Gpick is a free, open-source color picker and palette editor for Linux. It can sample desktop colors with magnification and keyboard control of the pointer, and can create palettes from images. Palette tools include generating color schemes, mixing colors, varying lightness or saturation, and making harmonious colors. Oversampling averages multiple pixel values and offers five falloff types for sampling noisy or patterned sources. Gpick imports and exports Inkscape/GIMP palettes and Adobe Swatch Exchange files; exports also include MTL, CSS, HTML, and customizable text files. Exported HTML pages let people preview and share palettes without using palette-editing software. A floating picker mode has a pointer-following window and notification-area icon for basic picking, but does not provide palette editing or color adjustment. Command-line arguments allow use from other programs or scripts. The project repository identifies the license as BSD-3-Clause. Downloads include Debian and Ubuntu packages for amd64, plus source archives; the downloads page lists version 0.4.0-1 packages dated 2025-11-29.
Who it is for
It suits Linux users who want to sample desktop colors, build palettes for graphic design applications, and export palettes in several formats. The floating mode is for basic picking rather than palette editing or color adjustment.
What is good
- Samples colors with magnification and keyboard pointer control.
- Creates palettes from images and includes color scheme tools.
- Exports palettes as CSS, HTML, MTL, and other formats.
- Command-line arguments support use from programs or scripts.
What to know first
- Linux is the only listed platform.
- Floating mode lacks palette editing and color adjustment.
- No free trial is listed.
Verdict
Gpick combines desktop color sampling, image-based palette creation, and several import and export formats in a free Linux tool. Its floating mode is limited to basic picking, so users needing palette editing should use its other workflows.
Get started with Gpick
- Visit https://www.gpick.org/ and open the downloads page.
- Choose a Debian or Ubuntu package for amd64, or download a source archive.
- Install and open Gpick on Linux.
- Sample a desktop color or create a palette from an image.
- Import or export a supported palette format, or export an HTML page to share a preview.
Questions about Gpick
Is Gpick free?
Yes. The Gpick plan is free, and the project is open source under the BSD-3-Clause license.
Which platforms does it support?
The listed platform is Linux. The downloads page lists Debian and Ubuntu packages for amd64, plus source archives.
What palette formats can it import?
It imports Inkscape/GIMP palette files, Adobe Swatch Exchange files, and customizable text files.
What can it export?
Exports include Inkscape/GIMP palettes, Adobe Swatch Exchange, MTL, CSS, HTML, and customizable text files.
Can it create palettes from images?
Yes. Gpick can create palettes from images and includes color scheme, mixing, lightness, saturation, and harmony tools.
Can I use it without its palette editor?
Its floating picker mode supports basic color picking with a pointer-following window and notification-area icon, but not palette editing or color adjustment.
Gpick plans and pricing
All plansCompared on color palette generators
- Palette methods
- both
- Image extraction
- Yes
- Export formats
- GPL, ASE, MTL, CSS, HTML, customizable text file
- Saved palettes
- Yes
