# Colour > Three 12-step scales in two modes, their step roles, and the contrast rules that govern them. --- LLMS index: [llms.txt](/brand/v2.0.1/llms.txt) --- The palette is three scales — **midnight**, **orange**, and **slate** — each expressed as a 12-step ramp in a light and a dark variant. The step numbering follows the Radix convention, which assigns every step a *role*. Using a step outside its role is the single most common way to break the system. ## Core colours These are the named aliases most projects reach for first. They are shortcuts into the scales, not a separate palette. ## Step roles Every scale uses the same twelve roles in the same order: | Steps | Role | Used for | |---|---|---| | 1–2 | App and subtle backgrounds | Page and section surfaces | | 3–5 | Element backgrounds | Component fills, hover, active | | 6–8 | Borders | Subtle, default, and strong borders | | 9–10 | Solid | Solid fills and their hover state | | 11–12 | Text | Low-emphasis and high-emphasis text | ## Midnight
Midnight light · step 9 #1d3352
1 App bg
2 Subtle bg
3 Elem bg
4 Hover bg
5 Active bg
6 Subtle brd
7 Border
8 Strong brd
9 Solid bg
10 Solid hvr
11 Lo text
12 Hi text
Midnight dark · step 9 #1d3352
1 App bg
2 Subtle bg
3 Elem bg
4 Hover bg
5 Active bg
6 Subtle brd
7 Border
8 Strong brd
9 Solid bg
10 Solid hvr
11 Lo text
12 Hi text
Midnight is the primary. It carries structure, text, and the calm end of the system. Step 9 (`#1d3352`) is the brand primary and is identical in both modes. ## Orange
Orange light · step 9 #E05232
1 App bg
2 Subtle bg
3 Elem bg
4 Hover bg
5 Active bg
6 Subtle brd
7 Border
8 Strong brd
9 Solid bg
10 Solid hvr
11 Lo text
12 Hi text
Orange dark · step 9 #E05232
1 App bg
2 Subtle bg
3 Elem bg
4 Hover bg
5 Active bg
6 Subtle brd
7 Border
8 Strong brd
9 Solid bg
10 Solid hvr
11 Lo text
12 Hi text
Orange is the accent. It marks the primary action, the active state, and little else. Step 9 (`#E05232`) is constant across modes.
Do

Use orange for the single most important action in a view, active navigation state, and focus emphasis.

Don't

Use orange for large background fills, body text, or more than one competing call to action on the same screen.

