canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/color.pizza/color-pizza

# Color Pizza Color Name API

Color Name API (color.pizza) returns human-readable names for colors given hex values, plus curated colour lists and downloadable swatches. The API has 4 GET endpoints covering the default colour list, named colour lookups, alternate lists, and dynamic swatch generation. It is open and unauthenticated, useful for any tool that needs to label colours with friendly names without paying for a commercial colour API.

## For AI agents

Get human-readable names for any hex colour, browse curated colour lists, and generate SVG swatches through 4 unauthenticated endpoints.

## Scope

Does not handle palette generation, contrast checking, or image colour extraction - use for naming and swatch rendering of known hex values only.

## Capabilities

- Look up the closest named colour for one or more hex values via GET /names/
- Retrieve every colour in the default named-colour list via GET /
- Browse alternate curated colour lists (e.g., basic, x11) via GET /lists/
- Generate an SVG colour swatch for a hex value via GET /swatch/
- Bulk-name a palette by passing a comma-separated list of hex codes

## Use cases

### Friendly Colour Labels in Design Tools

Annotate colour pickers and palettes with human-readable names by calling GET /names/?values=ff0080,00ff00,0000ff. Color Name API returns the closest match from its curated list so a design tool can show 'Hot Pink' instead of '#ff0080'. The default list ships thousands of named colours sourced from communities and brand standards.

Example prompt: Call GET /names/?values=ff0080,00ff00,0000ff and return a map of hex to friendly colour name

### Palette Documentation

Generate documentation pages for brand palettes by calling GET /swatch/ for each colour to embed an inline SVG and GET /names/ to fetch its name. This avoids hand-creating swatch images for documentation and keeps brand palettes in sync with their canonical hex values. Useful for design system docs and brand guideline sites.

Example prompt: For each brand colour hex, call GET /swatch/?color={hex} to embed the SVG and GET /names/?values={hex} to get the display name

### Accessibility and Naming Audits

Audit a project's hard-coded hex values against a friendly-name list to surface duplicate or near-duplicate colours. The default list is the ground truth for community colour names, so a linter can warn 'this hex maps to the same name as another one already in your palette'. Combine with GET /lists/ to switch between basic and extended naming conventions.

Example prompt: For each unique hex in a stylesheet, call GET /names/?values={hex}&list=basic and flag any two hexes that resolve to the same name

### AI Agent Colour Naming via Jentic

Let an AI agent caption colour palettes for users by searching Jentic for the operation and executing it. Color Name API needs no credentials so the integration is purely a routing convenience - Jentic returns the matching schema, the agent calls it, and the user sees friendly names alongside their colours.

Example prompt: Use Jentic to search 'name hex colors', load the GET /names/ schema, and execute it with values={user palette hex codes}

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/names/` | Lookup names for one or more hex colours |
| GET | `/` | Get every colour in the default list |
| GET | `/lists/` | List alternate colour lists |
| GET | `/swatch/` | Generate an SVG swatch for a hex value |

## Key resources

- **Names** — Hex-to-friendly-name lookup for one or many colours
- **Lists** — Alternate curated colour lists (default, basic, x11, etc.)
- **Swatch** — Dynamic SVG swatch generation for a hex value

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** The Color Name API needs no key, but wiring it by hand still means coding against the api.color.pizza host and handling its name lookup, list, and swatch endpoints yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import Color Name from the API Directory, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** The Color Name API is read-only, so you scope by choosing the operations the agent may call: limit it to what it needs, such as naming a hex value or rendering a swatch, and other calls are not included unless you add them.
- **Credential handling:** The Color Name API requires no key, so there is no secret to store, and Jentic simply routes the request and validates parameters at execution time. Nothing sensitive enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'name a hex color' or 'render a color swatch', and Jentic returns the matching Color Name operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Cloudinary Upload API** — Image transformation and CDN delivery to pair with named-colour metadata
- **Bannerbear API** — Programmatic image and banner generation with brand colours
- **Figma REST API** — Read and modify Figma design files where named palettes are consumed

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Color Name API use?

None. The API is fully open and unauthenticated, so any client can call api.color.pizza/v1/ without registering or sending an API key. Through Jentic the call is routed transparently with no credential injection required.

### Can I name multiple hex colours in one request?

Yes. GET /names/?values=ff0080,00ff00,0000ff accepts a comma-separated list of hex codes and returns a name for each. This avoids one HTTP call per colour when annotating an entire palette.

### Which colour lists are available with the Color Name API?

GET /lists/ returns the available curated lists. Beyond the default community list, you can request basic, x11, and other named-colour palettes via the list query parameter on `/names/.` Each list has a distinct naming style.

### What are the rate limits for the Color Name API?

The OpenAPI spec does not enumerate explicit rate limits. The API is hosted on a community endpoint at api.color.pizza/v1/; please be considerate of bulk usage and cache responses where possible. There is no commercial SLA.

### How do I name a palette of hex colours through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'name hex colors', load the GET /names/ schema, and execute it with values={comma-separated hex list}. Jentic routes the call to api.color.pizza/v1/names/ and returns the named-colour payload.

### Can I generate colour swatches as images?

Yes. GET /swatch/?color={hex} returns an SVG swatch you can embed inline in HTML or include in design docs. It is dynamically generated at request time.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Color Name API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One self-hosted, your own rules decide which Color Name API operations the agent may call, and it cannot reach anything you have not enabled. The API is read-only, so you can grant just what a task needs, such as naming a hex value with GET /names/ or rendering a swatch with GET /swatch/, while leaving browsing the full default list or GET /lists/ out of scope. Since the API takes no credentials, there is no key to expose, and Jentic validates each request's parameters before routing the call.