ForHosting KIT · Developer Utilities

Expand shorthand hex color

CSS and design tools often write colors as three-digit shorthand such as hash f zero a instead of the full six-digit form hash f f zero zero a a.

● BetaFree · in your browser

Run — free How it works & API

Use it from WebAPIEmailTelegramApp soon

Browsers expand that shorthand by doubling every hex digit so each channel becomes a full byte. This expand shorthand hex color tool takes a three-digit code with or without a leading hash, validates that every character is a hexadecimal digit, and returns the deterministic six-digit expansion plus the corresponding red, green, and blue channel integers. Front-end developers use it when design tokens arrive as short codes and stylesheets, snapshots, or design systems require the long form. Students and QA scripts use it to check that a handwritten palette matches the CSS Color Module rule byte for byte. The engine never calls the network, never samples randomness, and never depends on the clock, so free browser runs and API calls at $0.002 per successful request always agree on the same #RRGGBB string.

How to use it

Enter your values in the form above. The tool checks them before calculating and shows the result on the same page.

Check your inputs

Use the labels and units shown next to each field. If something is missing or outside the allowed range, the page points to the field to fix.

Use it again or automate it

Use the browser tool for individual checks and the API when you need the same capability in an automated workflow.

What you can do with it

Get an answer now

Enter one set of values and see the result without building a spreadsheet or script.

Compare scenarios

Change one value at a time and rerun the calculation to understand what affects the result.

Automate repeated work

Use the API when the same calculation needs to run inside your product or workflow.

FAQ

How do I use this capability?

Complete the fields above and run it on this page. The form highlights anything that needs attention.

For developers — API access

Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.

API endpoint

POSThttps://api.kit.forhosting.com/color/hex3-hex6

Prefer to automate it? One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. The same capability also runs here on the web, by email and from Telegram — and soon from our app too.

Call it from your stack

curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/color/hex3-hex6 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"hex":"#f0a"}'

const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/color/hex3-hex6", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "hex": "#f0a"
  })
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/color/hex3-hex6",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
    json={
    "hex": "#f0a"
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]

<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/color/hex3-hex6", false, stream_context_create([
  "http" => [
    "method"  => "POST",
    "header"  => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
    "content" => '{"hex":"#f0a"}',
  ],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);

body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"hex":"#f0a"}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/color/hex3-hex6", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

Example request

{
  "hex": "#f0a"
}

Example response

{
  "task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
  "type": "color.hex3_hex6",
  "status": "queued",
  "_links": {
    "result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
  }
}

The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.

Pricing

Per request$0.002

Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.

Errors

HTTP	Code	Meaning
`401`	`unauthorized`	Missing or invalid API key.
`402`	`insufficient_balance`	Your balance doesn't cover the task price.
`404`	`unknown_type`	That task type doesn't exist.
`429`	`rate_limited`	Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling.

Read the full KIT documentation →