A GTK application to control brightness of displays, including external monitors via DDC/CI.
Luminance is a Linux desktop application that controls the brightness of both built-in and external displays. It uses the DDC/CI protocol to communicate with external monitors, solving the limitation where most operating systems only adjust internal screen brightness. The application provides both a graphical interface and command-line tools for flexible brightness management.
Linux desktop users with external monitors who want system-level brightness control, particularly those using GNOME or other GTK-based environments.
Developers choose Luminance because it's a simple, focused tool that solves a specific hardware control problem reliably. Unlike built-in OS controls, it works with external displays via standard DDC/CI, and its open-source nature allows for customization and integration.
A simple GTK application to control brightness of displays including external displays supporting DDC/CI
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Uses DDC/CI via ddcutil to control brightness on external monitors, solving a common Linux desktop limitation where OS controls only affect built-in screens.
Offers both a GTK GUI and a comprehensive CLI with options like --list-displays and --set-brightness, allowing for interactive use and scripting.
Includes a companion extension that displays the native brightness OSD, enhancing user experience on GNOME desktops, as detailed in the installation steps.
Available as Flatpak, AUR package, DEB, RPM, and from source, with specific instructions for different Linux distributions, ensuring wide accessibility.
Requires configuring i2c device permissions and potentially rebooting, as noted in the README's dependency steps, which can be a barrier for non-technical users.
Only works with displays supporting DDC/CI, and some monitors may have buggy firmware that causes unreliable brightness control, a inherent limitation of the protocol.
Older distributions like Ubuntu before 24.04 are restricted to version 1.0.4 due to libadwaita requirements, limiting access to newer features and updates.