Skip to main content
Pre-release

This release is a pre-release and may not be stable for production use.

coloria

Tools for color research.

PyPi Version PyPI pyversions GitHub stars Downloads

Discord

Installation

Install Coloria from PyPI with

pip install coloria

To run Coloria, you need a license. See here for more info.

Illuminants, observers, white points

Illuminants CIE 1931 Observer
import coloria
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

illu = coloria.illuminants.d65()
plt.plot(illu.lmbda_nm, illu.data)
plt.xlabel("wavelength [nm]")
plt.show()

The following illuminants are provided:

  • Illuminant A ("indoor light", coloria.illuminants.a(resolution_in_nm))
  • Illuminant C (obsolete, "North sky daylight", coloria.illuminants.c())
  • Illuminants D ("natural daylight", coloria.illuminants.d(nominal_temp) or coloria.illuminants.d65() etc.)
  • Illuminant E (equal energy, coloria.illuminants.e())
  • Illuminant series F ("fluorescent lighting", coloria.illuminants.f2() etc.)

Observers:

  • CIE 1931 Standard 2-degree observer (coloria.observers.coloria.observers.cie_1931_2())
  • CIE 1964 Standard 10-degree observer (coloria.observers.coloria.observers.cie_1964_10())

Color appearance models

Color appearance models (CAMs) predicts all kinds of parameters in color perception, e.g., lightness, brightness, chroma, colorfulness, saturation etc. Since these values depend on various factors, such as the surrouning, the models are initialized with various different parameters.

CAMs can be used to construct color spaces (see below).

The color appearance models available in coloria are

  • CIECAM02 / CAM02-UCS

    import coloria
    
    ciecam02 = coloria.cam.CIECAM02(
        surround_type="average",  # or dim, dark
        background_luminance_percent=20,
        adapting_luminance_cd_m2=100,
    )
    
    xyz = [19.31, 23.93, 10.14]
    corr = ciecam02.from_xyz100(xyz)
    # then work with those values:
    corr.lightness
    corr.brightness
    corr.chroma
    corr.hue_composition
    corr.hue_angle_degrees
    corr.colorfulness
    corr.saturation
    
  • CAM16 / CAM16-UCS

    import coloria
    
    cam16 = coloria.cam.CAM16("average", 20, 100)
    
  • ZCAM

    import coloria
    
    cam16 = coloria.cam.ZCAM("average", 20, 100, 20)
    

Color coordinates and spaces

Color coordinates are handled as NumPy arrays or as ColorCoordinates, a thin wrapper around the data that retains the color space information and has some handy helper methods. Color spaces can be instantiated from the classes in coloria.cs, e.g.,

import coloria

coloria.cs.CIELAB()

Most methods that accept such a colorspace also accept a string, e.g., cielab.

As an example, to interpolate two sRGB colors in OKLAB, and return the sRGB:

from coloria.cs import ColorCoordinates

# you can also plug in large numpy arrays instead of two lists here
c0 = ColorCoordinates([1.0, 1.0, 0.0], "srgb1")  # yellow
c1 = ColorCoordinates([0.0, 0.0, 1.0], "srgb1")  # blue

# naive interpolation gives [0.5, 0.5, 0.5], a mid gray

# convert to OKLAB
c0.convert("oklab")
c1.convert("oklab")

# interpolate
c2 = (c0 + c1) * 0.5

c2.convert("srgbhex", mode="clip")

print(c2.color_space)
print(c2.data)
<coloria color space sRGB-hex>
#6cabc7

All color spaces implement the two methods

vals = colorspace.from_xyz100(xyz)
xyz = colorspace.to_xyz100(vals)

for conversion from and to XYZ100. Adding new color spaces is as easy as writing a class that provides those two methods. The following color spaces are already implemented:

  • XYZ (coloria.cs.XYZ(100), the parameter determining the scaling)

  • xyY (coloria.cs.XYY(100), the parameter determining the scaling of Y)

  • sRGB (coloria.cs.SRGBlinear(), coloria.cs.SRGB1(), coloria.cs.SRGB255(), coloria.cs.SRGBhex())

  • HSL and HSV (coloria.cs.HSL(), coloria.cs.HSV()) These classes also have the two methods

    from_srgb1()
    to_srgb1()
    

    for direct conversion from and to standard RGB.

