PickShade color tools

What PickShade color tools MCP server does

PickShade color tools MCP server gives an MCP-compatible agent a collection of color analysis and generation operations. Inputs can use HEX, functional CSS formats, CSS keywords, common color names, names in multiple languages, or Tailwind palette classes. The tools return structured color data and generated outputs rather than requiring an external color service.

Core analysis includes parsing, format conversion, gamut checks, perceptual color comparison, color naming, and contrast evaluation. Accessibility workflows cover WCAG 2 ratios, AA and AAA results, APCA Lc guidance, palette-wide pair checks, and simulations for protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, and achromatopsia. PickShade color tools MCP server can also identify palette pairs that become difficult to distinguish under color-vision simulation.

How it works

The implementation follows CSS Color 4 color models, including sRGB, Display P3, Rec. 2020, Lab, LCH, OKLab, and OKLCH. Its calculations run locally and deterministically when using the local package. Contrast repair changes only OKLCH lightness, preserving the selected hue while searching for the nearest color that meets a requested target.

Generation tools cover 11-step 50–950 scales, tints, shades, tones, standard harmony types, seeded OKLCH palettes, and CSS gradients interpolated in OKLab or OKLCH. The system builder starts with one brand color and produces scales, light and dark roles, plus shadcn/ui and Tailwind-oriented exports. PickShade color tools MCP server can turn these results into CSS variables, Tailwind v4 @theme, SCSS, JSON, DTCG tokens, JavaScript arrays, or an SVG swatch strip.

Setup and configuration

The hosted deployment is available at https://pickshade.com/api/mcp over streamable HTTP, so it does not require a local installation. Claude Code can register it with claude mcp add --transport http pickshade https://pickshade.com/api/mcp. Clients that use an mcpServers configuration can add the endpoint as the pickshade server URL.

For local stdio use, configure the server with npx -y @pickshade/mcp. Node.js 20 or newer is required. The server needs no API key, account, or environment variables, and the README states that it collects no telemetry.

Tools and capabilities

• Parse, convert, name, compare, and check the gamut of colors.
• Evaluate and repair WCAG 2 and APCA contrast.
• Audit text and background pairs, including out-of-gamut and color-vision issues.
• Generate scales, harmonies, palettes, tints, shades, tones, and gradients.
• Build a color system from a brand color and export implementation-ready token formats.

The repository also documents three prompt workflows: accessible theme generation, palette auditing, and plain-language color descriptions. The same underlying tools are exposed through the documented REST API.

Limitations and notes

Results depend on the supplied color values and requested color space. Contrast repair preserves hue by adjusting OKLCH lightness, so it is not a general-purpose hue or chroma optimization. Gamut status is reported for sRGB, Display P3, and Rec. 2020; choosing a wider gamut does not by itself make a color suitable for every display or CSS use case. The local server requires Node.js 20 or newer, while the hosted option depends on network access.