colortranslator v4.1.0

Demo

https://elchininet.github.io/ColorTranslator/

Installation

Using NPM

npm install colortranslator

Using Yarn

yarn add colortranslator

In the browser

It is possible to include a compiled version of the package directly in an HTML file. It will create a global colortranslator object containing all the exported modules that can be accessed from anywhere in your JavaScript code.

1. Copy the JavaScript file colortranslator.js, located in the dist/web/ folder
2. Put it in the folder that you prefer in your web server
3. Include it in your HTML file

<script src="wherever/you/installed/colortranslator.js"></script>

/* There will be a global variable named colortranslator containing all the modules */
colortranslator.ColorTranslator;
colortranslator.Harmony;
colortranslator.Mix;

Importing using CommonJS

const { ColorTranslator, Harmony, Mix } = require('colortranslator');

Importing using ES6 modules

import { ColorTranslator, Harmony, Mix } from 'colortranslator';

Scripts

build

npm run build

Transpiles the TypeScript code and creates three bundles in the dist folder (index.js for commonjs, esm/index.js for ESM, and web/colortranslator.js to use directly in the browser).

test

npm run test

Runs multiple dynamic tests converting from / to all the color models available (excepting CMYK) using a table of colors.

lint

npm run lint

Runs eslint in source files.

demo

npm run demo

Opens a development server that provides live reloading using webpack-dev-server. Some demo examples located in the @demo folder will be shown. You can modify the code of the demos and the changes will be live reloaded in the browser.

API

Notes:

• The conversion to a CMYK color is made taking a random value of black as a base (in this case, taking the greater value from red, green or blue). When a value of black is assumed, the rest of the colors can be calculated from it. The result will be visually similar to the original light color, but if you try to convert it back you will not obtain the same original value.
• The conversion to a CIE L*a*b color may introduce a small amount of rounding error, as far as you maintain enough decimals for the calculation it should not be noticeable, but you can expect that the values change some of their decimals during the conversions.

Input

The most wonderful thing about colortranslator is that you don‘t need to specify the input that you are using, the library will recognise it automatically. The input can be a CSS string or an object:

CSS string inputs

Object inputs

Class instantiation

ColorTranslator(color: ColorInput, options?: Options)

It is possible to instantiate the class using any of the previous inputs.

Options object

interface Options {
  decimals?: number;  // defaults to 6
  legacyCSS?: boolean; // defaults to false 
  spacesAfterCommas?: boolean; // defaults to false
  anglesUnit?: 'none' | 'deg' | 'grad' | 'rad' | 'turn'; // defaults to 'none'
  rgbUnit?: 'none' | 'percent'; // defaults to 'none'
  labUnit?: 'none' | 'percent'; // defaults to 'none'
  cmykUnit?: 'none' | 'percent'; // defaults to 'percent'
  alphaUnit?: 'none' | 'percent'; // defaults to 'none'
  cmykFunction?: 'device-cmyk' | 'cmyk'; // defaults to 'device-cmyk'
}

Note: the library tries to detect some options automatically if you don‘t send them in the options object. These are the rules for this autodetection:

• legacyCSS: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the CSS input is provided in CSS Level 3, then this option will be true, otherwise it will take its default value which is false.
• spacesAfterCommas: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the CSS input is provided with spaces after the commas, then this option will be true. If the input is not consistent in this aspect, then it will take its default value which is false (This option only takes place if legacyCSS is true or it has been autodetected as true)
• anglesUnit: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the HSL CSS input is provided with an angle unit, then it will take that value, otherwise it will use the default one wich is none.
• rgbUnit: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the RGB CSS input is provided with percentages in its color values, then it will take the percent value, otherwise it will use the default one wich is none.
• labUnit: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the CIE L*a*b CSS input is provided with percentages in its color values, then it will take the percent value, otherwise it will use the default one wich is none.
• cmykUnit: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the CMYK CSS input is provided without percentages in its color values, then it will take the none value, otherwise it will use the default one wich is percent.
• alphaUnit: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the CSS input (must be CSS Level 4) is provided with percentages in its alpha value, then it will take the percent value, otherwise it will use the default one wich is none.
• cmykFunction: if this option is set, then its value prevails, if it is not set, and the CMYK CSS input is provided using the cmyk function, then it will take the cmyk value, otherwise it will use the default one wich is device-cmyk.

