Support Center

Chrome Extension: Works with Articulate Rise, Figma, Canva, Adobe Express, Webflow, Framer, Miro, Notion, Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Spline, and Penpot.

Mac App: Works in any application on your Mac - Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Affinity, Sketch, Procreate, Microsoft Office, Keynote, and literally any other app.

Windows App: Works in any application on your PC - Photoshop, Illustrator, Affinity, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, Figma Desktop, and any other app.

The Chrome extension auto-positions for each supported site. The desktop apps work system-wide.

Chrome Extension:

1. Visit the Chrome Web Store
2. Click "Add to Chrome"
3. Open any supported site (Figma, Canva, Rise, etc.)
4. BuddyBar appears automatically

Mac App:

1. Download from our website
2. Move to your Applications folder
3. Open the app - it will appear in your menu bar
4. Grant Accessibility permission when prompted (for the keyboard shortcut)

Windows App:

1. Download the installer from our website
2. Run the setup file
3. BuddyBar will appear in your system tray

All versions sync automatically on the same computer!

Unlimited! Since version 2.0, you can add as many colors as you need to each template.

The first 6 colors are always visible. Click the expand button to see additional colors, or drag to reorder them however you like.

You can also create multiple templates to organize colors by brand, project, or client.

The Chrome extension shows a short welcome page the first time you install it, introducing BuddyBar and listing the design tools it works with.

It also opens if you click the toolbar icon on a site BuddyBar doesn't support — jumping straight to the section that explains where it works. Previously that click did nothing at all, which made it look like the extension was broken.

Right-click any color swatch to open the color editor. You can:

• Use the visual color picker
• Type a hex code directly (e.g., #FF5733)
• Paste RGB or HSL values (e.g., rgb(255, 87, 51) or hsl(14, 100%, 60%)) - they convert automatically
• Click the preview square to open your system color picker

Changes save automatically and update across all your templates.

Right-click any color swatch and you'll see the color editor popup. There's a name field where you can give each color a custom name (like "Brand Blue" or "CTA Orange").

BuddyBar also shows smart color names automatically - so even without a custom name, you'll see something like "Coral" instead of just "#FFA69E".

You can also rename templates using the pencil icon in the template dropdown.

When you right-click a color to edit it, you'll see a Text Preview section that shows how your color looks as text on light and dark backgrounds.

Each preview shows a label:

• Readable - Good contrast, works for any text
• OK for headings - Works for large text only
• Hard to read - Avoid for text

This helps you choose colors that are accessible and easy to read in your designs.

For a full overview of all your color pairs at once, try the Readability Checker (shield icon on the bar). It shows a visual matrix of every text/background combination. Double-click any failing cell to auto-fix the contrast in place.

Yes! In v6.0, you can choose your preferred copy format from settings: HEX, HEX (no #), RGB, HSL, or CSS variable.

Open settings (gear icon) and pick your default under Copy Format. Every swatch click will use that format automatically.

See how others see it shows your palette the way people with different types of color vision see it. Open it from the toolbar on Mac or Windows.

If two of your colors look nearly identical under a certain type of color vision, BuddyBar warns you in plain English about the look-alike pair so you can adjust before it becomes a problem in your design.

Open the overflow panel (the "..." button) on Mac or Windows and you'll see your last 8 copied colors. Click any of them to copy that color again.

This works across templates, so a color you copied from another palette five minutes ago is still one click away.

The Chrome extension now has an eyedropper: click it and pick any color straight from the page using the browser's built-in picker. It's available from the toolbar and inside the color editor.

Grab this page's colors goes one step further — one click extracts the current page's main colors into a brand-new template. It's a fast way to capture a site's palette for reference or inspiration.

Shade ladders show 10 tonal variations of any color, from very light to very dark. They replace the old Variations view from v5.0.

Open the edit color popup and look for the Shades section. Click any shade to copy its hex code. The info button explains what shades are for.

Click the wand icon in the toolbar to run a one-click palette audit. It checks three things:

• Issues - Colors that are too similar or missing contrast pairs
• Color Harmony - Whether your colors have a natural relationship
• Role Ideas - Suggestions like Primary, Accent, or Background for each color

Click any role suggestion to rename that color, or use Apply All to rename everything at once.

Open the readability checker (shield icon), then double-click any failing cell (marked with a warning or X). BuddyBar will adjust the text color's lightness to meet WCAG contrast standards while keeping the same hue and saturation.

The fix happens in place so you can see the change immediately without closing the panel.

