Tailwind CSS token

Tailwind Amber 500 in OKLCH

Quick answer: Tailwind Amber 500 is #F59E0B, which converts to oklch(0.769 0.165 70.10). On white, it has a WCAG contrast ratio of 2.15:1 and an APCA score of Lc +41.78.

This falls below the WCAG 2.2 AA Large text threshold (3:1) on white; pair with a darker foreground. The color shipped in Tailwind CSS v4.0 (January 2025) as part of the OKLCH default palette, which has 92% global browser support (caniuse, April 2026).

oklch(0.769 0.165 70.10)

Tailwind Amber 500 is a Tailwind utility color. This page frames #F59E0B as a utility stop: copy the generated @theme scale below, or map it into your own tokens.

Specs

oklch(0.769 0.165 70.10)
#F59E0B

Highest contrast: black

9.78:1
Normal AA
Normal AAA
Large AA
Large AAA
Lc -60.46

Accessibility lens

  • Base#F59E0B
  • 300#FFBF6F
  • 500#F59E0B
  • 700#985400

Toggle a lens to preview this color under color vision differences.

How does Tailwind Amber 500 go from primitive to component?

  1. Primitive
  2. Semantic
  3. Component

Primitive

The raw value, before it means anything.

hex
#F59E0B
oklch
oklch(0.769 0.165 70.10)

Semantic

Bound to a role token that UI reads by name.

--primary: #F59E0B

One primitive feeds the role. --primary then drives --ring and the hover and active states below, so a single value stays in sync everywhere.

Component

Applied to real UI across states.

AAA9.78:1
DefaultSave paletteNew
HoverSave paletteNew
ActiveSave paletteNew
DisabledSave paletteNew

On-color text: black (9.78:1 on #F59E0B).

How does Tailwind Amber 500 scale from 50 to 950?

Tailwind Amber 500
50 to 950
#FFF2DE
#FFE2BF
#FFD199
#FFBF6F
#FDAE45
#F59E0B
#C77700
#985400
#693500
#3D1800
#160100
  • 50oklch(0.966 0.030 78.79)
  • 100oklch(0.928 0.056 72.27)
  • 200oklch(0.888 0.088 71.78)
  • 300oklch(0.847 0.122 71.06)
  • 400oklch(0.809 0.149 70.12)
  • 500oklch(0.769 0.165 70.08)
  • 600oklch(0.642 0.144 65.04)
  • 700oklch(0.515 0.120 60.55)
  • 800oklch(0.389 0.094 57.12)
  • 900oklch(0.260 0.068 50.67)
  • 950oklch(0.130 0.048 33.11)

How does Tailwind Amber 500 score on WCAG 2.2 contrast?

Every fg × bg combination, with WCAG 2.2 verdicts.

AAA (7:1+)
AA (4.5:1+)
Below AA (under 4.5:1)
Hover for APCA
Aa1.00Below AA
Aa1.28Below AA
Aa1.68Below AA
Aa3.13Below AA
Aa9.01AAA
Aa18.30AAA
Aa1.28Below AA
Aa1.00Below AA
Aa1.31Below AA
Aa2.44Below AA
Aa7.03AAA
Aa14.28AAA
Aa1.68Below AA
Aa1.31Below AA
Aa1.00Below AA
Aa1.87Below AA
Aa5.36AA
Aa10.90AAA
Aa3.13Below AA
Aa2.44Below AA
Aa1.87Below AA
Aa1.00Below AA
Aa2.88Below AA
Aa5.84AA
Aa9.01AAA
Aa7.03AAA
Aa5.36AA
Aa2.88Below AA
Aa1.00Below AA
Aa2.03Below AA
Aa18.30AAA
Aa14.28AAA
Aa10.90AAA
Aa5.84AA
Aa2.03Below AA
Aa1.00Below AA

Does Tailwind Amber 500 pass WCAG 2.2 on common neutral backgrounds?

  • Aa2.15Below AA

    White #FFFFFF

  • Aa1.97Below AA

    Neutral 100 #F5F5F5

  • Aa1.70Below AA

    Neutral 200 #E5E5E5

  • Aa1.17Below AA

    Neutral 400 #A3A3A3

  • Aa3.64Below AA

    Neutral 600 #525252

  • Aa8.35AAA

    Neutral 900 #171717

  • Aa9.78AAA

    Black #000000

What palettes pair with Tailwind Amber 500?

Analogous

  • #F50B3B
  • #F53C0B
  • #F59E0B
  • #EBF50B
  • #89F50B

Complementary

  • #F8BB54
  • #F59E0B

Triadic

  • #F59E0B
  • #9E6506
  • #0BF59E

Where should you use Tailwind Amber 500 in production UI?

bg: primary-50 · border: primary-100
Monthly revenue
$48,219
text: primary-900
+12.4% vs last mo.
badge: primary-100 / primary-700
primary-500
$8.2k
JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJUL
bg: primary-600 · fg: white
ONBOARDING · STEP 2
Export your first design system this week.
bg: surface · border: neutral-200
SYSTEM
All systems normal
APIprimary-50 / primary-700Webprimary-50 / primary-700Pluginprimary-50 / primary-700
Tokens
248
+18 this week
overlay: primary-700 → primary-800
"One color system, every screen in sync."
Maya Okafor
Design systems lead
EPISODE 14
Designing color systems that scale
28:14
bg: primary-900
--primary-500
#F59E0B
focus ring: primary-100COMPONENT · INPUT
Search projects…⌘K
button-primary: primary-600button-secondary: primary-50
SETTINGS
Weekly digest
Net new tokens
$15,989
$18,871 last period