Class instantiation examples

const keyword = new ColorTranslator('deeppink');

const hex = new ColorTranslator('#FF00FF');

const rgb = new ColorTranslator('rgb(255, 0, 0)');

const hsl = new ColorTranslator('hsl(50 20% 90% / 0.5)');

const lab = new ColorTranslator('lab(54 81 70)');

const hsla = new ColorTranslator({ R: 115, G: 200, B: 150, A: 0.5 });

const cmyk = new ColorTranslator({ C: 100, M: 100, Y: 0, K: 0 });

Configuration options examples

// Decimals
new ColorTranslator('#F43227').HSL; // hsl(3.219512 90.30837% 55.490196%)
new ColorTranslator('#F43227', { decimals: 4 }).HSL; // hsl(3.2195 90.3084% 55.4902%)
new ColorTranslator('#F43227', { decimals: 0 }).HSL; // hsl(3 90% 55%)
new ColorTranslator('#F43227', { decimals: 2 }).HSLObject; // {H: 3.22, S: 90.31, L: 55.49}

// legacyCSS
new ColorTranslator('#FFF').RGBA; // rgb(255 255 255 / 1)
new ColorTranslator('#FFF', { legacyCSS: false }).RGBA; // rgb(255 255 255 / 1)
new ColorTranslator('#FFF', { legacyCSS: true }).RGBA; // rgba(255,255,255,1)
new ColorTranslator('hsla(100,30%,20%,0.5)').RGBA; // rgba(45.9,66.3,35.7,0.5)
new ColorTranslator('hsl(100 30% 20% / 0.5)').RGBA; // rgb(45.9 66.3 35.7 / 0.5)

// spacesAfterCommas
new ColorTranslator('#F00', { legacyCSS: true }).RGB; // rgb(255,0,0)
new ColorTranslator('#F00', { legacyCSS: true, spacesAfterCommas: true }).RGB; // rgb(255, 0, 0)
new ColorTranslator('hsla(100,30%,20%,0.25)').RGB; // rgb(45.9,66.3,35.7)
new ColorTranslator('hsl(100, 30%, 20%, 0.25)').RGB; // rgb(45.9, 66.3, 35.7)

// anglesUnit
new ColorTranslator('#0F0').HSL; // hsl(120 100% 50%)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { anglesUnit: 'none' }).HSL; // hsl(120 100% 50%)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { anglesUnit: 'deg' }).HSL; // hsl(120deg 100% 50%)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { anglesUnit: 'grad' }).HSL; // hsl(133.333333grad 100% 50%)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { anglesUnit: 'rad' }).HSL; // hsl(2.094395rad 100% 50%)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { anglesUnit: 'turn' }).HSL; // hsl(0.333333turn 100% 50%)
new ColorTranslator('hsl(0.5turn 100% 50% / 0.5)').HSL; // hsl(0.5turn 100% 50%)

// rgbUnit
new ColorTranslator('#0F0').RGB; // rgb(0 255 0)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { rgbUnit: 'none' }).RGB; // rgb(0 255 0)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { rgbUnit: 'percent' }).RGB; // rgb(0% 100% 0%)
new ColorTranslator('rgb(255 255 51 / 0.5)').RGB; // rgb(255 255 51)
new ColorTranslator('rgb(20% 100% 0% / 0.5)').RGB; // rgb(20% 100% 0%)

// labUnit
new ColorTranslator('#0F0').CIELab; // lab(87.818128 -79.287281 80.990256)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { labUnit: 'none' }).CIELab; // lab(87.818128 -79.287281 80.990256)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { labUnit: 'percent' }).CIELab; // lab(87.818128% -63.429825% 64.792205%)
new ColorTranslator('lab(88 -79 81)').CIELabA; // lab(87.863151 -78.89437 80.892902 / 1)
new ColorTranslator('lab(54.291734% 64.649964% 55.908032% / 1)').CIELabA; // lab(54.291736% 64.649953% 55.90801% / 1)

// cmykUnit
new ColorTranslator('#0F0').CMYK; // device-cmyk(100% 0% 100% 0%)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { cmykUnit: 'percent' }).CMYK; // device-cmyk(100% 0% 100% 0%)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { cmykUnit: 'none' }).CMYK; // device-cmyk(1 0 1 0)

// alphaUnit
new ColorTranslator('#0F0').RGBA; // rgb(0 255 0 / 1)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { alphaUnit: 'none' }).RGBA; // rgb(0 255 0 / 1)
new ColorTranslator('#0F0', { alphaUnit: 'percent' }).HSLA; // hsl(120 100% 50% / 100%)
new ColorTranslator('hsl(100 50% 20% / 0.25)').RGBA; // rgb(42.5 76.5 25.5 / 0.25)
new ColorTranslator('rgb(0 0 0 / 50%)').HSLA; // hsl(0 0% 0% / 50%)

