Chinese color, queried with context.
Build color-aware tools with a server-to-server API for 161 cleared records. Match, search, and inspect usage through the current live CathyColor contract.
- Monthly price
- US$19
- Cleared records
- 161
- Match allowance
- 2,000 input colors / UTC month
- Search allowance
- 1,000 searches / UTC month
- Service terms
- Manual activation and renewal · no free tier · no SLA
A narrow surface, built for useful work.
The public API offers bounded queries and no bulk-list endpoint. The public atlas and authorized response data remain copyable, so request limits are usage controls rather than an anti-scraping guarantee.
Perceptual color matching
Submit 1–5 RGB inputs per request and receive up to three matches per input, ranked with perceptual distance and similarity fields.
Source-aware search
Search Chinese and English names, pinyin, stable slugs, or HEX. Results are limited to ten records and include reliability labels.
Hard monthly limits
Each UTC calendar month allows up to 2,000 match input colors and 1,000 searches. Caps do not roll over and there are no overage charges or automatic top-ups.
Manual Beta fulfillment
The Pilot is US$19/month, billed on a purchase-date schedule. Payment does not activate access; initial activation and every renewal are fulfilled manually after payment verification.
Bounded queries, clearly stated limits.
161-record commercial projection
Commercial endpoints query a cleared 161-record projection. No API endpoint returns a full list of color records or a bulk export.
Server-to-server use
Every endpoint requires an active API key. Browser CORS is unsupported; make requests from your server.
Public data remains copyable
The CathyColor atlas remains publicly readable, and authorized API responses can be copied. Endpoint and account limits define API usage; they are not a guarantee against scraping or reconstruction.
One namespace for Chinese color.
Use the current live production origin api.chinesecoloratlas.com. Billing renews by purchase date; the hard usage caps reset independently at the start of each UTC calendar month and do not roll over.
/v1/libraryRead dataset metadata — never a list of color records.
/v1/usageInspect current UTC-month usage and remaining quota.
/v1/matchMatch one to five RGB inputs against the 161-record cleared projection.
/v1/searchSearch the cleared projection with a maximum of ten results.
Purchase does not activate API access.
An operator verifies payment and a valid RSA public key in JWK format, then manually activates the account and delivers the encrypted key within 24 hours. Renewals are also handled manually.