What Tailwind palette formats can I paste?

You can paste a Tailwind config color object such as `colors: { brand: { 50: '#eff6ff', 500: '#3b82f6', DEFAULT: '#2563eb' } }`, a JSON object with nested colors, or Tailwind v4 CSS variables like `--color-brand-500: #3b82f6;`. The parser accepts single-quoted, double-quoted, and unquoted object keys for common Tailwind config snippets, so you usually do not need to convert the file to strict JSON first.

How are nested Tailwind shades named in the matrix?

Nested shade keys are flattened into Tailwind-style token names. For example, `brand: { 50: '#eff6ff', 500: '#3b82f6' }` becomes `brand-50` and `brand-500`, while `brand: { DEFAULT: '#2563eb' }` becomes `brand` because Tailwind uses `bg-brand` for the default shade. Wrapper keys such as `theme`, `extend`, and `colors` are removed so the names match the classes you actually write.

Does the tool include Tailwind's built-in default palette?

No. The tool audits the palette you paste, which keeps it accurate for your project because many teams override Tailwind colors or use custom brand ramps. If you want to audit Tailwind's stock palette, paste the color object from your installed Tailwind version or from your design-token source of truth, then narrow the foreground and background selections to the pairs that appear in your UI.

Which WCAG thresholds are shown?

Each cell uses the WCAG 2.x relative-luminance formula and reports a contrast ratio from 1:1 to 21:1. AAA means at least 7:1, AA means at least 4.5:1 for normal text, AA-large means at least 3:1 for large text or non-text UI parts, and FAIL means the pair is below 3:1. The matrix is symmetric mathematically, but keeping foreground and background selections separate matches how Tailwind classes are used in components.

A designer checks a brand ramp before developer handoff

A designer has a new Tailwind brand scale from 50 through 950 and needs to know which shades can be used for body text, labels, icons, and surfaces. They paste the palette, keep the darker shades selected as foregrounds and lighter shades as backgrounds, and immediately see which combinations pass AA before the token file reaches engineering.

A developer reviews Tailwind v4 theme variables in a pull request

A developer receives a CSS-first Tailwind v4 theme block with `--color-*` variables. They paste the diff into the tool, copy the CSV summary, and attach failing text/background pairs to the review so the author can adjust shades before accessibility QA finds the same issue later.

Tailwind Color Palette Contrast Matrix — WCAG AA / AAA Audit for Color Ramps

Paste Tailwind colors, CSS theme tokens, or JSON palettes and audit every foreground/background pair for WCAG AA and AAA contrast.

Runs locally
Category Color & Design
Best for Moving from a visual idea to reusable color values.

Paste Tailwind colors, @theme variables, or JSON tokens

Supports Tailwind config snippets, nested JSON colors, and --color-* CSS variables.

Paste a Tailwind color palette above to build a contrast matrix.

What this tool does

Build a WCAG contrast matrix from a Tailwind color palette in seconds. Paste a Tailwind `theme.extend.colors` object, a Tailwind v4 `@theme` block with `--color-*` variables, or JSON design tokens. The tool extracts hex and rgb colors, normalizes nested shade names such as `brand-50`, `brand-500`, and `brand`, then renders a foreground × background matrix with AA, AAA, large-text, and failed states. Designers can spot unsafe palette ramps before handoff, while developers can copy CSV results or Tailwind class references without sending tokens to a server. Everything runs client-side in the browser.

Tool details

Input: Text + Numbers; The page exposes text boxes, numeric controls, file pickers, or structured inputs depending on the tool.
Output: Live result + Copy + Preview; The result area focuses on usable output, with copy, download, or preview actions when supported.
Privacy: Browser-side processing; The main tool logic does not call an external API, so inputs normally stay in the current tab.
Save / share: No account required; Open the page and use it; whether results survive refresh depends on the tool.
Performance budget: Initial JS <= 32 KB; No WASM budget is declared, keeping the tool quick to open on mobile.
Best fit: Color & Design · Designer; Category and role tags drive related tools, internal links, and quick fit checks.

How to use

1. Input

Paste or drop your content into the tool panel.
2. Process

Click the button. All processing is local in your browser.
3. Copy / Download

Copy the result or download to disk in one click.

How Tailwind Palette Contrast Matrix fits into your work

Use it while choosing, checking, converting, or documenting colors for real interface work.

Color jobs

Moving from a visual idea to reusable color values.
Checking contrast and accessibility before a UI ships.
Keeping brand, design, and implementation color decisions aligned.

Color checks

Verify contrast against the actual background, not just a sample swatch.
Check dark and light themes separately when both exist.
Copy the final format your design system or codebase expects.

Good next steps

These links move the current task into a more complete workflow.

Real-world use cases

A designer checks a brand ramp before developer handoff
A designer has a new Tailwind brand scale from 50 through 950 and needs to know which shades can be used for body text, labels, icons, and surfaces. They paste the palette, keep the darker shades selected as foregrounds and lighter shades as backgrounds, and immediately see which combinations pass AA before the token file reaches engineering.
A developer reviews Tailwind v4 theme variables in a pull request
A developer receives a CSS-first Tailwind v4 theme block with `--color-*` variables. They paste the diff into the tool, copy the CSV summary, and attach failing text/background pairs to the review so the author can adjust shades before accessibility QA finds the same issue later.

Common pitfalls

Treating `brand-500` as a universal text color; many saturated mid shades fail on white or dark surfaces.
Auditing every color against every color instead of selecting realistic text and surface token groups.
Forgetting that `DEFAULT` maps to `text-brand` and `bg-brand`, not `text-brand-DEFAULT`.

Privacy

The palette parser, WCAG calculation, matrix rendering, and export generation all run locally in your browser. No Tailwind config, design-token file, or copied matrix is uploaded to Toolora.

FAQ

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Tailwind Color Palette Contrast Matrix — WCAG AA / AAA Audit for Color Ramps

What this tool does

Tool details

How to use

1. Input

2. Process

3. Copy / Download

How Tailwind Palette Contrast Matrix fits into your work

Color jobs

Color checks

Good next steps

Real-world use cases

A designer checks a brand ramp before developer handoff

A developer reviews Tailwind v4 theme variables in a pull request

Common pitfalls

Privacy

FAQ

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