// cmykFunction
new ColorTranslator('#00F').CMYKA; // device-cmyk(100% 100% 0% 0% / 1)
new ColorTranslator('#00F', { cmykFunction: 'device-cmyk' }).CMYK; // device-cmyk(100% 100% 0% 0%)
new ColorTranslator('#00F', { cmykFunction: 'cmyk' }).CMYKA; // cmyk(100% 100% 0% 0% / 1)

Class public methods

There are 15 chainable public methods and 14 of them accept a number as input. The last one accepts an options object:

Class public methods examples

You can also consult the demo 1 and the demo 2 to check the use of the public methods.

const color = new ColorTranslator('#FF00FF');

color
  .setH(120)
  .setS(80)
  .setA(0.5);

color
  .setR(255)
  .setG(150)
  .setA(0.25);

Class public readonly properties

There are 10 properties to get the CSS representation of the color:

There are 10 properties to get the object representation of the color:

There are 14 properties to get the individual color values:

And a property to get the options object that acts as a configuration object for the outputs

Class public properties examples

You can also consult the demo 1 and the demo 2 to check the use of the public properties.

const color = new ColorTranslator('#FF00FF', { decimals: 2 });

color.R; // 255
color.G; // 0
color.B; // 255
color.RGB; // rgb(255 0 255)
color.HSLA; // hsl(300 100% 50% / 1)
color.CIELabObject; // {L: 60.17, a: 93.55, b: -60.5}
color.options; // { decimals: 2 }

Class static methods

For the static methods, it is not needed to specify the input color model, the API will detect the format automatically. It is only needed to specify to which color model one wants to convert calling the specific static method.

There are 56 static methods available, 20 of them to convert colors, 16 to create color blends, 16 to mix colors, one to get shades, one to get tints, and one to create color harmonies.

Note: The static methods also count with the options-autodetection feature that was explained in the options object section, but in this case it scans all the inputs that are CSS, and it tries to detect the options in each one of them. If one of the autodetected options is consistent in all the inputs, then it takes the autodetected value, otherwise it will use the default one.

Color conversion static methods

The static methods to convert colors accept any of the mentioned inputs as the first parameter, the second parameter is optional and it is an options object (this second option is not present in the methods to generate HEX colors):

convertColorStaticMethod(
  color: string | object,
  options?: Options
)

Color conversion static methods description

Color conversion static methods examples

ColorTranslator.toHEX('gold'); // #FFD700

ColorTranslator.toRGB('#FF00FF'); // rgb(255 0 255)

ColorTranslator.toRGBA(
  'hsl(50, 20%, 90%)',
  { decimals: 0 }
); // rgba(235,233,224,1)

ColorTranslator.toHSL('rgb(255 0 0)'); // hsl(0 100% 50%)

ColorTranslator.toHSLA('rgba(0, 255, 255, 0.5)'); // hsla(180,100%,50%,0.5)

ColorTranslator.toCMYKObject('#F0F'); // {C: 0, M: 100, Y: 0, K: 0}

ColorTranslator.toCMYK('#F0F'); // cmyk(0% 100% 0% 0%)

ColorTranslator.toRGB(
  { h: 115, s: '70%', l: '45%' },
  { decimals: 0 }
); // rgb(48 195 34)

ColorTranslator.toHSLA(
  { r: 115, g: 200, b: 150, a: 0.5 },
  { decimals: 1 }
); // hsl(144.7 43.6% 61.8% / 0.5)

ColorTranslator.toHSLA(
  { r: 95, g: 23, b: 12, a: Math.SQRT1_2 },
  { decimals: 4 }
); // hsl(7.9518 77.5701% 20.9804% / 0.7071)

ColorTranslator.toCIELab(
  '#00F',
  { decimals: 2 }
); // lab(29.57 68.3 -112.03)

You can also consult the demo 3, the demo 4 and the demo 5 to check the use of these static methods.

Color blends static methods

The static methods to create color blends accept any of the mentioned inputs as the first and second parameter, the third parameter is optional and it is the number of steps of the blending. And the fourth parameter is also optional and it is an options object (this fourth option is not present in the methods to generate HEX colors):

// If steps is not sent, the default will be 5
getBlendColorsStaticMethod(
  fromColor: string | object,
  toColor: string | object,
  options?: Options
)

// Specifying the number of steps
getBlendColorsStaticMethod(
  fromColor: string | object,
  toColor: string | object,
  steps: number,
  options?: Options
)

Color blends static methods description

Color blends static methods examples

ColorTranslator.getBlendHEX('#FF0000', '#0000FF', 5);