It lets AI coding assistants read your palette directly, so you can ask for "the brand blue" instead of hunting down a hex code. Open Settings → Connect Your AI Tools on Mac, choose which palette they should use, and tick the tools you have installed — BuddyBar handles the setup.

BuddyBar also passes along which color pairs are readable as text, so what the tool builds respects your contrast rules without you having to explain them.

It's read-only: a tool can look at your colors but can never change them. Nothing is uploaded — the connection is entirely between apps on your own Mac. Untick a tool at any time to disconnect it.

Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, Gemini, and Codex. The panel only lists the ones it finds on your Mac, so it stays short.

Using something else? There's a Copy setup snippet button that puts the details on your clipboard to paste into any tool that accepts them.

Each row shows when that tool last read your colors, so you can tell the connection is working.

To create a new template: Click the + button. You can create a blank template, generate one from the scheme generator, or drag an image onto the bar to extract colors.

To switch templates: Use the dropdown menu to select any saved template.

To rename: Click the pencil icon and type a new name.

To delete: Click the × button (you must have at least one template).

Export/Import .buddybar files:

1. In the template dropdown, click the download icon next to any template
2. This saves a .buddybar file to your computer
3. Share the file with your team however you prefer
4. Team members can drag the file onto BuddyBar to import it

No account needed - just share the file!

Choose Make a dark version (Mac and Windows) and BuddyBar generates a dark-background counterpart of your current template as a new template — your original is never touched.

Readability is fixed automatically, so text and accent colors that worked on light backgrounds are adjusted to stay readable on dark ones.

To lock a single color, open the edit color popup and click the lock icon next to the title. Locked colors show a small lock badge on their swatch and cannot be edited, deleted, or dragged.

To lock an entire template, click the lock icon in the toolbar. When locked, you can still copy colors but nothing else can be changed. The lock turns amber when active.

In the Chrome extension press Ctrl+Shift+B (⌃⇧B on Mac) while you're on a supported site. The Mac app uses the same combination as a global shortcut, system-wide in any application (this needs Accessibility permission).

The Windows app uses Ctrl+Shift+Alt+B as of version 6.2, so it doesn't take Ctrl+Shift+B away from the Chrome extension on the same machine. If another program has already claimed it, BuddyBar falls back to Ctrl+Alt+B and the tray menu shows which combination is active.

This is useful when you need more screen space or want to capture a clean screenshot.

Chrome Extension: Works with Articulate Rise, Figma, Canva, Adobe Express, Webflow, Framer, Miro, Notion, Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Spline, and Penpot. Want support for a new browser-based tool? Let me know using the contact form!

Mac App: Works in any application on your Mac! Since it lives in the menu bar, you can access your colors in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Affinity, Sketch, Procreate, Microsoft Office, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, or anywhere else.

Windows App: Works in any application on your PC! Runs from the system tray, so you can access your colors in Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Affinity, Blender, Microsoft Office, or anywhere else.

Chrome Extension: BuddyBar auto-positions itself optimally for each design tool. You can drag it anywhere, and your position is remembered per-site.

Mac App: The color bar floats on screen and you can drag it anywhere. Your position is saved automatically.

Yes! If you have the Chrome extension and a desktop app (Mac or Windows) on the same computer, your colors sync automatically via native messaging.

Changes made in Chrome appear in the desktop app, and vice versa. No account needed - it all happens locally on your computer.

Colors also sync across all browser tabs in real-time.

Have multiple devices? Both the Mac and Windows apps support cloud sync. Go to Settings and choose a sync folder in iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or any folder you prefer. All your devices will stay in sync automatically.

Dropbox and OneDrive are recommended for the best cross-platform experience. They work reliably on both Mac and Windows, so your templates stay in sync no matter which device you're on.

Google Drive also works well if you already use it.

iCloud is Mac-only. It works great for syncing between multiple Macs, but it won't sync with a Windows PC. If you use both Mac and Windows, choose Dropbox or OneDrive instead.

To set up cloud sync, open BuddyBar Settings and select your preferred sync folder. Any cloud-synced folder on your computer will work — BuddyBar just needs a folder path.

Yes! This is mainly a Chrome extension feature - your templates are shared across all supported browser-based tools (Figma, Canva, Rise, etc.).

If you have the Chrome extension and a desktop app (Mac or Windows) on the same computer, they sync locally too. So a template created in Figma will also appear in your desktop app.

