How does the Picker tool in Colorpicker work?

Updated

The Picker grabs a color from anywhere on your screen and shows it live in the Colorpicker interface, so you can read its hexadecimal or RGB code without losing the adjustments you were already making. It works on colors from design software, a browser, or a plain image, which makes it useful when you need to match or extract a color from existing material rather than build one from scratch.

What the Picker does

According to the Colorpicker site, Picker "allows you to grab any color on your screen," regardless of whether the source is your favorite design software, your browser, or just an image. The color appears in the Colorpicker interface in real time, so you can see the Hexadecimal or RGB code quickly "without losing your last adjustments."

That last point is the practical difference from switching windows to a separate color tool: your current color state stays intact while you sample something new.

How to use it

  1. Open Colorpicker and set up whatever color you are currently working on, so the interface holds your existing adjustments.
  2. Activate the Picker from the toolbar or its shortcut. The site states that every feature is accessible from the toolbar and shortcuts, though it does not list the specific key combination.
  3. Move over the target color on screen — in a design app, a browser page, or an image — and sample it.
  4. Read the result in the Colorpicker interface, which updates in real time with the Hexadecimal or RGB code.

The expected result is that the sampled color replaces or joins your working color while your prior adjustments remain visible, so you can compare before committing.

What you can do with a picked color

  • Read the code directly. The interface shows Hexadecimal or RGB, so you can copy the value into CSS, a design file, or documentation.
  • Adjust it with the RGB sliders. The site notes three RGB sliders, with HSL and CMYK listed as planned ("soon").
  • Save it to Colorsbook. Colorsbook stores colors in multiple palettes; clicking a saved color puts it back into the Colorpicker interface.
  • Tint it. The Tint tool helps you find a matching shade to complete a palette. It currently offers three levels of shades based on HSL (hue, saturation, brightness), with custom shade layers listed as a future release.

When the Picker is the right choice

Use the Picker when the color already exists somewhere on screen and you need its exact value — matching a brand color from a mockup, pulling a hue out of a photo, or checking what a site actually renders. If you are starting from a blank palette and want to construct colors by hand, the RGB sliders and Tint tool are the more direct path.

Practical notes

  • The site describes Colorpicker as a free and open source desktop application, and also offers a simplified online version you can test in the browser. The download page includes a "donate & download" option alongside the standard download.
  • The interface is available in multiple languages, with translation contributions handled through Crowdin.
  • Colorsbook is described as something that "will be improved and be more efficient in the next updates," and feedback is directed to GitHub — so treat palette management as a feature still in development rather than a finished one.

One limitation to keep in mind: the source material does not specify the exact shortcut keys, platform requirements, or how the Picker behaves across multiple monitors. If those details matter for your setup, verify them in the app itself after downloading.