Design Library
GP-009 · K. Gaming and Pixel Art

Lospec Palette List

Database of pixel-art palettes, from old-hardware palettes (Game Boy, PICO-8) to artist-made sets (Endesga 32), with downloads as .png, .pal, .gpl, .hex and .json.

Summary

Database of pixel-art palettes, from old-hardware palettes (Game Boy, PICO-8) to artist-made sets (Endesga 32), with downloads as .png, .pal, .gpl, .hex and .json.

What it is

A database of limited colour palettes for pixel art.

Who it’s for

Choosing a restricted palette before drawing sprites or UI.

Monochrome darkCard gridTool-like, community
Lospec Palette List: hero image
Swatches drawn by Design Library from the hex values in Lospec’s public palette JSON (fetched 2026-10-24). PICO-8 palette: Lexaloffle Games; Endesga 32: ENDESGA; DMG-01 Accurate: bloo. Hex values are facts; the swatch artwork is ours.

Key takeaways

  • Our capture of the Lospec Palette List: dark page, filter panel (number of colours, tag, sort) and a long list of palette strips with name, author and download count.
  • Strength: hardware-accurate and artist palettes in one place, each downloadable as JSON, PNG and editor formats.
  • Risk: popular palettes are everywhere, so pick one and adjust it to make your game’s own.

Best practices to borrow

  • Choose the palette before you draw and lock your tools to it (OURS).
  • Download the .json or .gpl so the exact values reach your code and editor (OFFICIAL formats on https://lospec.com/palette-list).
  • Credit the palette and its creator in your credits when you use an artist palette such as Endesga 32 (OURS courtesy).
  • Check UI text contrast inside the palette: PICO-8 white #FFF1E8 on dark blue #1D2B53 is 13.0:1, but red #FF004D on black only 5.0:1 (our WCAG 2 calculation).
  • Use a near-black canvas, white text and at most one accent.
  • Use a uniform card grid with consistent thumbnails and minimal text per card; put filters above.
  • Pick one palette before drawing, export it as JSON/GPL, and test UI text contrast inside it.

Deep dive

A structured read of each source’s official README, licence file, package metadata or about page, fetched on 2026-10-24 (UTC+8). OFFICIAL = stated on the cited page or file; ESTIMATED = measured by us (CSS sizes, class and colour counts, contrast); OURS = our interpretation, not legal advice.

What it is

OFFICIAL
  • ‘The Lospec Palette List is a database of palettes for pixel art’, covering palettes from old hardware and palettes made by pixel artists.
  • Lospec’s About page calls these art forms ‘digitally restrictive art’ (https://lospec.com/about).

Source: lospec.com/palette-list

Palettes we rendered

OFFICIAL
  • PICO-8 (16): 000000 1D2B53 7E2553 008751 AB5236 5F574F C2C3C7 FFF1E8 FF004D FFA300 FFEC27 00E436 29ADFF 83769C FF77A8 FFCCAA; ‘PICO-8 is a virtual video game console created by Lexaloffle Games’.
  • Nintendo Gameboy (BGB) (4): 081820 346856 88C070 E0F8D0. DMG-01 Accurate (4, by bloo): 1B2A09 0E450B 496B22 9A9E3F.
  • Endesga 32 (32, by ENDESGA): the full list is in our PDF and figure.

Source: lospec.com/palette-list

Contrast inside the palettes

ESTIMATED
  • Our WCAG 2 calculations: PICO-8 #FFF1E8 on #1D2B53 13.0:1; #FF004D on #000000 5.0:1; Game Boy #E0F8D0 on #081820 16.5:1; #88C070 on #081820 9.2:1.

Source: lospec.com/palette-list

Pitfalls and lessons

OURS
  • Hardware palettes give instant era cues; artist palettes give better ramps. Either way, test UI text contrast in the palette.

Source: lospec.com/palette-list

ESTIMATED

Palette preview

#342F35~67%#605A63~5%#A0A095~3%

Quick links

Source PDF notes DESIGN.md Images (.zip)

Usage terms at a glance

Our plain-language summary of the license recorded above, as of 2026-10-24. Not legal advice: always read the source’s own terms before shipping.

