How to use the command 'colorpicker' (with examples)

The colorpicker command is a minimalist X11 colorpicker that allows you to retrieve the hexadecimal and RGB values of each clicked pixel on your screen. It can be useful for various purposes, such as picking colors for designing or troubleshooting color-related issues in your applications.

Use case 1: Launch colorpicker and print the hexadecimal and RGB value of each clicked pixel to stdout

Code:

colorpicker

Motivation: This use case is helpful if you want to continuously monitor the colors of various pixels on your screen. By running this command, you can easily retrieve the hexadecimal and RGB values of each clicked pixel and view them on the standard output.

Explanation: Running the colorpicker command without any additional arguments will launch the colorpicker tool. It will capture each mouse click event on the screen and print the corresponding color’s hexadecimal and RGB values to the standard output.

Example Output:

Clicked Pixel: #FF0000 (255, 0, 0)
Clicked Pixel: #00FF00 (0, 255, 0)
Clicked Pixel: #0000FF (0, 0, 255)

Use case 2: Only print the color of one clicked pixel and then exit

Code:

colorpicker --one-shot

Motivation: This use case is useful when you only need to retrieve the color of a single pixel on your screen. By including the --one-shot option, the colorpicker tool will exit after capturing the color of the first clicked pixel.

Explanation: Adding the --one-shot option to the colorpicker command limits the program to capture the color of only one clicked pixel. After printing the color information of the first clicked pixel, the program will terminate.

Example Output:

Clicked Pixel: #F2A500 (242, 165, 0)

Use case 3: Print the color of each clicked pixel and quit when a key is pressed

Code:

colorpicker --quit-on-keypress

Motivation: In situations where you want to capture and analyze the colors of multiple pixels, but also want to manually control when the capturing stops, this use case is beneficial. With the --quit-on-keypress option, the colorpicker tool will continue printing the pixel colors until any key is pressed, triggering the program to terminate.

Explanation: Including the --quit-on-keypress option in the colorpicker command allows the program to print the color information of each clicked pixel until a key is pressed. Once a key is detected, the program will exit.

Example Output:

Clicked Pixel: #FF0000 (255, 0, 0)
Clicked Pixel: #00FF00 (0, 255, 0)

[User presses a key]

Program terminates.

Use case 4: Only print the RGB value

Code:

colorpicker --rgb

Motivation: The colorpicker command provides the flexibility to choose whether you want to retrieve only the RGB or hexadecimal value of the clicked pixel. By including the --rgb option, the program will only print the RGB value.

Explanation: Adding the --rgb option to the colorpicker command configures the program to only display the RGB value of each clicked pixel. This can be useful if you specifically need the RGB values for your application or project.

Example Output:

Clicked Pixel: (255, 0, 0)
Clicked Pixel: (0, 255, 0)
Clicked Pixel: (0, 0, 255)

Use case 5: Only print the hexadecimal value

Code:

colorpicker --hex

Motivation: Similar to the previous use case, this use case allows you to retrieve the hexadecimal value of the clicked pixel. Including the --hex option will display only the hexadecimal color value.

Explanation: By adding the --hex option to the colorpicker command, the program will print only the hexadecimal color value of each clicked pixel. This can be useful if you prefer working with hexadecimal values or need to provide them in a specific format.

Example Output:

Clicked Pixel: #FF0000
Clicked Pixel: #00FF00
Clicked Pixel: #0000FF

Conclusion:

The colorpicker command is a lightweight tool for capturing colors from your screen. Whether you want to continuously monitor pixel colors, retrieve a single color, or analyze multiple colors until a key is pressed, the colorpicker command provides various options to fit your needs. You can choose to view the color in either RGB or hexadecimal format, depending on your preference or project requirements. Experiment with these use cases to explore the colorpicker’s functionality and integrate it into your workflows.