BrightSyncOne master slider
Move one slider in the tray and every enabled monitor follows, laptop panel included. Set limits once and forget them.
Free and open source
One brightness for every monitor.
BrightSync lives in your tray and keeps all your displays, including the laptop panel, at one shared brightness. Set limits per monitor once, add an automatic day curve, and stop reaching for monitor buttons.
Features
Everything you need, nothing you have to babysit.
BrightSync follows a simple idea: configure it once, then never think about monitor brightness again.
DDC/CI for external monitors
Talks to the monitor itself, so it works with the hardware controls instead of a color overlay. Contrast, volume, RGB gain, presets and input source are one click away where the monitor allows.
Laptop panels too
Built-in displays are controlled through WMI on Windows and the backlight interface on Linux, and treated like any other monitor.
Automatic 24-hour curve
Drag points on a smooth curve and brightness follows the clock, recalculating after sleep and time changes.
Idle dimming and power saving
Dim after inactivity, optionally ignoring media playback, and reduce brightness when the system power saver turns on.
Eye protection and boost
One-click timed dimming for late evenings, or a timed boost for bright rooms. The two modes never fight each other.
Per-monitor calibration
Minimum, maximum and a multiplier per monitor so mismatched panels look the same at every level.
Survives sleep and unplugging
Re-applies brightness after wake, unlock and hot-plug, and can recover monitors that forget their settings.
Scriptable CLI
Bind your own hotkeys with brightness up/down, status --json and more. No hotkey daemon needed.
Open source, no telemetry
MIT licensed, built in the open. The only network request is the optional update check against GitHub.
Windows and Linux
The same app and settings file on both. Packages for Debian, Fedora, Arch, Alpine, openSUSE, AppImage and Windows, on x64, arm64 and more.
Tiny and fast
Compiled with Native AOT: a single self-contained binary, instant startup and a small memory footprint.
How it works
Three steps, then it disappears.
Install and open the tray
BrightSync finds your displays, names them from their own metadata, and shows each one in Settings.
Calibrate each monitor once
Set a minimum, a maximum and a multiplier so a dim old panel and a bright new one match at every level.
Use one slider or let it run
Drag the master slider, bind the CLI to your hotkeys, or switch on the automatic day curve and idle dimming.
Screenshots
A settings window that stays out of your way.
Screenshots show the Windows build; Linux uses the same window.
Platforms
Native on Windows and Linux.
The same app and the same settings file on both. Controls a platform cannot support are hidden instead of shown disabled.
Windows 10 and 11
Installer and portable zip. Native AOT build. Use the Flow Launcher pluginto control brightness and modes with the bs keyword (Flow Launcher 2.x, Python 3, and BrightSync running).
Linux
deb, rpm, Arch, Alpine, AppImage and a portable archive. *Portable archive with a .NET 10 runtime.
Tested distributions
The full test suite and a launch test run on each.
| Feature | Windows | Linux |
|---|---|---|
| External monitors over DDC/CI Linux needs access to /dev/i2c-N, set up by the packages | Supported | Supported |
| Contrast, volume, RGB gain, presets, input source | Supported | Supported |
| Laptop panel brightness | Supported | Supported |
| Tray icon, quick popup, settings window GNOME needs the AppIndicator extension | Supported | Supported |
| Automatic curve, eye protection, boost, enforcement | Supported | Supported |
| Idle dimming and ignore while media plays Linux: X11 sessions and GNOME on Wayland | Supported | Supported |
| Pause while the session is locked | Supported | Supported |
| Reduce brightness in power saver mode Linux uses power-profiles-daemon | Supported | Supported |
| Start at login | Supported | Supported |
| Refresh rate, ICC profile and HDR controls | Supported | Not available |
| Automatic update install Linux updates through your package manager | Supported | Not available |
Download
Get BrightSync.
Free, no account, no telemetry. Pick the build for your system.
Download the latest release
Looking for your build. If this stays empty, open the releases page.
Install or update on Linux
Run this command to install the latest release for your CPU. Run it again to update.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bberka/BrightSync/master/install.sh | bashFor a system-wide install, add --system and run with sudo:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bberka/BrightSync/master/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --systemUninstall BrightSync
For a per-user installation (your settings are kept):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bberka/BrightSync/master/install.sh | bash -s -- --uninstallFor a system-wide installation (your settings are kept):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bberka/BrightSync/master/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --system --uninstallEvery release ships a BrightSync-SHA256SUMS.txt so you can verify downloads. Linux install commands are in the README and the Linux guide.
Command line
Your hotkeys, your rules.
BrightSync does not ship a hotkey daemon. Bind the CLI in AutoHotkey, PowerToys, your desktop's shortcut settings or a script, and it talks to the running tray app.
On Windows the command is BrightSync.exe; on Linux it is brightsync.
# one-shot, works even when the tray app is not running
brightsync brightness set 55
brightsync brightness up 10
brightsync brightness down 10
# talk to the running tray app
brightsync status --json
brightsync auto on
brightsync eye-protection on --hours 3
brightsync boost on --hours 2
brightsync monitors refreshFAQ
Questions people ask.
Will it work with my monitor?
External monitors need DDC/CI, which almost every monitor with a DisplayPort or HDMI input supports and which can be switched on in the monitor’s own menu. Docks, KVMs and some adapters block it. Each monitor row in Settings tells you which backend was used and why a monitor is not controllable.
Does it work on Wayland?
Yes. BrightSync runs through XWayland, and brightness control does not depend on the display server because it talks to the monitor over I²C and to the laptop panel through the kernel. Idle dimming needs idle time from the compositor, which on Wayland only GNOME provides; other Wayland desktops hide that option.
Why do I not see the tray icon on GNOME?
GNOME does not show tray icons by default. Install the AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem extension, or control BrightSync from the command line. KDE, XFCE, Cinnamon, MATE and others work out of the box.
Which Linux distributions are supported?
Packages are provided for Debian and Ubuntu (deb), Fedora and openSUSE (rpm), Arch (pacman), Alpine (apk), an AppImage for anything else, and a portable archive for architectures such as riscv64. The test suite and a launch test run on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Alpine, Arch and openSUSE.
How does it update?
On Windows BrightSync checks GitHub releases and can download, verify the SHA-256 checksum and install the matching installer. On Linux it tells you a new version exists; rerun the install command on this page to update, or use your package manager for a package installation.
Is it free? Does it collect data?
It is free and open source under the MIT license. The only network request is the optional update check against GitHub. Diagnostics export is a local file you choose to share.