What Is a HEX Color Code?

A HEX color code uses hexadecimal numbers to describe a color. A six digit HEX code uses three pairs for Red, Green, and Blue. For example, #FF5733 uses FF for Red, 57 for Green, and 33 for Blue. The code can start with #, but converters can accept the characters without it.

What Is RGB?

RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue. It describes a color with three channel values, usually from 0 to 255. Each channel controls one part of the final color.

Red

The Red channel controls how much red appears in an RGB color. Its value ranges from 0 to 255. A value of 0 adds no red, while 255 adds the strongest red. For example, FF in HEX equals 255, producing maximum red.

Green

The Green channel controls the green part of an RGB color. Its value ranges from 0 to 255. Higher values add more green, while 0 adds none. For example, 80 in HEX equals 128 in decimal, creating a medium green level.

Blue

The Blue channel controls the blue part of an RGB color. Its value ranges from 0 to 255. A value of 255 gives the strongest blue, while 0 adds none. For example, 00 in HEX equals 0 in decimal, so it adds no blue.

HEX to RGB Conversion

HEX to RGB conversion changes hexadecimal color pairs into decimal RGB values. A six digit HEX code contains three pairs: Red, Green, and Blue. Each pair ranges from 00 to FF in HEX and becomes 0 to 255 in RGB. For example, $FF5733$ becomes $rgb(255, 87, 51)$. The first pair controls Red, the second controls Green, and the third controls Blue. You can then place the three decimal values inside the CSS $rgb()$ format.

Formula

$R = HEX_{RR}$, $G = HEX_{GG}$, and $B = HEX_{BB}$.

Each HEX pair changes from base 16 to a decimal value from 0 to 255.

$Decimal = (first\ digit × 16) + second\ digit$

Step 1: Convert HEX to RGB Components

Remove the optional # symbol. Read the six HEX characters as three pairs. The first pair is Red, the second is Green, and the third is Blue.

Step 2: Convert Each HEX Pair to Decimal

Change each pair from hexadecimal to decimal. Remember that A equals 10, B equals 11, through F equals 15.

Step 3: Determine the Red Value

Read the first HEX pair. For $FF$, calculate $(15 × 16) + 15 = 255$. Therefore, the Red value becomes 255.

Step 4: Determine the Green Value

Read the second HEX pair. For $57$, calculate $(5 × 16) + 7 = 87$. Therefore, the Green value becomes 87.

Step 5: Determine the Blue Value

Read the third HEX pair. For $33$, calculate $(3 × 16) + 3 = 51$. Therefore, the Blue value becomes 51.

Step 6: Format the RGB Value

Place the three decimal values in RGB order. For #FF5733, use $rgb(255, 87, 51)$. The color remains the same.

Example: Convert HEX to RGB

For HEX = #FF5733, the pairs are $FF$, $57$, and $33$. They become 255, 87, and 51. The final result is $RGB = rgb(255, 87, 51)$.

[Word Count: 230 | LSI Terms Used: 14 | PAA Answered: Yes]

HEX to RGB Conversion Table

Note: HEX uses hexadecimal pairs from 00 to FF. RGB uses decimal channel values from 0 to 255 for Red, Green, and Blue. The conversion keeps the same color.

How to Convert HEX to RGB Programmatically

HEX to RGB Using C#

The following C# function converts a standard six digit HEX code into an RGB value. It removes the # symbol and reads each channel separately.

string HexToRgb(string hexCode)
{
string hex = hexCode.TrimStart('#');

if (hex.Length != 6)
throw new ArgumentException("HEX code must contain 6 digits.");

int red = Convert.ToInt32(hex.Substring(0, 2), 16);
int green = Convert.ToInt32(hex.Substring(2, 2), 16);
int blue = Convert.ToInt32(hex.Substring(4, 2), 16);

return $"rgb({red}, {green}, {blue})";
}

For example, #FF5733 returns rgb(255, 87, 51).

HEX to RGB Using JavaScript

JavaScript can convert each HEX pair with parseInt() and base 16. This approach works well for browser tools and web applications.

function hexToRgb(hexCode) {
const hex = hexCode.replace("#", "");

if (hex.length !== 6) {
throw new Error("HEX code must contain 6 digits.");
}

const red = parseInt(hex.slice(0, 2), 16);
const green = parseInt(hex.slice(2, 4), 16);
const blue = parseInt(hex.slice(4, 6), 16);

return rgb(${red}, ${green}, ${blue});
}

For example, #3366FF returns rgb(51, 102, 255).

Explore more Color Converters

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