Labeling Objects with Their HEX Color in Adobe Illustrator Using JavaScript

[Jotaze]

When working with multiple colored objects—such as UI elements, icons, charts, or brand palettes—it’s often useful to visually identify each color by its hexadecimal value. Adobe Illustrator does not provide a built-in way to automatically label arbitrary objects with their HEX colors, but JavaScript scripting makes this task easy and repeatable.


This introductory article demonstrates a simple script that reads the fill color of selected objects and places a HEX color label centered above each one.

What You’ll Learn​

• How Illustrator scripts access selected objects
• How to read an object’s fill color
• How to convert RGB values to HEX
• How to place and align text programmatically

This example is intentionally simple and ideal for beginners exploring Illustrator automation.

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Prerequisites​

Before running the script:

1. Open a document in Adobe Illustrator.
2. Select multiple objects that have fill colors.
3. Ensure the document is in RGB color mode (recommended for this script).

Note: CMYK, gradients, and patterns are not handled in this introductory example.

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The Script: Add HEX Labels to Selected Objects​

Save the following code as label-hex.jsx and run it via:


File → Scripts → Other Script…

#target illustrator

(function () {
    if (app.documents.length === 0) {
        alert("No document open.");
        return;
    }

    var doc = app.activeDocument;
    var selection = doc.selection;

    if (!selection || selection.length === 0) {
        alert("Please select one or more colored objects.");
        return;
    }

    // Convert RGB values to HEX
    function toHex(value) {
        value = Math.round(value);
        var hex = value.toString(16).toUpperCase();
        return hex.length === 1 ? "0" + hex : hex;
    }

    function rgbToHex(rgb) {
        return "#" +
            toHex(rgb.red) +
            toHex(rgb.green) +
            toHex(rgb.blue);
    }

    // Create or reuse a layer for labels
    var labelLayer;
    try {
        labelLayer = doc.layers.getByName("HEX Labels");
    } catch (e) {
        labelLayer = doc.layers.add();
        labelLayer.name = "HEX Labels";
    }

    for (var i = 0; i < selection.length; i++) {
        var item = selection[i];

        if (!item.filled || item.fillColor.typename !== "RGBColor") {
            continue;
        }

        var hexValue = rgbToHex(item.fillColor);
        var bounds = item.visibleBounds;

        // Center position above the object
        var centerX = (bounds[0] + bounds[2]) / 2;
        var topY = bounds[1] + 12;

        var text = labelLayer.textFrames.add();
        text.contents = hexValue;
        text.textRange.size = 10;

        // Center-align text
        text.paragraphs[0].paragraphAttributes.justification =
            Justification.CENTER;

        // Position text
        text.position = [
            centerX - text.width / 2,
            topY
        ];
    }

})();

What the Script Does​

1. Reads the current selection.
2. Extracts the RGB fill color of each object.
3. Converts RGB values into a HEX string.
4. Creates a text label showing the HEX value.
5. Places the label centered above the object.
6. Keeps labels organized in a dedicated layer (HEX Labels).

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Why This Is Useful​

• Faster color auditing and reviews
• Clear visual documentation for design systems
• Helpful for handoff between designers and developers
• Eliminates repetitive manual labeling

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Next Steps​

Once you’re comfortable with this example, you can extend it by:

• Supporting CMYK colors
• Automatically matching text color for contrast
• Adding background shapes to labels
• Reading stroke colors instead of fill colors
• Exporting color data to JSON or CSV

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This script is a great first step into using JavaScript as a productivity tool inside Adobe Illustrator—simple, safe, and immediately useful.