Generate accessible color themes using @adobe/leonardo-contrast-colors. Use when the user needs help building contrast-based color palettes, checking WCAG accessibility, creating adaptive themes, or using the Leonardo API.
When helping users with @adobe/leonardo-contrast-colors, follow these steps. For full API details (parameters, types, setters), load references/api.md on demand.
npm i @adobe/leonardo-contrast-colors
ESM (recommended):
import { Theme, Color, BackgroundColor, contrast, convertColorValue, luminance, createScale } from '@adobe/leonardo-contrast-colors';
One per theme. Defines the background and the scale of grays (or other neutrals) at target ratios.
const gray = new BackgroundColor({
name: 'gray',
colorKeys: ['#cacaca'], // one or more keys to interpolate
ratios: [2, 3, 4.5, 8] // target contrast ratios (positive = darker than background)
});
Defines a semantic color (e.g. blue, red) at specific contrast ratios.
const blue = new Color({
name: 'blue',
colorKeys: ['#5CDBFF', '#0000FF'], // interpolated in colorspace
colorspace: 'LCH', // optional; default 'RGB'
ratios: [3, 4.5] // e.g. large text (3:1), normal text (4.5:1)
});
Parameters:
blue100, blue200).'LCH', 'LAB', 'RGB', 'HSL', 'HSV', 'HSLuv', 'CAM02', 'CAM02p', 'OKLAB', 'OKLCH'. Default 'RGB'.[3, 4.5, 7]) or an object mapping custom names to ratios (e.g. { 'blue--largeText': 3, 'blue--normalText': 4.5 }).false).'HEX'); usually overridden by Theme.Negative ratios — Use negative values (e.g. -1.5, -3) for colors lighter than the background (e.g. text on dark mode). Naming for negatives uses fractional increments (e.g. gray25, gray50).
Combine one BackgroundColor and one or more Colors with a lightness and optional contrast/saturation.
const theme = new Theme({
colors: [gray, blue, red], // gray is BackgroundColor; blue, red are Color
backgroundColor: gray, // required; must be the BackgroundColor instance
lightness: 97, // 0–100; background lightness (e.g. 97 = light, 8 = dark)
contrast: 1, // optional; multiplier for all ratios (default 1)
saturation: 100, // optional; 0–100 (default 100)
output: 'HEX', // optional; default 'HEX'
formula: 'wcag2' // optional; 'wcag2' (default) or 'wcag3' (APCA)
});
Note: colors should include the same BackgroundColor as the first element (or at least include it in the list) plus all foreground Colors. The Theme requires backgroundColor to be set to that BackgroundColor instance.
Three getters:
{ background: '#...' }, then one object per color with name and values: [{ name, contrast, value }]. Use for design tokens or CSS variable generation.{ gray100: '#e0e0e0', blue100: '#b18cff', ... }. Use for quick lookups.Example iteration for CSS variables:
for (const item of theme.contrastColors) {
if (item.background) {
document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--background', item.background);
} else {
for (const v of item.values) {
document.documentElement.style.setProperty(`--${v.name}`, v.value);
}
}
}
After construction you can change:
Adding/removing/updating colors:
After any setter, re-read theme.contrastColors (or pairs/values); they are computed on access.
method: 'wcag2' (default) or 'wcag3'. RGB arrays are [r, g, b] (0–255). Use to check two colors without building a full theme.format (e.g. 'HEX', 'RGB', 'LCH'). If object === true, returns channel object instead of string.asFun: true (returns scale function). Useful for non-accessible palettes or stepping between keys.ratios: [4.5] or include 4.5 in ratios.ratios: [7] or include 7.ratios: [3] or include 3 for large text tokens.ratios: [3, 4.5] and name via object if desired: { 'brand--large': 3, 'brand--normal': 4.5 }.formula: 'wcag3' on Theme. Interpret APCA Lc values per WCAG 3 guidance; the library returns Lc for contrast when method is 'wcag3'.Recommendation: Prefer LCH or LAB for interpolation (colorspace: 'LCH') for perceptually even scales.
Interpolation colorspaces (Color/BackgroundColor colorSpace, createScale):
LCH, LAB, RGB, HSL, HSV, HSLuv, CAM02, CAM02p, OKLAB, OKLCH.
Output formats (Theme output, Color output, convertColorValue):
HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV, HSLuv, LAB, LCH, CAM02, CAM02p, OKLAB, OKLCH.
Values follow W3C CSS Color Module Level 4 (e.g. lch(100% 0 360deg), rgb(255 255 255)).
For full parameter tables, setter lists, and type details, see references/api.md.