  • OSA-UCS (coloria.cs.OsaUcs()), 1947

  • CIE 1960 UCS (coloria.cs.CIE1960UCS()), 1960

  • CIEUVW (coloria.cs.CIEUVW()), 1964

  • CIELAB (coloria.cs.CIELAB()), 1976

  • CIELUV (coloria.cs.CIELUV()), 1976

  • RLAB (coloria.cs.RLAB()), 1993

  • IPT (coloria.cs.IPT()), 1998

  • DIN99 and its variants DIN99{b,c,d} (coloria.cs.DIN99()), 1999

  • CAM02-UCS, 2002

    import coloria
    
    cam02 = coloria.cs.CAM02("UCS", "average", 20, 100)
    

    The implementation contains a few improvements over the CIECAM02 specification (see here).

  • CAM16-UCS, 2016

    import coloria
    
    cam16ucs = coloria.cs.CAM16UCS("average", 20, 100)
    

    The implementation contains a few improvements over the CAM16 specification (see here).

  • SRLAB2 (coloria.cs.SRLAB2())

  • Jzazbz (coloria.cs.JzAzBz()), 2017

  • ICtCp (coloria.cs.ICtCp()), 2018

  • IGPGTG (coloria.cs.IGPGTG()), 2020

  • proLab (coloria.cs.PROLAB()), 2020

  • Oklab (coloria.cs.OKLAB()), 2020

  • OkLCh (coloria.cs.OKLCH()), 2020

  • HCT (coloria.cs.HCT()/ HCTLAB (coloria.cs.HCTLAB()), 2022

All methods in coloria are fully vectorized, i.e., computation is really fast.

Color difference formulas

coloria implements the following color difference formulas:

  • CIE76
    coloria.diff.cie76(lab1, lab2)
    
  • CIE94
    coloria.diff.cie94(lab1, lab2)
    
  • CIEDE2000
    coloria.diff.ciede2000(lab1, lab2)
    
  • CMC l:c
    coloria.diff.cmc(lab1, lab2)
    

Chromatic adaptation transforms

coloria implements the following CATs:

  • von Kries
    cat, cat_inv = coloria.cat.von_kries(whitepoint_source, whitepoint_destination)
    xyz1 = cat @ xyz0
    
  • Bradford (coloria.cat.bradford)
  • sharp (coloria.cat.sharp)
  • CMCCAT2000 (coloria.cat.cmccat2000)
  • CAT02 (coloria.cat.cat02)
  • CAT16 (coloria.cat.cat16)
  • Bianco-Schettini (coloria.cat.bianco_schettini)

Gamut visualization

coloria provides a number of useful tools for analyzing and visualizing color spaces.

sRGB gamut

CIELAB CAM16-UCS Oklab

The sRGB gamut is a perfect cube in sRGB space, and takes curious shapes when translated into other color spaces. The above images show the sRGB gamut in different color spaces.

import coloria

p = coloria.plot_rgb_gamut(
    "cielab",  # or coloria.cs.CIELAB()
    n=51,
    show_grid=True,
)
p.show()

For more visualization options, you can store the sRGB data in a file

import coloria

coloria.save_rgb_gamut("srgb.vtk", "cielab", n=51)
# all formats supported by https://github.com/coloria-dev/meshio

and open it with a tool of your choice. See here for how to open the file in ParaView.

For lightness slices of the sRGB gamut, use

import coloria

p = coloria.plot_rgb_slice("cielab", lightness=50.0, n=51)
p.show()
# or
# p.screenshot("screenshot.png")

Surface color gamut

XYZ CIELAB CAM16-UCS

Same as above, but with the surface color gamut visible under a given illuminant.

import coloria

illuminant = coloria.illuminants.d65()
observer = coloria.observers.cie_1931_2()

p = coloria.plot_surface_gamut(
    "xyz100",  # or coloria.cs.XYZ(100)
    observer,
    illuminant,
)
p.show()

The gamut is shown in grey since sRGB screens are not able to display the colors anyway.

