Export Formats Overview

Palettize supports exporting colormaps to 14 different formats for GIS applications, web mapping, and data visualization.

Available Formats

Identifier	Name	Extension	Use Case
gdal	GDAL Color Relief	.txt	GDAL gdaldem color-relief
qgis	QGIS Color Ramp XML	.xml	QGIS styles and projects
sld	OGC SLD XML	.sld	GeoServer, WMS services
titiler	TiTiler Colormap URL	.txt	TiTiler tile server
mapgl	MapLibre GL JS	.json	MapLibre/Mapbox web maps
observable	Observable Plot	.json	Observable notebooks
gee	Google Earth Engine	.js	GEE Code Editor
hex	Plaintext Hex	.txt	General purpose
rgba	Plaintext RGBA	.txt	CSS/web development
hsl	Plaintext HSL	.txt	CSS/web development
json	JSON	.json	JavaScript apps, config files
css	CSS Custom Properties	.css	Web design systems
gimp	GIMP Palette	.gpl	GIMP, Inkscape, Krita
svg	SVG Gradient	.svg	Web graphics, design tools

Quick Usage

CLI

# Run with uvx (no installation required)
uvx palettize create viridis --format gdal --output viridis.txt --domain 0,255

# Or if installed
palettize create viridis --format gdal --output viridis.txt --domain 0,255

# Multiple formats
palettize create viridis --format gdal,qgis,mapgl \
  --output "{name}_{format}.{ext}" --domain 0,255

Python

from palettize import create_colormap, get_scaler_by_name, get_exporter

cmap = create_colormap(preset="viridis")
scaler = get_scaler_by_name("linear", domain_min=0, domain_max=255)
exporter = get_exporter("gdal")

output = exporter.export(
    colormap=cmap,
    scaler=scaler,
    domain_min=0,
    domain_max=255,
    options={"num_colors": 256}
)

Format Categories

GIS Formats

• GDAL: For raster processing with GDAL command-line tools
• QGIS: For QGIS desktop GIS styling
• SLD: For OGC-compliant web services (GeoServer, WMS)

Web Mapping Formats

• TiTiler: For dynamic tile server colorization
• MapLibre GL JS: For browser-based vector/raster maps
• Observable Plot: For Observable notebooks and D3 visualizations

Satellite/Remote Sensing

• Google Earth Engine: For GEE Code Editor scripts

Web Development Formats

• JSON: Flexible JSON arrays/objects for JavaScript applications
• CSS: CSS custom properties for design systems
• SVG: SVG gradient elements for web graphics

Design Tool Formats

• GIMP: GIMP Palette format (.gpl) for graphics applications

Generic Formats

• Hex: Simple hex color lists for any application
• RGBA: CSS-compatible RGBA values
• HSL: CSS-compatible HSL values

Common Options

num_colors is accepted by almost every format. precision is read by gdal and mapgl only. Unknown -O keys produce a warning and are otherwise ignored. Run palettize formats <name> for the options a format actually declares.

Option	Type	Default	Description
num_colors	int	varies	Number of color steps
precision	int	(unset)	Decimal places for data values (gdal, mapgl)
name	str		Colormap name for output metadata

Passing Options via CLI

Use the -O or --option flag:

# Global option (applies to all formats)
palettize create viridis -f gdal -O num_colors=256

# Format-specific option
palettize create viridis -f gdal,qgis -O gdal:num_colors=256 -O qgis:ramp_type=exact

Passing Options via Python

Pass a dictionary to the options parameter:

output = exporter.export(
    colormap=cmap,
    scaler=scaler,
    domain_min=0,
    domain_max=255,
    options={
        "num_colors": 256,
        "name": "My Colormap"
    }
)

Choosing a Format

If you need to…	Use
Apply colors to rasters with GDAL	gdal
Style layers in QGIS	qgis
Publish to GeoServer or WMS	sld
Colorize COGs with TiTiler	titiler
Style web maps with MapLibre	mapgl
Create D3/Observable visualizations	observable
Analyze satellite data in GEE	gee
Just need a list of colors	hex, rgba, or hsl
Use colors in JavaScript/config files	json
Create CSS design system variables	css
Use colors in GIMP/Inkscape/Krita	gimp
Create web graphics with gradients	svg