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green · neutral

#9cdf2a

a balanced, vivid green · neutral · closest name: Yellow Green

Token name suggestion: Signal Basil

RGB
156, 223, 42
HSL
82°, 74%, 52%
CMYK
30, 0, 81, 13
Luminance
0.6001

#9cdf2a is a balanced vivid green, 82° on the wheel and 43/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (13.00:1). As text it scores 1.62:1 on white — use #588113 instead. Nearest name is Yellow Green, nearest Tailwind family is lime.

hsl(82 74% 52%)rgb(156 223 42)Base step 500AAA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #9cdf2a is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#9cdf2a
Hue
82°
green
Saturation
74%
vivid
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6001
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
43/100 cool
Color family
Green
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
13.00:1
Closest name
Yellow Green
ΔE2000 4.4
Chroma
86.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.828
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
lime
500 · ΔE 5
Web-safe
#99CC33
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue82° of 360°
Saturation74%
Lightness52%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #9cdf2a.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool43% cool

Reads neutral. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red12%
Green88%
Blue0%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#9cdf2a
HEX (8-digit)#9cdf2aff
RGBrgb(156, 223, 42)
RGBArgba(156, 223, 42, 1)
HSLhsl(82, 74%, 52%)
HSV / HSBhsv(82, 81%, 87%)
HWBhwb(82 16% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(30%, 0%, 81%, 13%)
LABlab(81.8 -45.4 73.8)
LCHlch(81.8 86.7 121.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.828 0.207 129.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(40.52, 60.01, 11.64)
Decimal10280746
Display P3color(display-p3 0.612 0.875 0.165)
Web-safe#99CC33

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #9cdf2a;
background-color: #9cdf2a;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #9cdf2a;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9cdf2a] bg-[#9cdf2a]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9cdf2a;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.612, green: 0.875, blue: 0.165)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.612, green: 0.875, blue: 0.165, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#9CDF2A</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF9CDF2A)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9CDF2A)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(42, 223, 156)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(156, 223, 42)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(156, 223, 42)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 156, 223, 42)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6118f, 0.8745f, 0.1647f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{156,223,42}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #9cdf2a 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #9cdf2a 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4C6F11, #E4EED3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #9cdf2a h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8FCF3;
  --brand-100: #F2F9E7;
  --brand-200: #E3F3C8;
  --brand-300: #D2F09D;
  --brand-400: #BBE96D;
  --brand-500: #9cdf2a;
  --brand-600: #92D520;
  --brand-700: #7AB11B;
  --brand-800: #618E15;
  --brand-900: #486714;
  --brand-950: #2D400C;
  --brand: #9cdf2a;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8FAF4;
  --brand-border: #DCEDC0;
  --brand-hover: #89C81E;
  --brand-pressed: #74A919;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1E2414;
    --brand-ink: #E4EED3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8FCF3',
        100: '#F2F9E7',
        200: '#E3F3C8',
        300: '#D2F09D',
        400: '#BBE96D',
        500: '#9cdf2a',
        600: '#92D520',
        700: '#7AB11B',
        800: '#618E15',
        900: '#486714',
        950: '#2D400C',
        DEFAULT: '#9cdf2a',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8FCF3,
  '100': #F2F9E7,
  '200': #E3F3C8,
  '300': #D2F09D,
  '400': #BBE96D,
  '500': #9cdf2a,
  '600': #92D520,
  '700': #7AB11B,
  '800': #618E15,
  '900': #486714,
  '950': #2D400C,
);
$brand-base: #9cdf2a;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8FCF3", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F2F9E7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E3F3C8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D2F09D", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#BBE96D", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#9cdf2a", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#92D520", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#7AB11B", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#618E15", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#486714", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2D400C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #9cdf2a · 13.00:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.62:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.00:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #9cdf2a as text scores 1.62:1 on white and 13.00:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4C6F11 at 3.62:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#588113 · 4.60:1
AA on white−23% L
#588113
The quick fox
#43620F · 7.02:1
AAA on white−30% L
#43620F
The quick fox
#9cdf2a · 13.00:1
AA on blackalready passes
#9cdf2a
The quick fox
#9cdf2a · 13.00:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#9cdf2a

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #6DA018 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#9cdf2a on white: 1.62:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9cdf2a on black: 13.00:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #9cdf2a as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #9cdf2a.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.62:1AaAa
Slate 501.54:1AaAa
Slate 1001.47:1AaAa
Slate 2001.31:1AaAa
Slate 3001.09:1AaAa
Slate 4001.59:1AaAa
Slate 5002.95:1AaAa
Slate 6004.69:1AaAa
Slate 7006.41:1AaAa
Slate 8009.06:1AaAa
Slate 90011.05:1AaAa
Black13.00:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #EACE00
deuteranopia · #E1CA3F
tritanopia · #A1D5BF