Commercial use
Colour values: yes (OURS)
Attribution
Credit the palette creator (courtesy)
Redistribution
Don’t mirror the site; values are fine
How you get it
Website; per-palette JSON/PNG/GPL/PAL/HEX

How to use

JSON per palette: https://lospec.com/palette-list/pico-8.json
:root{--p8-0:#000000;--p8-1:#1D2B53;--p8-2:#7E2553;--p8-3:#008751;--p8-8:#FF004D;--p8-9:#FFA300;--p8-10:#FFEC27;--p8-12:#29ADFF}

Reference capture

What the source looked like when we analysed it. A fair-use page capture taken by this library; the site, its artwork and marks belong to their owner, and no asset files are redistributed here.

Page capture of Lospec Palette List (https://lospec.com/palette-list) as analysed on 2026-10-22
Reference capture of https://lospec.com/palette-list (landing view), taken 2026-10-24 16:42 (UTC+8) by this library with a headless browser at 1440×900, reduced to 1200px. Fair-use reference for design analysis only; the page, its artwork and marks belong to Lospec; palettes © their creators. Asset files are not redistributed through this capture: get them from the source under its licence.

Figures

Original figures made by Design Library from open-licensed files (MIT, OFL, CC0) or public palette values; each caption names the files and licences.

Swatches drawn by Design Library from the hex values in Lospec’s public palette JSON (fetched 2026-10-24). PICO-8 palette: Lexaloffle Games;
Swatches drawn by Design Library from the hex values in Lospec’s public palette JSON (fetched 2026-10-24). PICO-8 palette: Lexaloffle Games; Endesga 32: ENDESGA; DMG-01 Accurate: bloo. Hex values are facts; the swatch artwork is ours.
Download full resolutionOur swatch render of Lospec palette values; palettes credited to their creators.

Related entries

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ESTIMATED

Dominant palette from our captures

Measured by us from our screenshot(s) of https://lospec.com/palette-list (median-cut quantization; share = % of pixels). Approximate and not official.

#342F35~67% of pixels#605A63~5% of pixels#A0A095~3% of pixels

Layout pattern: Card grid

Observed by us on the captured page(s). See all entries by layout.

How to apply it: Use a uniform card grid with consistent thumbnails and minimal text per card; put filters above.

Other entries with this layout: Fontshare, Logobook, Dribbble · logo tag, Behance · logo projects, Simple Icons, Airbnb, Boring Avatars, Storyset, Game UI Database, OpenGameArt.org (+ itch.io free assets).

Components

Observed on the captured pages.

  • Palette strip cards
  • Filter by colour count and tag
  • Downloads (.png/.pal/.gpl/.hex/.json)
  • Palette detail with examples

Our analysis

Our capture of the Lospec Palette List: dark page, filter panel (number of colours, tag, sort) and a long list of palette strips with name, author and download count. Strength: hardware-accurate and artist palettes in one place, each downloadable as JSON, PNG and editor formats. Risk: popular palettes are everywhere, so pick one and adjust it to make your game’s own.

Monochrome darkCard gridTool-like, community

Similar to this

Ranked by shared color theme, layout, category, type and mood tags.

GP-008 · Game Asset Library

OpenGameArt.org (+ itch.io free assets)

Monochrome darkCard grid
GP-005 · Game UI Reference

Game UI Database

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GP-003 · CSS Framework

RPGUI

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GP-006 · Game UI Reference

Interface In Game

Monochrome darkCentered hero

Downloads

PDF notes All images (.zip) DESIGN.md

PDF: research notes made for this library; third-party images inside follow the credits in their captions. License / terms of the source: Site content © Lospec; each palette is credited to its creator. Hex values are shown as facts here; swatches are our own render

DESIGN.md for AI coding agents

Copy this into your repo or agent context. OFFICIAL and ESTIMATED values are labelled.

Download .mdAll entries
# DESIGN.md · Lospec Palette List (GP-009)

> Written for AI coding agents. Values marked **OFFICIAL** come from the documented source named below; values marked **ESTIMATED** were measured by us from our own screenshots and are approximate. Never treat ESTIMATED values as official brand tokens.

## Overview
- Type: Palette Library · Category: K. Gaming and Pixel Art
- Platforms: Web
- Color theme: Monochrome dark · Layout pattern: Card grid · Mood: Tool-like, community
- License / terms: Site content © Lospec; each palette is credited to its creator. Hex values are shown as facts here; swatches are our own render

Database of pixel-art palettes, from old-hardware palettes (Game Boy, PICO-8) to artist-made sets (Endesga 32), with downloads as .png, .pal, .gpl, .hex and .json.