The visible gamut

xyY JzAzBz Oklab

Same as above, but with the gamut of visible colors up to a given lightness Y.

import coloria

observer = coloria.observers.cie_1931_2()

colorspace = coloria.cs.XYZ(100)

p = coloria.plot_visible_gamut(colorspace, observer, max_Y1=1)
p.show()

The gamut is shown in grey since sRGB screens are not able to display the colors anyway.

For slices, use

import coloria

plt = coloria.plot_visible_slice("cielab", lightness=0.5)
plt.show()

Color gradients

With coloria, you can easily visualize the basic color gradients of any color space. This may make defects in color spaces obvious, e.g., the well-known blue-distortion of CIELAB and related spaces. (Compare with the hue linearity data below.)

import coloria

plt = coloria.plot_primary_srgb_gradients("cielab")
plt.show()
CIELAB DIN99 OKLAB

Experimental data

coloria contains lots of experimental data sets some of which can be used to assess certain properties of color spaces. Most data sets can also be visualized.

Color differences

xyY CIELAB CAM16

Color difference data from MacAdam (1974). The above plots show the 43 color pairs that are of comparable lightness. The data is matched perfectly if the facing line stubs meet in one point.

import coloria

data = coloria.data.MacAdam1974()

cs = coloria.cs.CIELAB

plt = data.plot(cs)
plt.show()
print(coloria.data.MacAdam1974().stress(cs))
24.54774029343344

The same is available for

coloria.data.BfdP()
coloria.data.Leeds()
coloria.data.RitDupont()
coloria.data.Witt()

coloria.data.COMBVD()  # a weighted combination of the above

Munsell

xyY CIELAB CAM16

Munsell color data is visualized with

import coloria

cs = coloria.cs.CIELUV
plt = coloria.data.Munsell().plot(cs, V=5)
plt.show()

To retrieve the Munsell data in xyY format, use

import coloria

munsell = coloria.data.Munsell()

# munsell.h
# munsell.V
# munsell.C
# munsell.xyy

Ellipses

MacAdam ellipses (1942)
xyY (at Y=0.4) CIELAB (at L=50) CAM16 (at L=50)

The famous MacAdam ellipses (from this article) can be plotted with

import coloria

cs = coloria.cs.CIELUV
plt = coloria.data.MacAdam1942(50.0).plot(cs)
plt.show()

The better the colorspace matches the data, the closer the ellipses are to circles of the same size.

Luo-Rigg ellipses
xyY CIELAB CAM16

Likewise for Luo-Rigg.

import coloria

# xyy = coloria.cs.XYY(100)
# coloria.data.LuoRigg(8).show(xyy, 0.4)
# coloria.data.LuoRigg(8).savefig("luo-rigg-xyy.png", xyy, 0.4)

cieluv = coloria.cs.CIELUV()
plt = coloria.data.LuoRigg(8).plot(cieluv, 50)
plt.show()

Hue linearity

Ebner-Fairchild
xyY CIELAB CAM16

For example

import coloria

colorspace = coloria.cs.JzAzBz
plt = coloria.data.EbnerFairchild().plot(colorspace)
plt.show()

shows constant-hue data from the Ebner-Fairchild experiments in the hue-plane of some color spaces. (Ideally, all colors in one set sit on a line.)

Hung-Berns

Likewise for Hung-Berns:

xyY CIELAB CAM16

Note the dark blue distortion in CIELAB and CAM16.

import coloria

colorspace = coloria.cs.JzAzBz
plt = coloria.data.HungBerns().plot(colorspace)
plt.show()
Xiao et al.

Likewise for Xiao et al.:

xyY CIELAB CAM16
import coloria

colorspace = coloria.cs.CIELAB
plt = coloria.data.Xiao().plot(colorspace)
plt.show()

Lightness

Fairchild-Chen
xyY CIELAB CAM16

Lightness experiment by Fairchild-Chen.

import coloria

cs = coloria.cs.CIELAB
plt = coloria.data.FairchildChen("SL2").plot(cs)
plt.show()

Articles

Metadata

Release files for coloria 0.14.13a32

For a detailed explanation of source distributions (sdists) and built distributions (wheels), please see the package formats documentation.

