pika

<img width="128" alt="Pika icon, an eye against a multicoloured background" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/449385/103492506-4dbd3700-4e23-11eb-97ca-44a959f171c6.png">

# Pika

Pika (pronounced pi·kuh, like picker) is an easy to use, open-source, native colour picker for macOS. Pika makes it easy to quickly find colours onscreen, in the format you need, so you can get on with being a speedy, successful designer.

<img width="768" alt="Screenshots of the dark and light Pika interface" src="https://superhighfives.com/assets/pika-readme%402x.png">

## Download

**Download the latest version of the app at:<br />
[superhighfives.com/pika](https://superhighfives.com/pika)**

Or install with Homebrew:
```bash
brew install --cask pika
```

## Features

- Pick colours from anywhere on screen, with the macOS sampler or Pika's Pro picker and its live loupe
- Check contrast between a foreground and background with WCAG 2 or APCA
- Hex, RGB, HSB, HSL, LAB, OpenGL and OKLCH formats, in sRGB or Display P3
- Click, type, scrub or step any colour value
- Colour names, history, undo and redo
- Global shortcuts and a `pika://` URL scheme for automation

## Learn More

Learn more about the [motivations behind the project](https://medium.com/superhighfives/introducing-pika-d7725c397585), and the [product vision](https://github.com/superhighfives/pika/wiki).

<a href="https://www.producthunt.com/golden-kitty-awards/hall-of-fame?year=2022">
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    <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" srcset="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/449385/215260970-a3c37e86-7d2c-458e-84f8-32a6e24b0cc7.png">
    <img width="250" alt="Golden Kitty Awards 2022 Finalist" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/449385/215260971-e09cdbea-588a-45a9-955c-cbfd1822c2b9.png">
  </picture>
</a>

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## Requirements

### OS

- macOS Sonoma (Version 14) and newer

## Basics

Colour contrast is the difference in lightness between text and whatever’s behind it. With too little, words blur into their background. That’s a real problem for people with low vision or colour blindness, and it catches everyone else too, like reading a phone in the sun or a laptop turned down low.

Accessibility guidelines set minimum contrast levels so text stays readable for as many people as possible. WCAG 2 is the standard most guidelines and laws point to, and APCA is a newer method that also weighs up font size and weight. Checking early is much easier than reworking a design later.

That’s where Pika comes in. Pick a foreground and background from anywhere on your screen, whether it’s a design file, a website or a screenshot, and Pika shows the contrast straight away, alongside the colours in the format you need, ready to copy.

- **Foreground and background**: The foreground is text or an icon; the background is the surface behind it. Press <kbd>X</kbd> to swap them.
- **Why check contrast**: Low-contrast text is hard to read, especially with low vision, colour blindness or gla