### Analysis (ours)
Our capture of the Lospec Palette List: dark page, filter panel (number of colours, tag, sort) and a long list of palette strips with name, author and download count. Strength: hardware-accurate and artist palettes in one place, each downloadable as JSON, PNG and editor formats. Risk: popular palettes are everywhere, so pick one and adjust it to make your game’s own.

### Best practices (ours)
- Choose the palette before you draw and lock your tools to it (OURS).
- Download the .json or .gpl so the exact values reach your code and editor (OFFICIAL formats on https://lospec.com/palette-list).
- Credit the palette and its creator in your credits when you use an artist palette such as Endesga 32 (OURS courtesy).
- Check UI text contrast inside the palette: PICO-8 white #FFF1E8 on dark blue #1D2B53 is 13.0:1, but red #FF004D on black only 5.0:1 (our WCAG 2 calculation).

### Deep analysis
Values marked OFFICIAL come from the cited official page, README, licence file or package metadata, fetched 2026-10-24 (UTC+8). ESTIMATED values were measured by us that day (CSS file sizes from unpkg, class and colour counts, contrast ratios). OURS is our interpretation, not legal advice.

#### What it is (OFFICIAL) · source: https://lospec.com/palette-list
- ‘The Lospec Palette List is a database of palettes for pixel art’, covering palettes from old hardware and palettes made by pixel artists.
- Lospec’s About page calls these art forms ‘digitally restrictive art’ (https://lospec.com/about).

#### Palettes we rendered (OFFICIAL) · source: https://lospec.com/palette-list
- PICO-8 (16): 000000 1D2B53 7E2553 008751 AB5236 5F574F C2C3C7 FFF1E8 FF004D FFA300 FFEC27 00E436 29ADFF 83769C FF77A8 FFCCAA; ‘PICO-8 is a virtual video game console created by Lexaloffle Games’.
- Nintendo Gameboy (BGB) (4): 081820 346856 88C070 E0F8D0. DMG-01 Accurate (4, by bloo): 1B2A09 0E450B 496B22 9A9E3F.
- Endesga 32 (32, by ENDESGA): the full list is in our PDF and figure.

#### Contrast inside the palettes (ESTIMATED) · source: https://lospec.com/palette-list
- Our WCAG 2 calculations: PICO-8 #FFF1E8 on #1D2B53 13.0:1; #FF004D on #000000 5.0:1; Game Boy #E0F8D0 on #081820 16.5:1; #88C070 on #081820 9.2:1.

#### Pitfalls and lessons (OURS) · source: https://lospec.com/palette-list
- Hardware palettes give instant era cues; artist palettes give better ramps. Either way, test UI text contrast in the palette.

### Usage terms at a glance (our summary, not legal advice)
- Commercial use: Colour values: yes (OURS)
- Attribution: Credit the palette creator (courtesy)
- Redistribution: Don’t mirror the site; values are fine
- How you get it: Website; per-palette JSON/PNG/GPL/PAL/HEX

## Color tokens
No official color tokens documented for this entry.

ESTIMATED · dominant colors measured from our screenshot(s) of the source site (median-cut quantization; share = % of pixels). Approximate, not official:

- `#342F35` ~67%
- `#605A63` ~5%
- `#A0A095` ~3%

## Typography
No official type scale documented for this entry; use the product’s own typography guidance.

## Spacing, radii, shadows
Not documented for this entry. Do not invent values; derive from your own design system.

## Components
- Palette strip cards
- Filter by colour count and tag
- Downloads (.png/.pal/.gpl/.hex/.json)
- Palette detail with examples

## Layout rules
- Observed layout pattern: **Card grid** (from our captures).

## Usage
```
JSON per palette: https://lospec.com/palette-list/pico-8.json
:root{--p8-0:#000000;--p8-1:#1D2B53;--p8-2:#7E2553;--p8-3:#008751;--p8-8:#FF004D;--p8-9:#FFA300;--p8-10:#FFEC27;--p8-12:#29ADFF}
```

## Do’s and don’ts
- Do: Use a near-black canvas with high-contrast white text and at most one accent.
- Don’t: Don’t add multiple saturated accents or light-mode shadows.
- Do: follow the source’s license/terms listed above.
- Don’t: present ESTIMATED colors as official tokens.

## Sources
- https://lospec.com/palette-list
- Library entry: https://design-library-byt.pages.dev/entry/GP-009