Control your external display brightness, volume and contrast with native OSD support. Use menubar sliders, keyboard shortcuts, or the CLI for automation.
- Brightness, volume & contrast control for external displays via DDC
- Native OSD — shows the system brightness/volume overlay
- CLI tool (
bettermonitor) for scripted and automated control - Multiple protocols — DDC for external displays, native Apple protocol for built-in displays, gamma/shade for virtual screens
- Smooth transitions and combined hardware + software dimming (dim beyond your display's minimum)
- Brightness sync — replicate ambient light sensor changes from built-in displays to externals
- Keyboard shortcuts — Apple media keys and custom shortcuts
- Dozens of settings — enable
Show advanced settingsto fine-tune for your hardware - Free and open source
Download the latest .dmg from Releases.
BetterMonitor includes a command-line tool for automation:
# List all displays
bettermonitor list
# Get/set brightness
bettermonitor get brightness
bettermonitor set brightness 70
# JSON output
bettermonitor list --jsonThe CLI communicates with the running BetterMonitor app — make sure it's open.
- Download and copy BetterMonitor to your Applications folder
- Launch the app
- Grant Accessibility access when prompted (required for keyboard brightness/media keys)
- Use your keyboard or the menubar sliders to control displays
- Open Settings for customization (enable
Show advanced settingsfor more options)
- DDC displays — most modern LCDs from all major manufacturers via USB-C, DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI
- Apple & built-in displays — native protocol support
- TVs — supported via software dimming (most TVs don't implement DDC)
- DisplayLink, AirPlay, Sidecar — shade (overlay) control
Known limitations:
- Built-in HDMI on Apple Silicon Macs does not support DDC. Use USB-C or a Thunderbolt dock instead.
- EIZO displays using MCCS over USB are limited to software dimming.
- DisplayLink docks do not support DDC on macOS.
| BetterMonitor | macOS |
|---|---|
| Latest | Catalina 10.15+ (full features on Big Sur 11+) |
Requirements: Xcode, SwiftLint, SwiftFormat, BartyCrouch
git clone https://github.com/Darkroom4364/BetterMonitor.git
cd BetterMonitor
open BetterMonitor.xcodeprojDependencies resolve automatically via SPM.
BetterMonitor is a fork of MonitorControl with added CLI support, automation features, and active development.
Original MonitorControl contributors:
- @waydabber — maintainer, developer of BetterDisplay
- @the0neyouseek, @JoniVR — honorary maintainers
- @alin23 — M1 DDC support, developer of Lunar
- @mathew-kurian — original developer
- Full contributor list