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #9cdf2a is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8FCF3
#F2F9E7
#E3F3C8
#D2F09D
#BBE96D
#9cdf2a
#92D520
#7AB11B
#618E15
#486714
#2D400C
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F8FCF3Darkest = 950 · #2D400CText step on white = 900
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.052 129.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.083 129.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.124 129.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.162 129.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.191 129.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.207 129.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.207 129.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.195 129.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.174 129.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.145 129.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.114 129.0);
}

Colors that work with #9cdf2a

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F8FAF4
Tinted page background
Border#DCEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7D9B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#3C25E4
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4C6F11
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5FCE9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1E2414
Dark-mode background
Hover#89C81E
One step down in lightness
Pressed#74A919
Two steps down
Disabled#C0CBAE
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#A7ED31
Offset from the fill so it reads
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #9cdf2a

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Status meaning — pair it with an icon or label, never colour alone
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #4C6F11
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #6DA018

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

safegrowingnaturalpermissive

Green means go, well, and grown. It carries finance, sustainability and health with almost no explanation needed.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

Red/green pairs are the most common colour-blindness failure — never let the two carry meaning alone.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight48/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#6D2ADF
Analogous left#DFC82A
Analogous right#42DF2A
Split-complement 1#2A42DF
Split-complement 2#C82ADF
Triadic 1#2A9CDF
Triadic 2#DF2A9C
Tetradic#2ADFC8
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°82°

#9cdf2a sits at 82°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red61.2%
Green87.5%
Blue16.5%
R · 0–255
156
0x9c
G · 0–255
223
0xdf
B · 0–255
42
0x2a

CMYK percentages

Cyan30.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow81.2%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 124%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#9cdf2a text on a black background

contrast 13.00:1

Card sample

#9cdf2a text on a white background

contrast 1.62:1

Card sample

#9cdf2a on grey

1.47:1

#9cdf2a on its own surface

1.54:1

#9cdf2a on its dark surface

9.87:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #9cdf2a;
Background color
Panel with #9cdf2a background
background-color: #9cdf2a;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #9cdf2a;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(156, 223, 42, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(156, 223, 42, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9cdf2a;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9cdf2a, #2ADF31);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9cdf2a, #2ADF5E);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #9cdf2a;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #9cdf2a;
caret-color: #9cdf2a;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #9cdf2a;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5FCE9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #9cdf2a;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#9cdf2a 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #9cdf2a over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(156, 223, 42, 0.5)
rgb(156 223 42 / 50%)
#9cdf2a80
hsl(82 74% 52% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #9cdf2a 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#9cdf2a1a#F5FCEA
20%#9cdf2a33#EBF9D4
40%#9cdf2a66#D7F2AA
60%#9cdf2a99#C4EC7F
80%#9cdf2acc#B0E555

Gradients from #9cdf2a

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #B5E75F, #9cdf2a 45%, #4C6F11);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #9cdf2a, #1FCC33);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9cdf2a, #6D2ADF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #C1EB7A 0%, #9cdf2a 45%, #4C6F11 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8FAF4, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E6C756 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #4CE345 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4C6F11 0%, transparent 65%), #9cdf2a;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9cdf2a

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#9cdf2a in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
SustainabilityFinanceHealth and wellnessAgriculture
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 13.00:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#9cdf2a, answered

What color is #9cdf2a?

#9cdf2a is a balanced vivid green, closest to Yellow Green (ΔE2000 4.4). It sits at 82° on the hue wheel with 74% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #9cdf2a?

rgb(156, 223, 42) — 156 red, 223 green and 42 blue out of 255, or 61.2% / 87.5% / 16.5% by channel.

What is #9cdf2a in HSL and HSV?

hsl(82, 74%, 52%) and hsv(82, 81%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #9cdf2a a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6001 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 13.00:1.

Should I use black or white text on #9cdf2a?

Black. It scores 13.00:1 against #9cdf2a, versus 1.62:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #9cdf2a accessible on a white background?

#9cdf2a on white scores 1.62:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #588113 to reach 4.5:1, or #43620F for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #9cdf2a?

#6D2ADF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #2A42DF and #C82ADF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9cdf2a?

For interface work: #F8FAF4 as the surface, #DCEDC0 for borders, #7D9B4B for secondary text, #3C25E4 as an accent and #4C6F11 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DFC82A and #42DF2A stays calm, while #6D2ADF is the loudest partner.

What is #9cdf2a in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(30%, 0%, 81%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #9cdf2a warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 43 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DEDF2A; nudged cooler, #59E228.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #9cdf2a?

The lime family — its 500 step is #84cc16, ΔE2000 5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #9cdf2a as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #9cdf2a in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#9cdf2a] or text-[#9cdf2a], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #9cdf2a with 50% opacity?

rgba(156, 223, 42, 0.5), or #9cdf2a80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #CEEF95; over black, #4E7015.

Is #9cdf2a a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #99CC33, ΔE2000 4.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #9cdf2a mean?

As a green, it reads safe, growing, natural. Green means go, well, and grown. It carries finance, sustainability and health with almost no explanation needed. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #9cdf2a?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #B5E75F, #9cdf2a 45%, #4C6F11). For more colour, a short hue run to #1FCC33 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #9cdf2a in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #9cdf2a at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.