https://github.com/tethik/backlight
Program to manipulate screen brightness on Linux using sysfs
https://github.com/tethik/backlight
linux linux-desktop-app
Last synced: about 2 months ago
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Program to manipulate screen brightness on Linux using sysfs
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/tethik/backlight
- Owner: Tethik
- License: gpl-3.0
- Created: 2019-04-13T21:59:06.000Z (about 7 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2025-12-22T20:41:22.000Z (6 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-12-24T09:50:42.956Z (6 months ago)
- Topics: linux, linux-desktop-app
- Language: Go
- Size: 23.4 KB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# 🌚 backlight 🌝
Program to manipulate screen brightness on Linux using sysfs.
```
backlight. Simple program to control your backlights.
Usage:
backlight ls Lists all devices and their values
backlight set Sets the brightness of a device to a specific value
backlight dec Decreases the brightness of a device by a specific value
backlight inc Increases the brightness of a device by a specific value
backlight help Displays this help message :)
```
## Required Permissions
This program requires the `cap_dac_override` capability to modify brightness values in sysfs without running as root.
After installation, you **must** run:
```bash
sudo setcap cap_dac_override+ep /path/to/backlight
```
The program will warn you if this capability is not set when you try to modify brightness.
## Install
For x64 you can download and install the released binary with the following script.
```bash
wget https://github.com/Tethik/backlight/releases/latest/download/backlight
wget https://github.com/Tethik/backlight/releases/latest/download/backlight-completion.sh
chmod +x backlight
sudo mv backlight /usr/local/bin/backlight
sudo setcap cap_dac_override+ep /usr/local/bin/backlight
sudo mv backlight-completion.sh /etc/bash_completion.d/backlight
```
### Build from source
Requires that you have golang installed.
```
git clone https://github.com/Tethik/backlight
make
sudo make install
```
_Why sudo?_ To allow the program access to sysfs from a normal user the install script sets `cap_dac_override`.
### i3 configuration
I originally built this for my own i3 setup. The following is the configuration I use to
bind the brightness keys on my laptop to run this backlight program.
```
# Sreen brightness controls
bindsym XF86MonBrightnessUp exec backlight inc intel_backlight 50
bindsym XF86MonBrightnessDown exec backlight dec intel_backlight 50
```
### Nix install
```bash
nix profile add github:Tethik/backlight
```
**Important:** After installation, set the required capability:
```bash
sudo setcap cap_dac_override+ep $(readlink -f $(which backlight))
```
This allows the program to modify sysfs brightness values without requiring sudo for each use.