color-matcher
Package enabling color transfer across images
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need color transfer between images and accept the GPL V3.0 copyleft requirement. The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and offers multiple established algorithms. Not suitable for proprietary or closed-source projects without relicensing.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires imageio and numpy for image I/O and array operations; matplotlib is a runtime dependency for visualization.
- Low install friction with a pure Python wheel.
- Actively maintained as of February 2026 with 663 repository stars and regular releases since 2020.
License · maintenance · safety
GNU GPL V3.0 (copyleft) — Licensed under GNU GPL V3.0 (copyleft). Any derivative work or distribution must also be released under GPL V3.0; proprietary or closed-source applications cannot use this package without relicensing.
last release 2025-03-30 (502 days) · last repo commit 2026-02-24 · 663 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 430,115 downloads/mo, #6,731 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install color-matcher
import color_matcher
from imageio import imread
reference = imread('reference.jpg')
image = imread('image.jpg')
matched = color_matcher.ColorMatcher().transfer(image, reference)- Whether the package supports batch processing of multiple images or film sequences in a single call.
- Performance characteristics (processing time) for typical image sizes or video frame counts.
- Whether the Reinhard, MKL, and MVGD-HM methods are exposed as separate, selectable transfer modes or only as a compound.
What it is and what it does
color-matcher is a Python library for transferring color characteristics from one image to another. It implements multiple color-matching algorithms—Reinhard's method, Monge-Kantorovich Linearization (MKL), and a Multi-Variate Gaussian Distribution (MVGD) transfer combined with histogram matching—to automatically recolor images while preserving their structure and detail. The library is designed for photography color grading, film sequence correction, light-field processing, and stop-motion work.
The package depends on numpy for numerical operations, matplotlib for visualization, imageio for image I/O, and several utility libraries (ddt, docutils, packaging). It requires Python 3 or later and installs as a pure Python wheel with low friction. The codebase is actively maintained and has accumulated 663 stars on GitHub, indicating reasonable adoption in the image-processing community.
Use it for
- Automatic color grading of photograph batches to match a reference image's color palette.
- Correcting color casts in film sequences or video frames for consistent look across shots.
- Light-field image processing where color consistency across viewpoints is needed.
- Stop-motion animation color correction to match lighting and color tone across frames.
- Recoloring paintings or artwork to match a target aesthetic or historical reference.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need color transfer between images and accept the GPL V3.0 copyleft requirement.
The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and offers multiple established algorithms. Not suitable for proprietary or closed-source projects without relicensing.
Install
color-matcher on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure Python wheel. Actively maintained as of February 2026 with 663 repository stars and regular releases since 2020.
Requires imageio and numpy for image I/O and array operations; matplotlib is a runtime dependency for visualization.
License in practice
Licensed under GNU GPL V3.0 (copyleft). Any derivative work or distribution must also be released under GPL V3.0; proprietary or closed-source applications cannot use this package without relicensing.
Quickstart
pip install color-matcher
import color_matcher
from imageio import imread
reference = imread('reference.jpg')
image = imread('image.jpg')
matched = color_matcher.ColorMatcher().transfer(image, reference)Verify before relying
- Whether the package supports batch processing of multiple images or film sequences in a single call.
- Performance characteristics (processing time) for typical image sizes or video frame counts.
- Whether the Reinhard, MKL, and MVGD-HM methods are exposed as separate, selectable transfer modes or only as a compound.
Package facts
| License | GNU GPL V3.0 copyleft |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 6 packagesddtdocutilsimageiomatplotlibnumpypackaging |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 502 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 430,115 / month, #6,731 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
Evidence: color_matcher-0.6.0-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “color transfer between images”
- color-matchercolor-matcher transfers color characteristics from one image to…
- colorthiefExtracts dominant colors and color palettes from images using the…
- pixelmatchCompares two images pixel-by-pixel to detect differences, with…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Graphics packages
Pillow adds image processing capabilities to Python, providing file format support, efficient pixel data handling, and image manipulation operations.
Install it if you need to work with images in Python—it is the de facto standard for this task.
fonttools manipulates font files in multiple formats (TrueType, OpenType, AFM, Type 1, Mac-specific) and includes TTX, a tool to convert fonts to and from XML text format.
Install it if you need to read, write, or manipulate fonts programmatically or via the TTX command-line tool.
Enables matplotlib figures to display inline directly within Jupyter notebooks and IPython environments instead of in separate windows.
PyMuPDF extracts, renders, converts, and manipulates PDF and other document formats (XPS, EPUB, images, Office files via Pro) with high performance, providing text, tables, images, and metadata with precise layout information.
The AGPL license requires careful review if you are building proprietary software—commercial licensing is available from Artifex.
pypdfium2 is a Python binding to PDFium that enables PDF rendering, inspection, manipulation, and creation through a ctypes interface to Google's PDFium library.
Install it if you need PDF rendering, inspection, or manipulation in Python; the medium install friction is offset by comprehensive platform support.
Altair is a declarative Python library for creating interactive statistical visualizations by writing simple, readable code that compiles to Vega-Lite specifications.
See also vtracer · adapters · colour · colorspacious · hdrhistogram · k-diffusion · pixeloe · autogluon.vision · histoprint · mgwr