How to get the Hexadecimal codes of colors in Google Sheets

custom-functions google-sheets google-apps-script
Last updated: March 15, 2025

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to get the Hexadecimal codes (also known as HTML color codes) of the colors in Google Sheets' color picker.

A screenshot of the color picker in Google Sheets.

Prerequisites

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Step 1 — Create a Google Sheets spreadsheet and fill a couple of cells with different colors

Screenshot of a Google Sheets spreadsheet where the first few cells in Row 1 have been filled with different colors.

Step 2 — Write a Custom Function to return the HEX code of a cell's background color

Open the script editor from the Extensions menu (Extensions —> Apps Script) and replace the code in the editor with the code below.

/**
 * Returns the Hexadecimal value of a cell's background color.
 *
 * @param {number} row The cell's row number.
 * @param {number} column The cell's column number.
 * @return The Hexadecimal value of the cell's background color.
 * @customfunction
 */
function BGHEX(row, column) {
  var background = SpreadsheetApp.getActive().getDataRange().getCell(row, column).getBackground();
  return background;
}

How does the above code work?

  • The above code creates a custom function that you can use from your spreadsheet like any other built-in function.

  • The function takes the row and column coordinates of a single cell and it returns the background color of the cell.

Step 3 — Use the function to populate the HEX codes in the spreadsheet

Use the BGHEX() function in your spreadsheet to get the Hex code of any cell's background color.

A screenshot of the spreadsheet displaying the autocomplete UI for the BGHEX() function.

For example, entering the formula =BGHEX(ROW(B1), COLUMN(B1)) results in the Hex code #000000, which is the Hex code for the color black.

A screenshot of the spreadsheet that shows Cell B2 containing the value #000000.
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Step 4 — Populate the HEX codes for all the colors in the color picker

Use the formula to generate Hex codes for all of the colors in the color picker. The result should be a spreadsheet like the one below.

A screenshot of the spreadsheet containing the Hex codes for all of the colors in Google Sheets' color picker.

Hex codes of all the colors in Google Sheets' color picker

The table below lists all of the 80 colors in the color picker along with their names and Hex codes.

Row#

Color

Name

Hex code

1

black

#000000

1

dark gray 4

#434343

1

dark gray 3

#666666

1

dark gray 2

#999999

1

dark gray 1

#b7b7b7

1

gray

#cccccc

1

light gray 1

#d9d9d9

1

light gray 2

#efefef

1

light gray 3

#f3f3f3

1

white

#ffffff

2

red berry

#980000

2

red

#ff0000

2

orange

#ff9900

2

yellow

#ffff00

2

green

#00ff00

2

cyan

#00ffff

2

cornflower blue

#4a86e8

2

blue

#0000ff

2

purple

#9900ff

2

magenta

#ff00ff

3

light red berry 3

#e6b8af

3

light red 3

#f4cccc

3

light orange 3

#fce5cd

3

light yellow 3

#fff2cc

3

light green 3

#d9ead3

3

light cyan 3

#d0e0e3

3

light cornflower blue 3

#c9daf8

3

light blue 3

#cfe2f3

3

light purple 3

#d9d2e9

3

light magenta 3

#ead1dc

4

light red berry 2

#dd7e6b

4

light red 2

#ea9999

4

light orange 2

#f9cb9c

4

light yellow 2

#ffe599

4

light green 2

#b6d7a8

4

light cyan 2

#a2c4c9

4

light cornflower blue 2

#a4c2f4

4

light blue 2

#9fc5e8

4

light purple 2

#b4a7d6

4

light magenta 2

#d5a6bd

5

light red berry 1

#cc4125

5

light red 1

#e06666

5

light orange 1

#f6b26b

5

light yellow 1

#ffd966

5

light green 1

#93c47d

5

light cyan 1

#76a5af

5

light cornflower blue 1

#6d9eeb

5

light blue 1

#6fa8dc

5

light purple 1

#8e7cc3

5

light magenta 1

#c27ba0

6

dark red berry 1

#a61c00

6

dark red 1

#cc0000

6

dark orange 1

#e69138

6

dark yellow 1

#f1c232

6

dark green 1

#6aa84f

6

dark cyan 1

#45818e

6

dark cornflower blue 1

#3c78d8

6

dark blue 1

#3d85c6

6

dark purple 1

#674ea7

6

dark magenta 1

#a64d79

7

dark red berry 2

#85200c

7

dark red 2

#990000

7

dark orange 2

#b45f06

7

dark yellow 2

#bf9000

7

dark green 2

#38761d

7

dark cyan 2

#134f5c

7

dark cornflower blue 2

#1155cc

7

dark blue 2

#0b5394

7

dark purple 2

#351c75

7

dark magenta 2

#741b47

8

dark red berry 3

#5b0f00

8

dark red 3

#660000

8

dark orange 3

#783f04

8

dark yellow 3

#7f6000

8

dark green 3

#274e13

8

dark cyan 3

#0c343d

8

dark cornflower blue 3

#1c4587

8

dark blue 3

#073763

8

dark purple 3

#20124d

8

dark magenta 3

#4c1130

Conclusion

  • In this tutorial you learned how to write a custom function BGHEX() that returns the Hexadecimal code of a cell's background color.

  • You used the BGHEX() function to generate the Hexadecimal codes of all the colors in Google Sheets' color picker.

Thanks for reading!

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DISCLAIMER: This content is provided for educational purposes only. All code, templates, and information should be thoroughly reviewed and tested before use. Use at your own risk. Full Terms of Service apply.

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