Notes on Tailwind Amber 500

Amber 500 is pure signage, oklch(0.769 0.165 70.1), the golden yellow-orange for warnings, ratings, and highlight moments. It is among the lowest-contrast text colors on a light page, Below AA at 2.15:1 (APCA Lc +41.78), so #F59E0B has to be a fill, a star, or a large graphic, never small text on white. On a near-black surface it flips to WCAG 2.2 AAA (9.78:1, APCA Lc -60.46). Its analogous run is a built-in warm gradient from red-orange #F53C0B to yellow #EBF50B, and the triad throws a mint #0BF59E for a cool counterpoint. Rest it on charcoal or slate so it reads as gold rather than glare. The accessibility lens keeps it bright but shifts its family: protanopia and deuteranopia push it to yellow-green (#D4DB37), close to where greens sit, and tritanopia turns it red (#F14B51). Do not let amber alone separate caution from go.

What other Tailwind and shadcn colors relate to Tailwind Amber 500?

@theme {
  --color-primary-50: #fff2de;
  --color-primary-100: #ffe2bf;
  --color-primary-200: #ffd199;
  --color-primary-300: #ffbf6f;
  --color-primary-400: #fdae45;
  --color-primary-500: #f59e0b;
  --color-primary-600: #c77700;
  --color-primary-700: #985400;
  --color-primary-800: #693500;
  --color-primary-900: #3d1800;
  --color-primary-950: #160100;

  --color-secondary-50: #f3f9de;
  --color-secondary-100: #e8f1c3;
  --color-secondary-200: #dceaa0;
  --color-secondary-300: #d1e379;
  --color-secondary-400: #c7db55;
  --color-secondary-500: #bdd22e;
  --color-secondary-600: #93a500;
  --color-secondary-700: #6b7900;
  --color-secondary-800: #465000;
  --color-secondary-900: #242a00;
  --color-secondary-950: #070900;

  --color-accent-50: #ffede6;
  --color-accent-100: #ffcdc2;
  --color-accent-200: #fdab9b;
  --color-accent-300: #f48774;
  --color-accent-400: #e66550;
  --color-accent-500: #d2432e;
  --color-accent-600: #af2815;
  --color-accent-700: #891000;
  --color-accent-800: #620100;
  --color-accent-900: #3e0000;
  --color-accent-950: #1c0000;

  --color-neutral-50: #f8f7f7;
  --color-neutral-100: #f1f0ef;
  --color-neutral-200: #e2e1df;
  --color-neutral-300: #cac8c4;
  --color-neutral-400: #a9a59e;
  --color-neutral-500: #878178;
  --color-neutral-600: #67625b;
  --color-neutral-700: #4c4843;
  --color-neutral-800: #312f2b;
  --color-neutral-900: #1b1a18;
  --color-neutral-950: #10100e;

  --color-success-50: #e6fce9;
  --color-success-100: #c4eaca;
  --color-success-200: #9ddaa7;
  --color-success-300: #74c985;
  --color-success-400: #4ab766;
  --color-success-500: #16a34a;
  --color-success-600: #008330;
  --color-success-700: #00631a;
  --color-success-800: #00440a;
  --color-success-900: #002700;
  --color-success-950: #000d00;

  --color-error-50: #ffebe6;
  --color-error-100: #ffc9c0;
  --color-error-200: #ffa398;
  --color-error-300: #fe7c6f;
  --color-error-400: #f0544a;
  --color-error-500: #dc2626;
  --color-error-600: #b8000a;
  --color-error-700: #910000;
  --color-error-800: #680000;
  --color-error-900: #420000;
  --color-error-950: #200000;

  --color-warning-50: #fff1e1;
  --color-warning-100: #fed9be;
  --color-warning-200: #f9c095;
  --color-warning-300: #f2a66a;
  --color-warning-400: #e78e40;
  --color-warning-500: #d97706;
  --color-warning-600: #b25800;
  --color-warning-700: #893d00;
  --color-warning-800: #612500;
  --color-warning-900: #3a0f00;
  --color-warning-950: #180000;

  --color-info-50: #e6f6ff;
  --color-info-100: #bfdaff;
  --color-info-200: #95bdff;
  --color-info-300: #6ca0ff;
  --color-info-400: #4782fd;
  --color-info-500: #2563eb;
  --color-info-600: #114ac8;
  --color-info-700: #0333a1;
  --color-info-800: #002076;
  --color-info-900: #000e4e;
  --color-info-950: #000129;

  /* Surfaces */
  --color-background: #F8F7F7;
  --color-surface: #FFFFFF;
  --color-elevated: #F8F7F7;
  --color-foreground: #1B1A18;
  --color-muted: #878178;
  --color-border: #E2E1DF;
}

How do you export Tailwind Amber 500 as design tokens?

Export a W3C DTCG token document for the Tailwind Amber 500 50 to 950 scale, ready for Style Dictionary or any DTCG aware pipeline.

Frequently asked questions

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