// [
//   "#FF0000",
//   "#BF003F",
//   "#7F007F",
//   "#3F00BF",
//   "#0000FF"
// ]

ColorTranslator.getBlendHSLA('#FF000000', '#0000FFFF', 3);

// [
//   "hsl(0 100% 50% / 0)",
//   "hsl(300 100% 25% / 0.5)",
//   "hsl(240 100% 50% / 1)"
// ]

ColorTranslator.getBlendRGBAObject('#F000', 'rgba(0,0,255,1)', 5);

// [
//   {R: 255, G: 0, B: 0, A: 0},
//   {R: 191.25, G: 0, B: 63.75, A: 0.25},
//   {R: 127.5, G: 0, B: 127.5, A: 0.5},
//   {R: 63.75, G: 0, B: 191.25, A: 0.75},
//   {R: 0, G: 0, B: 255, A: 1}
// ]

You can also consult the demo 6 to check the use of these static methods.

Color mix static methods

The static methods to mix colors accept an array of any of the mentioned inputs as the first parameter. The second parameter is optional and specifies the mixing mode (by default it will be ADDITIVE). And the third parameter is also optional and it is an options object (this third option is not present in the methods to generate HEX colors):

Note: The subtractive mix simulates the mixing of pigments, to achieve this, the rgb colors are converted to ryb color model, the addition is performed in this mode and at the end the result is converted back to rgb. The result is OK most of the time, but as this is not a real mix of pigments, sometimes the result could differ from the reality.

// If mode is not sent, the default will be "ADDITIVE"
getMixColorsStaticMethod(
  colors: [string | object][],
  options?: Options
)

// Specifying the mix mode
getMixColorsStaticMethod(
  colors: [string | object][],
  mode: 'ADDITIVE' | 'SUBTRACTIVE',
  options?: Options
)

Color mix static methods description

Color mix static methods examples

ColorTranslator.getMixHEX(['#FF0000', '#0000FF']);

// #FF00FF

ColorTranslator.getMixHSL(['rgba(255, 0, 0, 1)', '#00FF00']);

// hsl(60 100% 50%)

ColorTranslator.getMixHEXAObject(['#F00', 'rgb(0, 0, 255)'], 'ADDITIVE');

// { R: '0xFF', G: '0x00', B: '0xFF', A: '0xFF' }

ColorTranslator.getMixHEX(['#FF0', '#F00'], 'SUBTRACTIVE');

// #FF8800

You can also consult the demo 8 and demo 9 to check the use of these static methods.

Color shades and color tints static methods

The static methods to get shades or tints of a color accept any of the mentioned inputs as the first parameter. The second parameter specifies the number of shades or tints that should be returned and the third parameter is optional and it is an options object. This method will return the colors in the same format that was sent as input:

// If shades is not sent, the default will be 5
getShades(
  color: string | object,
  options?: Options
)

// Specifying the shades number
getShades(
  color: string | object,
  shades: number,
  options?: Options
)

// If tints is not sent, the default will be 5
getTints(
  color: string | object,
  options?: Options
)

// Specifying the tints number
getTints(
  color: string | object,
  tints: number,
  options?: Options
)

Color shades and color tints static methods description

Color shades and color tints static methods examples

ColorTranslator.getShades('#FF0000', 5);

// [
//   "#D40000",
//   "#AA0000",
//   "#800000",
//   "#550000",
//   "#2A0000"
// ]

ColorTranslator.getTints({r: 255, g: 0, b: 0, a: 0.5}, 5);

// [
//   {R: 255, G: 42.5, B: 42.5, A: 0.5},
//   {R: 255, G: 85, B: 85, A: 0.5},
//   {R: 255, G: 127.5, B: 127.5, A: 0.5},
//   {R: 255, G: 170, B: 170, A: 0.5},
//   {R: 255, G: 212.5, B: 212.5, A: 0.5}
// ]

You can also consult the demo 7 to check the use of these static methods.

