CSS Gradient Generator
Build linear, radial, and conic gradients with a live preview and instant, ready-to-paste CSS.
Also known as: Gradient generator, CSS gradient maker, Background gradient tool
How it works
- 1Choose a gradient type: linear, radial, or conic.
- 2Adjust the angle (linear/conic) or shape (radial), or start from one of the 12 presets.
- 3Add, remove, or drag color stops to shape the blend exactly how you want it.
- 4Copy the generated CSS and paste it straight into your stylesheet.
Why use CSS Gradient Generator
All three CSS gradient types
Linear, radial, and conic gradients, each with their own angle/shape controls, not just a linear-only tool.
Up to 6 color stops
Build multi-color blends, not just two-color fades, with independent position control per stop.
12 curated presets
Sunset, Ocean, Neon, and more give you a real starting point instead of a blank gradient.
Live, pixel-accurate preview
What you see updates in real time and is exactly what the copied CSS will render.
Clean, minimal CSS output
A single background declaration, ready to paste with no extra tooling or build step required.
Nothing leaves your browser
The gradient you design is never transmitted anywhere — it's just local CSS rendering.
Who uses CSS Gradient Generator
Designing a hero section background
Build a smooth, on-brand gradient background for a landing page hero in seconds.
Creating a button or card hover effect
Generate a subtle gradient for buttons, cards, or badges that pops on hover.
Matching a gradient to brand colors
Start from a preset, then swap in your exact brand hex codes stop by stop.
Building a radial spotlight or glow effect
Use a radial gradient to fake a light source or highlight behind content.
Making a conic color wheel or progress ring
Conic gradients are the basis for pie-chart-style progress indicators and color pickers.
Prototyping quickly without a design tool
Skip opening Figma for a quick gradient — design and copy the CSS directly.
About CSS Gradient Generator
Gradients are one of the most-used visual effects in modern web design, but writing the CSS by hand means guessing at color-stop percentages and re-checking the browser after every tweak. This tool flips that around: you place and drag color stops on a live preview, and the CSS syntax — linear-gradient(), radial-gradient(), or conic-gradient() — is generated for you, always in perfect sync with what you see.
All three gradient types are supported with their own controls: linear gradients get an angle dial (0–359°), radial gradients let you choose between an elliptical or circular shape, and conic gradients rotate around a center point from a chosen starting angle. Every type supports up to 6 color stops, each independently positioned along the gradient with its own color and percentage.
Twelve built-in presets — Sunset, Ocean, Purple Haze, Neon, and more — give you a fast starting point that you can then fine-tune stop by stop, rather than starting from a blank two-color gradient every time. Swap in your own brand colors, nudge a stop's position, or add a third color for a richer blend.
The generated CSS is a single, clean background declaration ready to paste directly into your stylesheet or a component's inline style — no build step, no dependency, and nothing about the gradient you're designing is ever sent anywhere. Everything renders and updates locally in your browser.
CSS Gradient Generator vs. other options
How Open Tools Library compares to desktop software and other online tools.
| Feature | Open Tools Library | Desktop software | Other online tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, unlimited | Varies | Often paywalls conic gradients |
| Gradient types | Linear, radial, conic | Varies | Often linear-only |
| Color stops | Up to 6, free | Varies | Often capped at 2 |
| Account required | No | No | Sometimes required |
| Data privacy | Never leaves your device | Local | Often server-rendered |
Pro tips
- For a smoother blend across more of the gradient, add a third color stop in the middle rather than just two endpoints.
- Radial gradients default to centered — for an off-center glow effect, most browsers also support custom position keywords you can add to the copied CSS.
- Conic gradients are ideal for pie-chart or progress-ring effects — pair with border-radius: 50% on the element.
- Keep contrast in mind if you're placing text over a gradient — test the darkest and lightest points of the blend.
Technical specs
- Gradient types
- Linear, radial, conic
- Color stops
- 2 to 6 per gradient
- Presets
- 12 curated combinations
- Output
- Single CSS background declaration
- Processing location
- 100% local, in your browser
Privacy & security
A gradient is just colors and CSS — there's no reason it should ever need to touch a server to be designed.
Every gradient is rendered and computed entirely in your browser using plain CSS.
Nothing you design — colors, stops, angle — is transmitted or logged anywhere.
No account, no email, no login — just a gradient in, CSS out.
The same local-only guarantee applies whether you're prototyping or finalizing production CSS.
Frequently asked questions
Is this free to use for commercial projects?
Yes — the generated CSS is plain, standard CSS with no license restrictions, free for any personal or commercial use.
What's the difference between linear, radial, and conic gradients?
Linear gradients blend along a straight line at a chosen angle, radial gradients blend outward from a center point, and conic gradients rotate the blend around a center point like a color wheel.
Can I use more than 6 color stops?
The tool caps at 6 to keep the interface manageable, but you can manually add more stops to the copied CSS — the linear-gradient()/radial-gradient()/conic-gradient() syntax supports any number.
Does this generated CSS need any vendor prefixes?
No — all modern browsers support unprefixed linear-gradient, radial-gradient, and conic-gradient syntax.
Troubleshooting
The gradient looks banded instead of smooth
That's typically a display/monitor limitation on very subtle color transitions (color banding), not an issue with the generated CSS — it will render smoothly in most contexts.
My conic gradient doesn't look like a full circle
Conic gradients need the element to be as wide as it is tall — apply equal width/height and border-radius: 50% for a circular result.
The colors look different once I paste the CSS into my project
Check for a competing background-color or another background-image rule with higher specificity overriding the gradient in your stylesheet.
Related searches
Landed here looking for something worded a little differently? CSS Gradient Generator covers all of these too:
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