## Slate
Slate light · step 9 #546a82
1 App bg
2 Subtle bg
3 Elem bg
4 Hover bg
5 Active bg
6 Subtle brd
7 Border
8 Strong brd
9 Solid bg
10 Solid hvr
11 Lo text
12 Hi text
Slate dark · step 9 #546a82
1 App bg
2 Subtle bg
3 Elem bg
4 Hover bg
5 Active bg
6 Subtle brd
7 Border
8 Strong brd
9 Solid bg
10 Solid hvr
11 Lo text
12 Hi text
Slate is the secondary — supporting text, borders, and neutral surfaces. Step 9 (`#546a82`) is the brand secondary and is constant across modes. ## Terminal The three scales cover every surface that has a light mode. A terminal does not: it has one surface, it is dark, and every colour in it is measured against that one background. It also needs six hues where the interface needs three, because programs have been writing to sixteen ANSI slots since long before this system existed. So the terminal palette is a fourth member of the system rather than a fifth scale — a fixed sixteen-slot palette plus its chrome, derived from the ramps and measured against `midnight-dark-1`.
# Name Normal On surface Bright On surface Provenance
0 black #0e1720 — #2e4b68 2.00:1 midnight-dark-1 / midnight-dark-6 — Box drawing and rules, not text — deliberately below the floor.
1 red #e55b5b 5.15:1 #f08b80 7.49:1 bright = danger-dark — Never the accent — an error and the brand must not look alike.
2 green #3f9d74 5.41:1 #6cc090 8.24:1 bright = success-dark
3 yellow #c08a1e 5.93:1 #e0a92a 8.50:1 bright = warning-dark — Gold, matching the warning role in the interface.
4 blue #6289b3 4.95:1 #8aacc8 7.59:1 bright = midnight-dark-11
5 magenta #bd6d96 4.98:1 #d491b4 7.32:1 terminal-only — The brand defines no magenta; this slot exists only here.
6 cyan #3f97a3 5.31:1 #74c0c9 8.71:1 terminal-only — The brand defines no cyan; this slot exists only here.
7 white #97a8b8 7.41:1 #c5daf0 12.62:1 slate-dark-11 / midnight-dark-12
Read the provenance column carefully. The **bright** ramp is the brand: where a hue already exists in the system, the bright slot takes that step verbatim. The **normal** ramp has no brand equivalent — the scales define one value per semantic role, not a dim and a bright — so each normal slot is its bright counterpart darkened until it reads a step back while still clearing the floor. Magenta and cyan exist in neither half of the brand. They are here because a terminal requires them, and nowhere else. ### Terminal chrome The accent gets no ANSI slot, because it is not semantic — it marks *where you are*. That, and the surfaces around the sixteen, live here.
RoleValueMeasured
Background #0e1720 the surface
Foreground #c5daf0 12.62:1
Cursor #e05232 4.67:1
Cursor text #0e1720 4.67:1 on the cursor
Selection background #20354d —
Selection text #c5daf0 8.74:1
Dim / comment #72889d 4.93:1
Status bar surface #131e2b —
Status bar text #c5daf0 11.74:1
Inactive tab and pane label #7b8da3 4.95:1
Active tab fill #e05232 4.67:1 with #0e1720 text
Active pane border #e05232 4.67:1
Inactive pane border #7b8da3 5.32:1
Every non-background value clears 4.5:1 against the surface; the measured floor is 4.95:1. ANSI 0 bright is the one deliberate exception — programs use it for box drawing and rules, not for text. Configuration for tmux, WezTerm, Kitty, iTerm2, and Zellij is on the [Terminal theming page](/brand/v2.0.1/docs/themes/terminal/). ## Contrast rules - **Never use pure `#000` or `#fff` as text.** Use step 12 of the relevant scale: `#142438` on light, `#c5daf0` on dark. - **Step 9 is constant across modes.** The solid accent does not shift when the theme changes. - **Body text targets 4.5:1**, large text (≥24px, or ≥18.66px bold) targets 3:1. - **Verify against the actual surface.** A step that passes on the app background may fail on an elevated panel. ### Where an identity colour cannot carry text Being the brand colour does not make a value a legible background. White on `orange-9` (`#E05232`) measures **3.87:1** — fine as a mark or a border, but below the floor for button labels. Rather than dilute the accent, the system adds a separate fill for that job: | Token | Hex | With white text | |---|---|---| | `--color-accent` | `#E05232` | 3.87:1 — identity only, not for text | | `--color-accent-solid` | `#cc4528` | 4.72:1 — solid controls | | `--color-accent-dark` | `#b84228` | 5.46:1 — hover and pressed | The same principle produced the [`code-comment` token](/brand/v2.0.1/docs/interface/code/): when no existing step can do the job accessibly, name a new one rather than misuse a step. ### Semantic colours are mode-specific The callout hues are tuned for **dark text on tinted light backgrounds**. Used as foregrounds on the dark app surface they fall below AA, so dark mode has its own set: | Role | Light | Dark | On `#0e1720` | |---|---|---|---| | Success | `#2f7d65` | `#6cc090` | 3.65:1 → 8.24:1 | | Warning | `#8b6508` | `#e0a92a` | 3.41:1 → 8.50:1 | | Danger | `#a8261c` | `#f08b80` | 2.55:1 → 7.49:1 | | Info | `#3a5a82` | `#8aacc8` | 2.55:1 → 7.59:1 | ## Dark mode Both modes are equally supported. See [Dark mode](/brand/v2.0.1/docs/interface/dark-mode/) for the implementation rules — theme switching, persistence, image treatment, and the always-dark code surface.