# Understanding Gradients

Essay by Jakub Krehel (https://jakub.kr)

A deep dive into how gradients work, how colour models affect them, and why some gradients look better than others.

Topics: Color
Source: https://jakub.kr/work/gradients

## For agents

Nothing to install. This is a reference: cite it, or fetch the source when
the reasoning matters.

Read it at: https://jakub.kr/work/gradients

The full text is not reproduced here. It belongs to its author. What is
above is the author's own summary and the topics it covers.

Skills in this library that act on the same ground:

- better-colors (https://www.stackskills.dev/md/better-colors): Move a project to OKLCH, and answer anything about colour.

## The short version

Gradients look like the simplest thing in CSS and hide a real amount of complexity. Jakub starts with the three types, linear, radial and conic, then moves through direction, colour stops, hard stops and repeating patterns. The part that matters most is interpolation, because the colour model doing the blending is what decides whether a gradient reads clean or muddy. Two stops at the same position give you a crisp edge instead of a blend, which turns the property into a pattern tool. Everything is interactive, so you can change a value and see the result.

## Verification

- Source link: Resolved (HTTP 200) (pass)
- Reading copy: Plain markdown for agents at /md/understanding-gradients (pass)
- Attribution: Credited to Jakub Krehel (pass)

Full page: https://www.stackskills.dev/library/understanding-gradients