Chrome Extension:

1. Make sure you're on a supported site (Figma, Canva, Rise, etc.)
2. Refresh the page (⌘R or Ctrl+R)
3. Try the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+B (⌃⇧B on Mac)
4. Check that the extension is enabled in Chrome's extension manager
5. Try disabling and re-enabling the extension

Mac App:

1. Check the menu bar - click the BuddyBar icon
2. Try the global keyboard shortcut: ⌃⇧B (Ctrl+Shift+B)
3. If the shortcut doesn't work, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and ensure BuddyBar is enabled
4. Try quitting and reopening the app
5. If the menu bar icon is hidden (too many icons), you can also quit BuddyBar by clicking the ⓘ info button on the floating bar - there's a "Quit BuddyBar" option at the bottom

If it still doesn't work, please contact support!

The Chrome extension works with Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers (like Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Opera).

For Firefox or Safari users, the Mac or Windows desktop app is the perfect solution - it works system-wide in any browser or application.

Yes. Turn on Only show when I open it — in the Chrome extension's settings, or in Settings on the Mac app. Every page then starts without the bar, and when you do open it, it stays open only for that page.

It's built for people who move through a lot of decks and documents they're only reading. One thing to know in Chrome: the browser doesn't let an extension pin its own toolbar icon, so if yours isn't pinned, BuddyBar shows you how to pin it — otherwise the keyboard shortcut would be the only way to bring the bar back.

Open settings (gear icon) and find Copy Format. Choose from HEX, HEX (no #), RGB, HSL, or CSS variable.

Every time you click a swatch, the color is copied in your chosen format. For example, selecting RGB will copy colors as rgb(255, 87, 51) instead of #FF5733.

To get the latest version of BuddyBar for Mac, download the installer from the website and drag it into your Applications folder to replace the old version. All your palettes and settings are kept automatically.

There was a bug in version 5.0 and earlier that prevented the in-app update from working. Once you're on the latest version, future updates will work automatically.

The Accessibility permission allows BuddyBar to listen for the global keyboard shortcut (⌃⇧B) even when the app isn't focused.

Without this permission, you'd need to click on BuddyBar first before using the shortcut. The permission is only used for the keyboard shortcut - BuddyBar doesn't access any other data.

To enable: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → Enable BuddyBar

Mac App: Click the BuddyBar icon in your menu bar, then select Appearance.

Chrome Extension: Click the info button (ⓘ) on the color bar, then find the Appearance option in the settings menu.

Both versions offer three options:

• System - Follows your computer's appearance setting (default)
• Light - Always use light mode
• Dark - Always use dark mode

Your choice is saved automatically.

Right-click the BuddyBar icon in your menu bar, then check "Launch at Login".

BuddyBar will now start automatically whenever you log in to your Mac.

Look for the BuddyBar icon (three colored swatches) in your menu bar at the top of the screen, usually near the right side with other app icons.

If you have many menu bar apps, it might be hidden. Try using a tool like Bartender or holding ⌘ while dragging menu bar items to rearrange them.

BuddyBar requires macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) or later.

This is needed for the modern SwiftUI features and Launch at Login functionality.

To get the latest version of BuddyBar for Windows, download the installer from the website and run it. The new version installs right over the old one — all your palettes and settings are kept automatically.

The current version is 6.2. If you're on 6.1, BuddyBar will offer the update from inside the app — you don't need to do anything. If you're on an older version, grab the installer from the website and run it over your current version. Your palettes are saved automatically either way.

Download the installer from the download page and run the setup file. BuddyBar will install and appear in your system tray.

If you have the Chrome extension installed, BuddyBar will automatically set up native messaging so your colors sync between Chrome and the desktop app.

BuddyBar requires Windows 10 or later (64-bit).

Sync is automatic! If you have both the Chrome extension and the Windows app installed on the same computer, your colors sync via native messaging.

The Windows app registers itself with Chrome on first launch. If sync isn't working, try restarting both Chrome and the BuddyBar app.

Look for the BuddyBar icon in the system tray area at the bottom-right of your screen. If you don't see it, click the up arrow (^) to show hidden tray icons.

Right-click the tray icon for options like Show/Hide, Always on Top, and Quit.

From version 6.2, the Windows app has a global shortcut: press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+B in any application to show or hide the bar.

It's deliberately not Ctrl+Shift+B, which stays with the Chrome extension so both can work on the same machine. If another program has already claimed Ctrl+Shift+Alt+B, BuddyBar falls back to Ctrl+Alt+B — the tray menu always shows which combination is actually active.

Yes! BuddyBar is completely free to use. No hidden fees, no subscriptions, no account required.

I built it as a gift to the design and creative community to help make everyone's workflow a little easier.

Down the road, we may introduce optional Pro features for teams and power users. But the core BuddyBar experience will always be free.