I once typed thirty hex codes into Procreate by hand. One at a time. Tapping the little Value field, deleting the last code, typing the next one, adding it to the palette, and then squinting at the grid to figure out which one I'd skipped.
It took me most of an evening. The file that would have done it in about ten seconds was sitting in my Downloads folder the whole time — I just didn't know what it was for.
So here's the short version, up front: to import a color palette into Procreate, you open the .swatches file and choose Procreate as the app that opens it. That's the whole trick. Tap the file in the Files app on your iPad, and Procreate launches, drops the palette at the bottom of your Palettes list, and tells you it imported. No settings, no menu diving, no typing.
If your palette came in a zip, unzip it first — that one step is the reason most "it won't import" messages happen. More on that below, along with what to do when all you have is a list of hex codes, and why a palette sometimes lands looking empty.
What is a .swatches file, exactly?
A .swatches file is Procreate's own color palette format — a small file holding up to 30 colors that Procreate can load in a single tap, without you retyping a single hex code. It isn't an image and it isn't a brush; it's just the color values, packaged the way Procreate likes to read them.
That 30 is not arbitrary, by the way. A Procreate palette is a six-by-five grid — thirty slots, full stop. It's why every palette I build is exactly thirty colors instead of a vague "lots." If a palette you find has 42 colors in it, twelve of them are going somewhere else, and you get to decide which twelve. I'd rather make that decision at the design stage than hand it to you as a surprise.
How do you import a .swatches file into Procreate?
Five steps, and step two is the one people skip.
1. Get the file onto your iPad. Download it in Safari, AirDrop it from your Mac, or save it to iCloud Drive or Dropbox — Procreate doesn't care which, as long as the Files app can see it.
2. Unzip it if it's zipped. Most palette downloads (mine included) arrive as a zip because there are several formats inside. Tap the zip in Files and iOS expands it into a folder right next to it. Procreate cannot see inside a zip. It will simply not offer to open it, and you'll conclude the file is broken when it's just still in its box.
3. Tap the .swatches file. In most cases that's it — iOS hands it straight to Procreate and Procreate imports it.
4. If tapping does nothing useful, use Share instead. Long-press the file, choose Share, and pick Procreate from the app row. Same result, one extra tap. This is the reliable path when you've got another app that has claimed palette files.
5. Find it in the Palettes tab. Open any canvas, tap the color circle in the top right, and switch to Palettes. Your new palette is at the bottom of the list — not the top. That trips up more people than any other part of this, because a long palette list plus a new arrival at the very end reads exactly like "nothing happened."
Scroll down. It's there.
What if all you have are hex codes?
Sometimes there's no file at all — you found a palette on Pinterest, or a client sent brand colors in an email, or you're pulling six shades out of a photo you like. You can build the palette by hand, and it's genuinely fine. Just slower.
Open the color circle, go to the Value tab, and there's a Hex field. Type your code (no need for the #), then switch to Palettes and tap an empty slot to drop that color into it. Repeat. Thirty times, if you're me on a Tuesday night in 2024.
Two things that make it less miserable: create the empty palette first so you're not hunting for a home for each color, and keep your hex list open on a second device or a printed sheet rather than app-switching between every single code. App-switching is where you lose your place — ask me how I know.
I put together The Color-Confident Crafter Kit — four free downloads I wish someone had handed me before that thirty-hex-codes evening. It's yours for an email address, and I only write when I actually have something worth saying.
Why is my imported palette empty, missing, or greyed out?
Four culprits, in roughly the order they show up.
It's still in the zip. Covered above, but it's the top of the list for a reason. Unzip, then tap the .swatches file inside the folder.
You're looking at the top of the list. Imports append to the bottom. Scroll.
You imported into the wrong app. If you tapped the file and something other than Procreate opened it — a file manager preview, a zip utility, a cloud app — the palette went nowhere. Long-press, Share, choose Procreate explicitly.
You're in Compact mode and only seeing one row. The Palettes tab can show palettes collapsed to a single strip. Tap the palette name to expand it and you'll see all thirty. This one is sneaky, because a collapsed palette genuinely looks like a palette that only imported five colors.
If you've been through all four and it's still not there, the file itself may have been altered in transit — some email clients and chat apps rename or re-encode attachments. Re-download it from the original source rather than forwarding it around, and it usually behaves.