Color harmonies static method

The static method to create color harmonies accepts four parmeters, the first one could be any of the mentioned inputs, the second one is optional and it is to specify the kind of harmony (by default it will be "COMPLEMENTARY"), the third one is also optional and it specifies if the returned harmony is based on additive or subtractive colors (by default it will be "ADDITIVE"), and the fourth parameter is also optional and it is an options object. This method will return the colors in the same format that was sent as input:

// If harmony is not sent, the default will be "COMPLEMENTARY"
// If mode is not sent, the default will be "ADDITIVE"
getHarmony(
  color: string | object,
  options?: Options
)

// If mode is not sent, the default will be "ADDITIVE"
getHarmony(
  color: string | object,
  harmony: 'ANALOGOUS' | 'COMPLEMENTARY' | 'SPLIT_COMPLEMENTARY' | 'TRIADIC' | 'TETRADIC' | 'SQUARE',
  options?: Options
)

// If harmony is not sent, the default will be "COMPLEMENTARY"
getHarmony(
  color: string | object,
  mode: 'ADDITIVE' | 'SUBTRACTIVE',
  options?: Options
)

getHarmony(
  color: string | object,
  harmony: 'ANALOGOUS' | 'COMPLEMENTARY' | 'SPLIT_COMPLEMENTARY' | 'TRIADIC' | 'TETRADIC' | 'SQUARE',
  mode: 'ADDITIVE' | 'SUBTRACTIVE',
  options?: Options
)

Color harmonies static method description

Available armonies

Color harmonies static method examples

ColorTranslator.getHarmony('#FF00FF');

// ["#FF00FF", "#00FF00"]

ColorTranslator.getHarmony('rgba(0 255 255 / 0.5)', 'ANALOGOUS');

// [
//   "rgba(0 255 255 / 0.5)",
//   "rgba(0 127.5 255 / 0.5)",
//   "rgba(0 255 127.5 / 0.5)"
// ]

ColorTranslator.getHarmony(
  { r: 115, g: 200, b: 150, a: 0.5 },
  'COMPLEMENTARY',
  'ADDITIVE',
  { decimals: 2 }
);

// [
//   {R: 115, G: 200, B: 150, A: 0.5},
//   {R: 200, G: 123.75, B: 115, A: 0.5}
// ]

ColorTranslator.getHarmony('#FF0000', 'COMPLEMENTARY', 'SUBTRACTIVE');

// ["#FF0000", "#00FF00"]

You can also consult the demo 10 and demo 11 to check the use of this static method.

TypeScript Support

The package has its own type definitions, so it can be used in a TypeScript project without any issues. The next enums and interfaces are exposed and can be imported in your project:

Harmony and Mix

You can send these values as strings and it will be checked by TypeScript if the string is correct. But for comodity, you can use the Harmony and Mix enums exported in the library.

Harmony.COMPLEMENTARY === 'COMPLEMENTARY';
Mix.ADDITIVE === 'ADDITIVE'

InputOptions

This is the type of the options object that can be sent to the class constructor or to the static methods.

interface InputOptions {
    decimals?: number;
    legacyCSS?: boolean;
    spacesAfterCommas?: boolean;
    anglesUnit?: 'none' | 'deg' | 'grad' | 'rad' | 'turn';
    rgbUnit?: 'none' | 'percent';
    cmykUnit?: 'none' | 'percent';
    alphaUnit?: 'none' | 'percent';
    cmykFunction?: 'device-cmyk' | 'cmyk';
}

HEXObject

This type is returned by the HEXObject, and HEXAObject properties, the toHEXObject, toHEXAObject, getBlendHEXObject, getBlendHEXAObject, getMixHEXObject, and the getMixHEXAObject methods, and the getShades, getTints, and getHarmony methods (when the input is an HEXObject).

interface HEXObject {
    R: string;
    G: string;
    B: string;
    A?: string;
}

RGBObject

This type is returned by the RGBObject, and RGBAObject properties, the toRGBObject, toRGBAObject, getBlendRGBObject, getBlendRGBAObject, getMixRGBObject, and the getMixRGBAObject methods, and the getShades, getTints, and getHarmony methods (when the input is an RGBObject).

interface RGBObject {
    R: number;
    G: number;
    B: number;
    A?: number;
}

HSLObject

This type is returned by the HSLObject, and HSLAObject properties, the toHSLObject, toHSLAObject, getBlendHSLObject, getBlendHSLAObject, getMixHSLObject, and the getMixHSLAObject methods, and the getShades, getTints, and getHarmony methods (when the input is an HSLObject).

interface HSLObject {
    H: number;
    S: number;
    L: number;
    A?: number;
}

CIELabObject

This type is returned by the CIELabObject, and CIELabAObject properties, the toCIELabObject, toCIELabAObject, getBlendCIELabObject, getBlendCIELabAObject, getMixCIELabObject, and the getMixCIELabAObject methods, and the getShades, getTints, and getHarmony methods (when the input is an CIELabObject).

interface CIELabObject {
    L: number;
    a: number;
    b: number;
    A?: number;
}

CMYKObject

This type is returned by the CMYKObject property, and the toCMYKObject and toCMYKAObject methods.

interface CMYKObject {
    C: number;
    M: number;
    Y: number;
    K: number;
}