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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

MT

24 alternatives to Metapict – TikZ like figures using Racket

The tool `peek` show files in color in the terminal. A wide range of popular programming language and file types are supported. Today I added support for binary files inspired by the HN post on colors in hex editors. Each supported programming language is backed by its own (reusable) lexer. The lexer provides a stream of tokens to the colorer. Using streams means that you will see the top of large files at once. The idea to make `peek` came from a need to look at CSS files in the terminal. I wanted color swatches and other niceties from the browser. Also, I wanted an option to fix alignment…

Metapict is a Racket library for creating TikZ-like figures programmatically. It allows users to generate vector graphics and diagrams by writing code rather than using graphical tools. The software targets Racket… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Metapict – TikZ like figures using Racket launched in 2023; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1AC

    I had this idea kicking around in my head for quite a while. Took an evening to make this, and a short morning to polish it a bit. So here it is!

    2022 · arantius.github.io · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Hello HN! I found that picking out plausible but diverse skin tones for my digital art and game development projects was kind of difficult, and I got curious about if there was a way to define a color space that made it easy. I've built a color picker and procedural generation algorithm based on the space as well as a bunch of other fun js features and demos throughout the page that use the equations. If you find it interesting, I have lots of explanations of how I built it and what properties the space has. The methodology might be a bit shaky, but hopefully the result is as helpful for…

    Aug 2026 · toneyalexander.github.io · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Hi all! TikZ is a widely-used LaTeX package for drawing figures in papers. It uses commands like \draw[->] (0,0) -- (1,2); to draw lines, shapes, text, etc. Academics usually code up their figures by hand, so there is lots of twiddling around with the coordinates and recompiling until things look nice. I guess it’s a bit like SVG, but it’s more code than markup, for example it has loops with \foreach. I built an open-source WYSIWYG TikZ editor (available for web and desktop) that allows you to edit your TikZ source code visually by dragging and resizing elements. It simultaneously shows the…

    Jun 2026 · tikz.dev · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Creating high-quality scientific figures can be time-consuming and challenging, even though sketching ideas on paper is relatively easy. Furthermore, recreating existing figures that are not stored in formats preserving semantic information is equally complex. To tackle this problem, we introduce DeTikZify, a novel multimodal language model that automatically synthesizes scientific figures as semantics-preserving TikZ graphics programs based on sketches and existing figures. We also introduce a Monte Carlo Tree Search-based inference algorithm that enables DeTikZify to iteratively refine its…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5
    Sip 2.0▲299

    A better way to collect, organize & share your colors.

    2019 · sipapp.io · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Pick, edit & visualize - your free palette generator tool

    2024 · pixelied.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7
    Slantt▲175

    Create stunning isometric graphics in minutes

    2021 · slantt.co · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    This is a little toy project of mine that lets you simulate digital logic graphs. It was inspired by Minecraft's Redstone and the Piet esolang. It's got some serious drawbacks-- you write circuits as PNGs and simulate them with a Python interface. It's slow to run and slow to experiment with. And it is certainly difficult to use for people with any kind of color blindness. But despite that, I hope this can still be a fun toy!

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Generate, preview and copy colour palettes with AI help

    2023 · colourgpt.app · its alternatives →

  10. 10
    ColPat▲91

    The ultimate color palette & design tool powered by AI

    2023 · colpat.itsvg.in · its alternatives →

  11. 11TM
  12. 12

    Download any color palette from dribbble into Sketch

    2018 · chromewebstore.google.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13
  14. 14
    FarbVélo▲123

    An easy random color explorer to generate color harmonies

    2020 · farbvelo.elastiq.ch · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Goodbye to "Inspect Element" — Visualize the CSS of any element you hover over, instantly, and copy its entire rules with a single click.

    2022 · getcssscan.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Create visually-equidistant palettes for data visualizations

    2018 · learnui.design · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    This is a personal project I've been working on for a long time now. I stumbled upon the color quantization problem while doing something related for work. I then found an interesting paper for which I could find no implementations online, and the thing went from "let's implement this paper" to getting pretty obsessed with the whole thing. It's at an early, eaaaarly stage. There's a lot of work to be done, and it's a memory hog, but generally speaking works quite well, and the output is for the most part very high quality, so I'm happy to share it as beta.

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18
    ColorGrab▲168

    Steal beautiful colors from Dribbble shots easily

    2018 · colorgrab.vercel.app · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Color code in the menu bar

    2021 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20IM

    I was fascinated by this [0] and this video [1]. After many struggles, I finally built this app that traces images using circles similar to what these videos had shown. The most challenging part (to me) is to find a way to convert images to vector lines. I had tried Potrace, but its output is not suitable for my use case: too many small elements share the same border. Potrace's goal is to represent the original image faithfully using vector lines. But I want to trace the image edges. After searching and trying some Potrace alternatives in vain, I finally found my keyword. Surprisingly (to…

    2022 · phqb.github.io · its alternatives →

  21. 21MN
  22. 22
    Rangeen▲112

    Generate and curate color palettes for your next project

    2023 · its alternatives →

  23. 23
    Tint▲85

    A better color picker

    2021 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    Graphic editor build in JS to create isometric illustrations

    2016 · maxwellito.github.io · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →