A light bluish gray, black text passes AA
Tailwind zinc-300
In Tailwind CSS 4.3.3, zinc-300 is defined as oklch(87.1% 0.006 286.286); in hex that is #d4d4d8, or rgb(212 212 216). Black text on it reaches 14.21:1, passing WCAG AAA, and Recolor (recolor.page) can show it on a real page.
Last updated
--color-zinc-300), converted with Recolor's color code, October 9, 2026| Format | Value |
|---|---|
| OKLCH, as Tailwind writes it | oklch(87.1% 0.006 286.286) |
| Hex | #d4d4d8 |
| RGB | rgb(212 212 216) |
| HSL | hsl(240 5% 84%) |
| CSS variable | var(--color-zinc-300) |
| Nearest CSS name | lightgray #d3d3d3, 0.007 away in OKLab |
| White text | 1.48:1: AA fails, AAA fails, large text fails |
| Black text | 14.21:1: AA passes, AAA passes, large text passes |
About zinc-300
In OKLCH, zinc-300 has a lightness of 87.1%, a chroma of 0.006 and a hue of 286.3 degrees, which makes it a light bluish gray. The step up to zinc-200 is 4.9 points of lightness, and the step down to zinc-400 16.6 points.
HSL and OKLCH agree on how light it is, 84% and 87.1%. The value lies inside sRGB, the gamut of a hex code, so zinc-300 converts to #d4d4d8 without losing chroma.
For text, zinc-300 wants black: 14.21:1 clears even AAA's 7:1, and white at 1.48:1 fails AA. Black text passes on every zinc shade from zinc-50 to zinc-400, 1 shade darker than zinc-300.
Its nearest CSS named color, lightgray (#d3d3d3), is 0.007 away in OKLab, too close to tell apart by eye.
Tints and shades
- #f8f8f8
- #f2f0f1
- #ebe9e9
- #e5e2e2
- #dedadb
- #d4d4d8
- #a9a5a6
- #7c7a7a
- #535151
- #2c2b2b
- #0a0a0a
From light to dark: 5 toward white and 5 toward black, mixed in OKLCH a sixth of the way at a time with the hue kept. A step that would repeat its neighbor is left out.
A palette around it
- #d4d4d8
- #634a44
- #e3b8af
- #3a1e15
- #957169
Locked as the first of five swatches, zinc-300 gets #634a44, #e3b8af, #3a1e15, #957169 from Recolor's generator, a monochromatic palette, one hue in five lightnesses. The seed is its hex, so the palette stays the same. Open it in Recolor.
Using zinc-300
Pair it with text-black, 14.21:1; zinc-300 as text on a black page measures the same ratio. In CSS it is var(--color-zinc-300).
<a class="bg-zinc-300 text-black" href="/start">Get started</a>
<p class="text-zinc-300">Text in zinc-300</p>Common questions
Does white text pass WCAG AA on Tailwind zinc-300?
No. White text measures 1.48:1 on zinc-300, under AA's 4.5:1; black text measures 14.21:1 and passes. The lightest zinc shade for white text is zinc-500.
Is Tailwind zinc-300 defined in OKLCH?
Yes. Tailwind CSS 4.3.3 defines it as --color-zinc-300: oklch(87.1% 0.006 286.286); #d4d4d8 is its conversion to sRGB.
Is there a CSS named color for Tailwind zinc-300?
Yes, nearly: lightgray (#d3d3d3) is 0.007 away in OKLab, too close to tell apart by eye.
Sources
- Tailwind CSS: Colors tailwindcss.com
- WCAG 2.2: Contrast (Minimum) w3.org