I’ve been doing a lot of interface work lately, constantly switching between design tools and code editors. One persistent annoyance was converting color values between different formats - copying a HEX code from Figma, then manually converting it to RGB for CSS, or worse, trying to remember the Swift syntax for UIColor initialization. Universal Color Converter solves this exact problem, and it lives right in my menu bar.
The app’s premise is beautifully simple: paste or type any color value in HEX, RGB, or HSL format, and it instantly converts it to all supported formats. But where it really shines is in its code snippet generation. Instead of just showing you the converted values, it gives you ready-to-paste code for CSS, Swift (both AppKit and UIKit), Java, C#, and Dart. This is incredibly useful when you’re working across multiple platforms or need to share color specifications with teammates using different tech stacks.
I’ve been testing Universal Color Converter on my M2 MacBook Air running macOS 15.4, and it’s remarkably lightweight at just 217.6 KB. The menu bar icon shows a simple division symbol, which might seem minimal, but I appreciate that it doesn’t clutter my already-crowded menu bar with unnecessary visual noise. The app includes a color preview feature (added in version 1.3) that lets you see the actual color alongside the code, which helps prevent copy-paste errors.
The workflow is straightforward: click the menu bar icon, enter your color value in any format, and immediately see all the conversions and code snippets. For developers working with design systems or maintaining consistent branding across multiple platforms, this eliminates a surprising amount of friction. I particularly appreciate that it works offline and doesn’t require any network connection - your color data stays completely local.
At $1.99 on the Mac App Store, it’s a one-time purchase with no subscription or in-app purchases. The developer, Peng Lyu, has a strong privacy stance - the app collects no data whatsoever, which is exactly what you want for a developer utility tool. It requires macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer, so it should work on most modern Macs.
The limitations are worth noting: the app only supports HEX, RGBA, and HSL color formats. If you work with other color spaces like CMYK, LAB, or LCH, you’ll need a different tool. The code snippet support is also limited to the six languages mentioned - if you’re working in Python, Kotlin, or other languages, you’ll need to adapt the output manually. The interface is purely functional without any advanced features like color palette management or color picker integration.
For developers and designers who frequently translate colors between design tools and code, Universal Color Converter is a focused, privacy-respecting utility that does one thing well. It won’t replace full-featured color tools, but it’s perfect for quick conversions without leaving your workflow.
