Option Clash Errors of LaTeX xcolor Package Caused by Simultaneously Importing xcolor Package and Other Packages

Jan. 05, 2025 • Updated May. 23, 2025

Import xcolor package and showframe package

If we import \usepackage{showframe} first and then \usepackage[x11names]{xcolor}:

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\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{lipsum}

\usepackage{showframe}
\usepackage[x11names]{xcolor}
\pagecolor{AntiqueWhite1}

\begin{document}
\vspace*{\fill}

\lipsum[1-2]

\vspace*{\fill}
\end{document}

an option clash error will occur:

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line 7: Option clash for package xcolor. \pagecolor
line 7: Package xcolor Error: Undefined color `AntiqueWhite1'. \pagecolor{AntiqueWhite1}

This error is caused by the x11names option of xcolor package.

Conversely, if we change the order of the both:

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\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{lipsum}

\usepackage[x11names]{xcolor}
\usepackage{showframe}
\pagecolor{AntiqueWhite1}

\begin{document}
\vspace*{\fill}

\lipsum[1-2]

\vspace*{\fill}
\end{document}

the file will be compiled normally:

img-1


Import xcolor package and tikz package

Similarly, in the preamble if we import tikz package first and then xcolor package with the svgnames option, an option clash will occur, for example:

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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage[svgnames]{xcolor}

\begin{document}

$\colorbox{DarkOrchid}{text}$

\end{document}

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...

! LaTeX Error: Option clash for package xcolor.

See the LaTeX manual or LaTeX Companion for explanation.
Type  H <return>  for immediate help.
 ...                                              
                                                  
l.4 
    
The package xcolor has already been loaded with options:
  []
There has now been an attempt to load it with options
  [svgnames]
Adding the global options:
  ,svgnames
to your \documentclass declaration may fix this.
Try typing  <return>  to proceed.

...

As can be seen from the log, it is because that the tikz package has incorporated the xcolor package with no option.

So, interchanging the order will solve this problem:

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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[svgnames]{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}

\begin{document}

$\colorbox{DarkOrchid}{text}$

\end{document}

and at this time those built-in colors created by the svgnames option are available.