HSL to OKLCH Converter
HSL in, OKLCH out — with the working shown.
To convert HSL to OKLCH, normalise the input, convert HSL back to RGB, linearise the channels, move into the perceptual space, go polar, then check the gamut. For example, hsl(215.4 92.6% 57.6%) in HSL is oklch(61.82% 0.1935 258.33) in OKLCH.
This is a free HSL to OKLCH converter. Type or paste any hue, saturation and lightness into the field above and the OKLCH value updates as you type, along with every other notation the web understands. OKLCH is OKLab in polar form — perceptual lightness, absolute chroma and a hue angle.
Conversions run entirely in your browser using the same color engine as the rest of the site: values round-trip through linear sRGB and CIE XYZ rather than through an approximation, so what you copy is accurate to the last digit the format can carry.
How to convert HSL to OKLCH
- Normalise the input. Read the HSL value and scale each component into the 0–1 range the maths expects.
- Convert HSL back to RGB. HSL is not the display's native model, so the first move is always back to red, green and blue.
- Linearise the channels. Undo the sRGB gamma curve, because the encoded 0–255 numbers are not proportional to light and averaging them directly is what makes gradients go muddy.
- Move into the perceptual space. Convert linear RGB into LMS cone responses, take the cube root, and apply the OKLab matrix.
- Go polar. Chroma is the distance from the neutral axis and hue is the angle, so C = √(a² + b²) and H = atan2(b, a).
- Check the gamut. Clamp anything that falls outside what an sRGB display can show, so the value you copy is the value you get.
Worked example: hsl(215.4 92.6% 57.6%) converts to oklch(61.82% 0.1935 258.33). That color is Dodger Blue, and the tool above shows each intermediate step for whatever value you enter.
Common HSL to OKLCH values
The twenty colors people look up most often, converted from HSL to OKLCH. Every row is computed by the same engine as the tool above.
| Color | HSL | OKLCH |
|---|---|---|
| White | hsl(0 0% 100%) | oklch(100% 0 0) |
| Black | hsl(0 0% 0%) | oklch(0% 0 0) |
| Red | hsl(0 100% 50%) | oklch(62.8% 0.2577 29.23) |
| Lime | hsl(120 100% 50%) | oklch(86.64% 0.2948 142.5) |
| Blue | hsl(240 100% 50%) | oklch(45.2% 0.3132 264.05) |
| Yellow | hsl(60 100% 50%) | oklch(96.8% 0.211 109.77) |
| Cyan | hsl(180 100% 50%) | oklch(90.54% 0.1546 194.77) |
| Magenta | hsl(300 100% 50%) | oklch(70.17% 0.3225 328.36) |
| Silver | hsl(0 0% 75.3%) | oklch(80.78% 0 0) |
| Gray | hsl(0 0% 50.2%) | oklch(59.99% 0 0) |
| Maroon | hsl(0 100% 25.1%) | oklch(37.67% 0.1546 29.23) |
| Olive | hsl(60 100% 25.1%) | oklch(58.07% 0.1266 109.77) |
| Green | hsl(120 100% 25.1%) | oklch(51.98% 0.1769 142.5) |
| Purple | hsl(300 100% 25.1%) | oklch(42.09% 0.1935 328.36) |
| Teal | hsl(180 100% 25.1%) | oklch(54.31% 0.0927 194.77) |
| Navy | hsl(240 100% 25.1%) | oklch(27.11% 0.1879 264.05) |
| Orange | hsl(38.8 100% 50%) | oklch(79.27% 0.171 70.67) |
| Pink | hsl(349.5 100% 87.6%) | oklch(86.77% 0.0735 7.09) |
| Gold | hsl(50.6 100% 50%) | oklch(88.68% 0.1822 95.33) |
| Crimson | hsl(348 83.3% 47.1%) | oklch(57.12% 0.2219 20.09) |
HSL and OKLCH, briefly
HSL is a cylindrical remapping of RGB into hue (0–360°), saturation (0–100%) and lightness (0–100%). Valid range: H 0–360°, S and L 0–100%.
OKLCH is OKLab in polar form — perceptual lightness, absolute chroma and a hue angle. Valid range: L 0–100%, C 0–0.37 in sRGB, H 0–360°.
OKLCH is worth learning if you have not. Unlike HSL, equal steps of its lightness channel look equal to the eye, which is what makes generated ramps and hover states behave predictably across every hue.
Frequently asked questions
How do you convert HSL to OKLCH?
1. Read the HSL value and scale each component into the 0–1 range the maths expects. 2. HSL is not the display's native model, so the first move is always back to red, green and blue. 3. Undo the sRGB gamma curve, because the encoded 0–255 numbers are not proportional to light and averaging them directly is what makes gradients go muddy. 4. Convert linear RGB into LMS cone responses, take the cube root, and apply the OKLab matrix. 5. Chroma is the distance from the neutral axis and hue is the angle, so C = √(a² + b²) and H = atan2(b, a). 6. Clamp anything that falls outside what an sRGB display can show, so the value you copy is the value you get. The converter on this page does all of it as you type, and shows the working underneath.
What is hsl(0 100% 50%) in OKLCH?
Pure red, hsl(0 100% 50%), is oklch(62.8% 0.2577 29.23) in OKLCH. There is a table of twenty common colors converted to OKLCH further up this page.
What is hsl(215.4 92.6% 57.6%) in OKLCH?
hsl(215.4 92.6% 57.6%) converts to oklch(61.82% 0.1935 258.33). It is a dodger blue, and you can paste any other value into the field at the top of the page to convert it.
Is HSL to OKLCH conversion lossless?
Within sRGB, yes — converting to OKLCH and back returns the value you started with. The only rounding happens when a component is written out to a fixed number of decimal places.
Can I use OKLCH directly in CSS?
Yes. oklch(61.82% 0.1935 258.33) is valid CSS and works in every current browser. It is the modern choice, because it can also express colors outside sRGB on wide-gamut displays.
Does this HSL to OKLCH converter support transparency?
Alpha is preserved wherever the target notation can carry it — eight-digit hex, rgb() / a, hsl() / a and the modern CSS spaces all round-trip an alpha channel. CMYK has no alpha, so it is dropped there.
Is my color data sent anywhere?
No. Every conversion on this site runs in your browser with no network request, no account and no analytics. You can disconnect and it keeps working.