Built distributions (wheels)

Table of built distributions (wheels) for coloria 0.14.13a32
File
coloria-0.14.13a32-cp315-none-any.whl CPython 3.15 none any Details
coloria-0.14.13a32-cp314-none-any.whl CPython 3.14 none any Details
coloria-0.14.13a32-cp313-none-any.whl CPython 3.13 none any Details
coloria-0.14.13a32-cp312-none-any.whl CPython 3.12 none any Details
coloria-0.14.13a32-cp311-none-any.whl CPython 3.11 none any Details
coloria-0.14.13a32-cp310-none-any.whl CPython 3.10 none any Details

Total release size: 5.8 MB

Release files / coloria-0.14.13a32-cp315-none-any.whl

Download URL coloria-0.14.13a32-cp315-none-any.whl
Size 992.5 kB
Tags CPython 3.15
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
65020ae2c556c51494dae3b9b4ce4d070b8d218d7c154556409325a4deaed916
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
65cb5daec45084b9f9de9170d002804425707642e6f095be3e53d8b0e4dd2bce
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
Yes
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Provenance

Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.

PyPI Publish Attestation

PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.

Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 7, 2026.

Transparency log

Release files / coloria-0.14.13a32-cp314-none-any.whl

Download URL coloria-0.14.13a32-cp314-none-any.whl
Size 991.5 kB
Tags CPython 3.14
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
a5b36de16ed3e8ceb6df5839bf5fe58469ed65b4e6494d211ce8087e3dd4f4cc
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
51f2677c8661bcd5e8ee3f68d0abcd11c98986d1e18f367307893e11c7ed6a0a
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
Yes
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Provenance

Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.

PyPI Publish Attestation

PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.

Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 7, 2026.

Transparency log

Release files / coloria-0.14.13a32-cp313-none-any.whl

Download URL coloria-0.14.13a32-cp313-none-any.whl
Size 972.0 kB
Tags CPython 3.13
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
a40037c1b48f786d873154ca8d89d0e784bb3d7299c537cb492fdcb3f7577f2a
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
d531186e4d7bbd51dfd5b14cfe7641ade6130d3010dec7403980e253df5fc4cd
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
Yes
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Provenance

Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.

PyPI Publish Attestation

PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.

Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 7, 2026.

Transparency log

Release files / coloria-0.14.13a32-cp312-none-any.whl

Download URL coloria-0.14.13a32-cp312-none-any.whl
Size 972.2 kB
Tags CPython 3.12
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
d15a9871ef833f079f6c2cb4e145e255177557ed96a511a07538b0a5cecdfddf
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
2bd47938eaead5d23b7c01a46b1f5da5380a83a8c2f2f36a31c7a59e79c097f1
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
Yes
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Provenance

Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.

PyPI Publish Attestation

PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.

Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 7, 2026.

Transparency log

Release files / coloria-0.14.13a32-cp311-none-any.whl

Download URL coloria-0.14.13a32-cp311-none-any.whl
Size 1.0 MB
Tags CPython 3.11
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
5a52272dfb6e841a9b8bbadab71534908e976761ce03f9266978ee731e248a48
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
71cc891d9b7286e8700936ebeaa54be2c74e3c6ba5a7f8f71feb0aa566e05191
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
Yes
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Provenance

Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.

PyPI Publish Attestation

PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.

Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 7, 2026.

Transparency log

Release files / coloria-0.14.13a32-cp310-none-any.whl

Download URL coloria-0.14.13a32-cp310-none-any.whl
Size 826.1 kB
Tags CPython 3.10
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
b71e3c4222bb5f28d87f0332fe3b7dd5497cff1e053c06c85da6c6240b632847
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
ae4f386485fff58b65521a4fcdc52d368ba0b2bbf7353dd816a8a0386a53c23f
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
Yes
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Provenance

Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.

PyPI Publish Attestation

PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.

Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Sep 7, 2026.

Transparency log
Anthropic, PBC Visionary sponsor Bloomberg Visionary sponsor Hudson River Trading Visionary sponsor Meta Visionary sponsor NVIDIA Visionary sponsor Microsoft Sustainability sponsor Depot Continuous Integration AWS Cloud computing and Security Sponsor Datadog Monitoring Fastly CDN Google Download Analytics Sentry Error logging StatusPage Status page