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Show HN: A color name API that maps hex to the closest human-readable name

(meodai.github.io)
97 points meodai | 1 comments | 19 Jun 25 10:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.221s | source

I built this API to return the closest named color for any hex value—using curated lists like my own [1], XKCD [2], and others.

I made it from scratch without Express or any frameworks because:

- I’m a frontend/interaction dev and wanted to learn how to build an API from the ground up. - Existing APIs didn’t guarantee unique names per color—mine does. - It also supports WebSocket updates, gzip responses, and multiple name sets.

I’ve been collecting color names for over 10 years [1]. With ~30,000 entries, bundling them into every color-related project became excessive. This API keeps things lightweight—for me and hopefully for others too.

GitHub: https://github.com/meodai/color-name-api

Would love feedback on naming logic, accuracy, performance, or backend best practices I might’ve missed.

[1] Large Color Name List: https://github.com/meodai/color-names [2] XKCD color survey results: https://xkcd.com/color/rgb/

1. esperent ◴[21 Jun 25 12:36 UTC] No.44337110[source]▶
I like the falling bricks effect although it's quite janky on Brave on Android.

I think it would be effective on the landing page to have a form where I can enter a hex code and get the color name. I've recently tried a couple of web apps like this to get makes for my brand colors.