Create your own free Mac color picker app that simply uses the built in system utility and supports hex

As a designer, I often need to pull a specific color off of a web site or an image. I’ve tried a lot of different options, but this free and simple one is the best.

There is actually a built-in utility already called Digital Color Meter but it has some serious limitations: it doesn't show hex values, and there's no way to click and lock in a color value. But it does have one redeeming quality: it has a really nice icon that you can use for your own color picker. 😊

To create your own color picker app:

1. Open the Script Editor app. (It’s in the Utilities folder; or just press Cmd Space and type the name)
2. Cmd N to create a new document
3. Type choose color in the script editor window
4. Click Export in the File menu
5. Type color picker (or really whatever you want to call it) in the name field
6. Choose Application as the file format
7. Click Save

That’s it. You now have a basic color picker app. To get to the hex values, click the color sliders (the second tab) and choose RGB in the drop down. If you want a better icon for it:

1. Navigate to the Digital Color Meter app and click to select it (It’s in the Utilities folder)
2. Cmd I to bring up the Get Info window
3. Click on the icon in the upper-left of the window
4. Cmd C to copy
5. Close the Get Info window
6. Navigate to your color picker app and click to select it
7. Cmd I to bring up the Get Info window
8. Click on the icon in the upper-left of the window
9. Cmd P to paste
10. Close the Get Info window