Which file do you actually need — .swatches, .ase, .aco, or a PNG sheet?
This is where people get stuck, because a palette download hands you four or five files and no explanation of why. Here's the honest map. Every one of my palettes ships all of these, so you're picking based on where you're working, not on what you paid for.
| File type | Opens in | What it gives you | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| .swatches | Procreate (iPad and iPhone) | All 30 colors as a loadable palette | You're painting or lettering on the iPad |
| .ase | Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Affinity apps | All 30 colors as a swatch set | You're working on a desktop in Adobe or Affinity |
| .aco | Photoshop (Swatches panel) | All 30 colors as a Photoshop swatch file | .ase misbehaves, or you're on an older Photoshop |
| PNG / SVG / PDF sheet | Anything — including paper | Every shade labelled with hex, RGB and CMYK | You're in Canva, Figma, Cricut Design Space, or want it printed and pinned above the desk |
The short rule: .swatches for Procreate, .ase for desktop design apps, and the labelled sheet for everything that has no palette importer at all. Canva is the big one in that last group — no palette import, so you copy hex codes off the sheet. It's not elegant, but it's thirty seconds instead of an evening.
Get a palette that imports in one tap
If you'd rather skip the eyedropper archaeology entirely, that's exactly why these exist — thirty colors, balanced by hand, with the .swatches file already built so Procreate takes it in one tap:
- Earth Naturals — 30 neutral, low-drama tones. The one I reach for when a piece needs to feel calm rather than loud.
- Jewel Tones — 30 saturated deep shades for when you want the opposite of calm.
- Turquoise Mesa — 30 southwestern colors, warm clay against cool water.
Each one includes the .swatches file, .ase and .aco for desktop, and a printable sheet with hex, RGB and CMYK for all thirty — zipped together in one download. Honest trade: you skip the color-picking evening, I get to keep making these.
How do I set a default palette, or get rid of one?
Once a palette is in, swipe left on it in the Palettes tab and you'll get the options to share or delete it. To make one your working default, tap Set as Default on that palette — it then sits under the color wheel on every canvas, which is the single best reason to import properly instead of hand-typing.
And a small confession on the housekeeping front: I have far too many palettes loaded and I delete approximately none of them. Do as I say.
The part I still haven't solved
Importing is easy. Choosing is not.
I can hand you thirty colors in one tap, but I can't tell you which six of them belong in the piece you're making tonight — and honestly, neither can most color theory. What I've landed on after a lot of trial and error is this: pull three or four from the palette, commit, and stop reopening the picker. The reopening is what kills the afternoon, not the choosing.
Whether that's a real principle or just my own particular flavor of second-guessing, I genuinely don't know yet. I'll tell you when I do.
In the meantime — if you keep a printed reference near the desk, the HEX Code Color Chart is the one I use for exactly this: pick off paper, type the code, get on with it. And if you'd like the four free downloads I mentioned earlier, The Color-Confident Crafter Kit is right here — email only, no drip of nonsense.
Try the import on your next piece and tell me if your palette landed at the bottom of the list like it's supposed to, or if Procreate did something creative. I collect these stories.
FAQ
Can I import a color palette into Procreate on iPhone?
Yes — Procreate Pocket handles .swatches files the same way. Save the file to Files, tap it, and it imports to the same Palettes list.
How many colors can one Procreate palette hold?
Thirty. It's a six-by-five grid, and there's no way to extend it — which is why palettes designed for Procreate come in thirties.
Why won't Procreate open my palette file?
Nine times out of ten it's still inside a zip. Unzip it in the Files app first, then tap the .swatches file inside. If that's not it, long-press the file, choose Share, and pick Procreate explicitly.
Can I use the same palette in Canva?
Not as a file — Canva has no palette import. Use the printable sheet that comes with the palette and copy the hex codes into Canva's brand or custom color fields.
Where does an imported palette go?
To the bottom of your Palettes list, under the color circle in the top-right of any canvas. Not the top. Scroll down.
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About the maker
Hi, I'm Kassie, the one-woman team behind Digisperse. With a background in drafting, programming and design, I make print-ready vectors, fonts, color charts, die cuts and stickers — every file checked by hand and ready to use.
Keep it sunny,
— Kassie