Minecraft Armor Color Generator

Two questions, one page. What will these dyes give me, and how do I get exactly this color? The first is the game's own mixing rule. The second is a command.

Mix dyes, the way the game does
In the crafting grid (2 of 8)

Order makes no difference here. The game averages the dyes and then brightens the result back up, which is why two dyes never come out as dull as a straight average of the two.

Or pick any color

A command is not limited to what a crafting table can make, so most colors here are ones no amount of dyeing will reach.

The command
/give @s minecraft:leather_chestplate[dyed_color=14129300]

Paste it into chat or a command block. Java Edition.

The color
#D7989414129300

The game shows the hex in the item tooltip. The command needs the plain number underneath it.

Piece
Version1.21.5 writes the color as a plain number. Before that it went inside a small block of its own, and each server refuses the other one.
Who gets it

How it works

  • Click dyes to drop them in the grid. The swatch follows the game's own mixing rule, so it shows what the craft will really give you.
  • Or skip the dyes and pick a color outright. A command reaches colors no craft can.
  • Choose the piece, and the version your server runs.
  • Copy the command and paste it into chat. The same numbers color a banner or a beacon beam, which the beacon color tool works out for you.

Java Edition. Dyeing by hand still works on both editions, and a cauldron of plain water takes the color off again.

Questions

Why is the mixed color brighter than the average of the dyes?
Because the game does it that way on purpose. It averages the dyes, then scales the answer back up until its brightest channel matches the average of each dye's brightest channel. Without that step every mix would slide toward gray, and two bright dyes would give you something duller than either.
Does the order of the dyes matter?
No. Every dye in one craft counts the same, so red then blue is the same as blue then red. Dyeing twice is a different matter: the second craft counts the color the piece already has as one more ingredient.
How many dyes fit in one craft?
Eight. The grid has nine slots and the armor takes one of them. That is why this tool stops at eight rather than letting you build a mix no single craft could make.
Can I get any color by dyeing?
No, and that is the main reason to use a command. Mixing dyes reaches a limited set of colors, all of them tinted by the sixteen the game gives you. The command takes any color at all.
Which items can I dye?
The four leather pieces, leather horse armor and wolf armor. Wolf armor is dyed by crafting it with dyes, the same as leather.
How do I get the dye off again?
Use the piece on a cauldron holding plain water. That washes it back to ordinary leather. It works on wolf armor too.
Why are there two versions to choose from?
Because the way an item carries its color changed in 1.21.5. Before that the number sat inside a small block of its own beside a setting for the tooltip; now it is written plainly. A server refuses the shape it does not use, so pick the one that matches yours.
Does this work on Bedrock?
No. Bedrock has no matching command. You can still dye leather there by hand, in a cauldron of dyed water.