How to Get Color Codes (HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK) on Windows 11

PowerToys Color Picker makes it easy to get color codes (HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, and more) quickly on Windows 11. Here’s how to use it in 2026.

Whether you are a web developer, designer, or someone who works with colors directly or indirectly, the ability to get the color code of any color quickly and easily in the format of your choice can make your work life that much easier and boost your productivity. That’s where the Color Picker module in PowerToys can help you. It lets you copy the color code of any color on your screen in the format of your choice.

For example, when I’m developing an Android app, I need the color in HEX format. Instead of searching the web for a picker or opening a heavy image editor, I simply opened the Color Picker and copied the color code in the HEX format. This not only made my task simpler but also saved a lot of time.

In this quick and easy guide, I will show you how to activate the Color Picker module in PowerToys and how to use it to get the color codes in the format of your choice. Let’s get started.

Before You Start

• Before proceeding, make sure you’ve installed PowerToys. If you haven’t, download PowerToys from this official GitHub page and install it.

Activate Color Picker in PowerToys

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search for “PowerToys” and click “Open“.
3. Go to the “Home” tab on the sidebar.
4. Turn ON the “Color Picker” under the “Utilities” section in the main panel.
5. With that, the Color Picker module is enabled in PowerToys.

Get Color Codes in Windows 11

After activating the Color Picker module in PowerToys, follow the quick steps below to get the color codes of any color on your screen.

1. Make sure the color you want the code for is on the screen.
2. Press the “Windows + Shift + C” shortcut.
3. Hover your mouse over the color you want to capture and click.
4. Copy the color code in the format of your choice by clicking the “Copy” icon.
5. Once done, close the editor window.

For more advanced tips and customization, follow the “Detailed Steps” section below.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, make sure the color you want the code for is on the screen. Next, press the “Windows + Shift + C“. This activates the color picker.

Now, hover the mouse over the color of your choice to see the default color format.

After hovering over the color, click on it. This opens the editor window. In it, find the color code format you want and click the “Copy” icon to copy the color code to the clipboard. For example, I want the HEX code. So, I clicked the “Copy” button next to it.

A quick tip: When picking a color on the screen, before clicking, you can use your mouse wheel (scroll up) to zoom in. This allows you pick a color from a single pixel.

The color editor also keeps a history of recently picked colors. You can see them in the top bar. So, you don’t have to pick the same color code over and over again.

Customizing the Color Picker

You can customize which color format the color picker shows by default, whether to show the color name or not, and what color formats are listed in the editor. Here’s how:

First, open the PowerToys tool. To do that, open the Start menu by pressing the “Start” button. Next, search for “PowerToys” and click the result or the “Open” option in the right panel of the Start menu.

In the PowerToys window, click on “System Tools” to expand it. Next, select the “Color Picker” tab under it.

Select default color format: On the right panel, select the default color format you want the color picker to show from the “Default color format” dropdown under the “Picker behavior” section. For example, since I use the HEX format the most, I select “HEX” from the dropdown.

Show color name: If you want the color picker to show the color name, turn ON the “Show color name” toggle.

Once the feature is turned on, the color name is displayed under the color code when you hover over a color.

Select which color formats are displayed in the editor: By default, when you press the color picker shortcut (Windows + Shift + C) and click on a color, the editor shows several color formats. While this is a good thing, not everyone needs all the color formats. Thankfully, you can customize which color formats are displayed and their order. Here’s how:

Under the Color formats section, turn ON the toggles of color formats you want to be displayed and turn OFF those you don’t want to be displayed.

Next, to change the order of the color formats displayed in the editor, click the three dots (…) icon next to each color format, then select “Move up” or “Move down“.

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That is all. It is that simple to get color codes in Windows 11 using the PowerToys Color Picker tool. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.