Compare software

brightness vs brightnessctl: catalog facts
brightness	brightnessctl

Best for: Mac users who want to adjust display brightness from a script or terminal	Best for: Linux users on tiling window managers who need brightness key bindings
Free Free and open source under the BSD-2-Clause license.	Free Free and open source.
macOS, Command line	Linux, Command line
Can set and read brightness from scripts Supports internal displays and some external displays Can be installed with Homebrew or built from source	Controls both screen backlights and LEDs Easy to bind to brightness keys Small and scriptable
Only available for macOS External display support varies Uses undocumented methods on newer macOS versions	Linux only Command line only, no graphical interface
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-2-Clause	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for brightness github.com/nriley/brightness Catalog checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for brightnessctl github.com/Hummer12007/brightnessctl Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.