Our tool uses the Median Cut algorithm to quantize and cluster colors from your image. The image is first downscaled for performance, then every pixel is analyzed. The algorithm repeatedly splits the color space into smaller regions, grouping similar colors together until the desired number of dominant colors is reached. Each resulting color is the average of all pixels in its cluster, giving you an accurate representation of the image's palette.

Extracting from a URL is faster and more convenient — no need to download and re-upload images. It's perfect for designers who find inspiration online, want to analyze a competitor's color scheme, or need to pull a palette from a publicly hosted image. Your image never touches our servers; everything is processed locally in your browser for maximum privacy.

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) is a browser security feature. If an image server doesn't include the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header, our tool cannot read the image's pixel data. To fix this, use images from CORS-friendly hosts like Picsum, Imgur, Cloudinary, or your own CDN. We've provided example URLs above that work out of the box. Alternatively, you can use a CORS proxy service.

The tool supports all standard web image formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, and GIF (first frame only). SVG images are not supported for pixel-level color extraction. For best results, use high-quality images with good lighting and color variety.

The Median Cut algorithm is widely used in image processing and produces highly representative palettes. Each color shows its percentage share in the image, so you can easily identify dominant vs. accent colors. For more nuanced palettes, increase the number of colors using the slider. The algorithm performs best on images without heavy noise or compression artifacts.

Absolutely! You can copy individual HEX values by clicking any color card, or use the "Copy All" button to export the entire palette. We also support exporting as CSS custom properties, JSON arrays, and newline-separated lists — making it easy to paste directly into your design system, code editor, or design tool like Figma.

Yes, completely free with no limitations. There's no registration, no upload limits, and no hidden costs. All processing happens in your browser — we don't store or track your images. Use it as often as you like for personal or commercial projects.