Import and share palettes in Dottie on Mac

Import a palette file

Choose File > Import Palette, then select any of these palette formats:

Dottie preserves the colour order and saves the result as a custom palette. A PNG is used only as a source of colours: its image, size, and layout are discarded. Dottie scans from the top-left across each row, keeping every distinct non-transparent colour where it first appears.

A palette can contain up to 256 colours. Import stops with an explanation if a file exceeds that limit or does not match the format implied by its filename extension.

Import from Lospec

Dottie registers the lospec-palette:// link scheme used by lospec.com, home of thousands of community pixel-art palettes:

  1. Browse to any palette on the Lospec palette list.

  2. Under Download, choose the app/URL option (“Open in App”).

  3. Dottie opens, saves the palette, and makes it current—with a transparent colour appended and the first, second, and last colours preset as primary, secondary, and eraser.

Share palette files

Custom palettes are stored as .color-palette files—small JSON documents holding the palette name and colours. In the palette switcher, click the magnifying-glass button to reveal a palette’s file in the Finder; give the file to someone else and they can choose File > Import Palette to add it to their copy of Dottie. Because Dottie is sandboxed, its palette folder lives inside the app’s container, so use the magnifying-glass button to reveal it rather than typing a path.

See also