colour-science/colour

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

2642 stars · 290 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

Colour is an open-source Python library providing a comprehensive collection of colour science algorithms and datasets, including colour space conversions, chromatic adaptation models, colour appearance models, and spectral computations. It is a NumFOCUS-affiliated project released under the BSD-3-Clause license.

Use cases

• convert colors between color spaces like sRGB, CIE XYZ, and Lab
• compute CIECAM02 or CAM16 color appearance model values
• perform chromatic adaptation transforms for white balance
• convert spectral power distributions to tristimulus values
• simulate color blindness in images
• generate ACES input device transforms from camera sensitivities
• interpolate and extrapolate spectral data
• compute color difference metrics like Delta E

When to choose

• you need rigorous, standards-based colorimetry in Python
• you require a wide range of color appearance and adaptation models
• you need built-in spectral datasets like CIE color matching functions
• you want a well-maintained, NumFOCUS-affiliated scientific library

When to avoid

• you only need simple hex/RGB manipulation for web styling
• you need GPU-accelerated real-time color processing
• you want a GUI color picker or design tool
• you need color management via ICC profiles as a primary feature

Facets

library · maturity active

data-science image-processing math sdk computer-vision image-processing data-science graphics python cross-platform color-science colorimetry color-spaces spectral-data color-appearance-models chromatic-adaptation datasets algorithms

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markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="colour-science/colour")