Twinkle Tray

Adds brightness sliders for external monitors to the Windows system tray, using DDC/CI, which Windows does not support natively.

FreeOpen sourceWindows
Official websitetwinkletray.comDownload pagegithub.comSource codegithub.com

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3 more ways to get Twinkle Tray

Other download sites

MajorGeeksmajorgeeks.com

Run by third parties, not by Xander Frangos. Prefer the official page above when it works.

Package managers

  • wingetwinget install --id xanderfrangos.twinkletray
  • Chocolateychoco install twinkle-tray

About Twinkle Tray

Windows adjusts the backlight on a laptop screen but has no native support for external monitors, and no way to manage several displays at once. Twinkle Tray adds a tray icon that opens a flyout with a brightness slider for every compatible display, working the same way the built-in volume flyout does.

It blends in deliberately, using your Personalization settings to match the taskbar on Windows 10 and 11. Beyond the sliders it can change brightness automatically by time of day or when idle, bind hotkeys for specific or all displays, normalise backlight levels across monitors that disagree about what 50 percent means, and control other DDC/CI features such as contrast.

It starts with Windows and is free and open source under the MIT licence.

Strengths

  • Brightness sliders for external monitors, which Windows does not provide
  • Automatic brightness by time of day or when idle
  • Hotkeys for specific or all displays, and backlight normalisation across monitors
  • Matches the taskbar appearance using your Personalization settings

Limitations

  • Requires monitors that support DDC/CI, and not all do or have it enabled
  • Windows only
  • Some monitors respond slowly or unreliably to DDC/CI commands
  • The last release is from December 2025

Details

Pricing
FreeFree and open source under the MIT licence. Also available from the Microsoft Store.
License
MIT
Developer
Xander Frangos
Platforms
Windows
How it runs
Downloadable app
Account
Not required
Works offline
Yes
Best suited for
Changing the brightness of external monitors without reaching for their physical buttons
Categories
Window tools
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Window & Display); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 3 sources on file.

Alternatives to Twinkle Tray

Compare all

Software that can replace Twinkle Tray for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • Monitorian

    Control the brightness of multiple monitors from Windows.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWindows

    Monitorian also controls brightness of multiple monitors from Windows with per-monitor and synchronized adjustment, but it is freemium rather than fully free, and hardware controls depend on monitor support.

Twinkle Tray as an alternative

Listings that name Twinkle Tray as an alternative.

  • MonitorControl

    Adjust Mac display brightness and volume from the keyboard or menu bar.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOS

    Twinkle Tray offers DDC/CI brightness sliders for external monitors on Windows only, adding automatic brightness by time of day, but no volume control.

Similar software

Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.

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