing developers to create custom color utilities. However, it is primarily focused on providing a comprehensive set of built-in features.

How to Choose: color-convert vs color vs chroma-js vs tinycolor
  • color-convert:

    Opt for color-convert if your primary need is to perform conversions between various color formats. This library is focused on conversion and is lightweight, making it a good choice for projects that require minimal overhead.

  • color:

    Select color if you want a straightforward and lightweight library for basic color manipulation tasks, such as converting between different color formats (e.g., HEX, RGB, HSL). It is easy to use and integrates well with other libraries.

  • chroma-js:

    Choose chroma-js if you need a powerful library for color manipulation that supports a wide range of color spaces and provides advanced features like color scales and interpolation. It is particularly useful for data visualization and creating dynamic color schemes.

  • tinycolor:

    Choose tinycolor if you are looking for a versatile library that combines color manipulation with utility functions for color validation and accessibility checks. It is user-friendly and provides a rich set of features for working with colors in web applications.

README for color-convert

color-convert

Color-convert is a color conversion library for JavaScript and node. It converts all ways between rgb, hsl, hsv, hwb, cmyk, ansi, ansi16, hex strings, and CSS keywords (will round to closest):

import convert from 'color-convert';

convert.rgb.hsl(140, 200, 100);             // [96, 48, 59]
convert.keyword.rgb('blue');                // [0, 0, 255]

const rgbChannels = convert.rgb.channels;     // 3
const cmykChannels = convert.cmyk.channels;   // 4
const ansiChannels = convert.ansi16.channels; // 1

Install

npm install color-convert

API

Simply get the property of the from and to conversion that you're looking for.

All functions have a rounded and unrounded variant. By default, return values are rounded. To get the unrounded (raw) results, simply tack on .raw to the function.

All 'from' functions have a hidden property called .channels that indicates the number of channels the function expects (not including alpha).

import convert from 'color-convert';

// Hex to LAB
convert.hex.lab('DEADBF');         // [ 76, 21, -2 ]
convert.hex.lab.raw('DEADBF');     // [ 75.56213190997677, 20.653827952644754, -2.290532499330533 ]

// RGB to CMYK
convert.rgb.cmyk(167, 255, 4);     // [ 35, 0, 98, 0 ]
convert.rgb.cmyk.raw(167, 255, 4); // [ 34.509803921568626, 0, 98.43137254901961, 0 ]

Arrays

All functions that accept multiple arguments also support passing an array.

Note that this does not apply to functions that convert from a color that only requires one value (e.g. keyword, ansi256, hex, etc.)

import convert from 'color-convert';

convert.rgb.hex(123, 45, 67);      // '7B2D43'
convert.rgb.hex([123, 45, 67]);    // '7B2D43'

Routing

Conversions that don't have an explicitly defined conversion (in conversions.js), but can be converted by means of sub-conversions (e.g. XYZ -> RGB -> CMYK), are automatically routed together. This allows just about any color model supported by color-convert to be converted to any other model, so long as a sub-conversion path exists. This is also true for conversions requiring more than one step in between (e.g. LCH -> LAB -> XYZ -> RGB -> Hex).

Keep in mind that extensive conversions may result in a loss of precision, and exist only to be complete. For a list of "direct" (single-step) conversions, see conversions.js.

Color Space Scales

Conversions rely on an agreed upon 'full-scale' value for each of the channels. Listed here are those values for the most common color spaces

rgb

channel | full-scale value ---|--- r | 255 g | 255 b | 255

hsl

channel | full-scale value ---|--- h | 360 s | 100 l | 100

hsv

channel | full-scale value ---|--- h | 360 s | 100 v | 100

hwb

channel | full-scale value ---|--- h | 360 w | 100 b | 100

cmyk

channel | full-scale value ---|--- c | 100 m | 100 y | 100 k | 100

hex

channel | full-scale value ---|--- hex | 0xffffff

keyword

channel | value ---|--- name | any key from color-name

apple

channel | full-scale value ---|--- 0 | 65535 1 | 65535 2 | 65535

gray

channel | full-scale value ---|--- gray | 100

Contribute

If there is a new model you would like to support, or want to add a direct conversion between two existing models, please send us a pull request.

License

Copyright © 2011-2016, Heather Arthur. Copyright © 2016-2021, Josh Junon.

Licensed under the MIT License.