Join Beta
Color Naming for Mac

Know the Name of Every Color

Pick any pixel on your screen — Hue Knows names it instantly using 1,000+ crowd-sourced color names.

Live tracking mode follows your cursor in real time with a floating label.

Free. No subscription. No account.

Join the Beta onTestFlight
Hue Knows menu bar popover showing a named color
How It Works

Three steps to naming any color.

01

Click Pick Color

Click the menu bar icon and press Pick Color. A magnifier loupe appears.

02

Point and Click

Click any pixel on your screen. Hue Knows identifies it instantly.

03

See the Name

Get the XKCD color name, basic color category, hex code, and RGB values.

Features

Everything you need to name any color.

XKCD Color Names

1,000+ crowd-sourced names from the XKCD color survey. Every color has a human-readable name — from "Cerulean" to "Dusty Rose".

Live Cursor Tracking

Enable live mode and a floating pill follows your cursor showing the color name in real time. Sampling runs at 20 Hz for smooth tracking.

Basic Color Hints

Non-obvious names like "Wheat" show their basic color category: "Wheat (yellow)". Never wonder what family a color belongs to.

Confidence Indicator

When the match is ambiguous, see alternative names and a confidence score. Know exactly how close the match is.

Color History

Recent colors are saved for quick reference. Click any past color to see its full details again.

Global Hotkey

Press ⌘⌃⇧G from any app to pick a color. No need to click the menu bar icon.

Pricing

Free. No strings attached.

Hue Knows

FreeFreeduring beta
  • XKCD color names (1,000+)
  • Live cursor tracking
  • Basic color hints
  • Confidence indicator
  • Color history
  • Global hotkey
Join Beta on TestFlight

Requires macOS Tahoe or later.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Hue Knows uses the XKCD color survey — over 1,000 crowd-sourced color names collected from hundreds of thousands of responses. Each name is the most popular label people gave to that specific color.

No. All color matching runs locally on your Mac. No data leaves your device.

Hue Knows samples the pixel color under your cursor using ScreenCaptureKit. This requires the Screen Recording permission in macOS. No screen content is stored or transmitted.

Hue Knows requires macOS Tahoe (macOS 26) or later.