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Luminance vs brightnessctl: catalog facts
Luminance	brightnessctl
Best for: Linux users with external monitors who want software brightness control	Best for: Linux users on tiling window managers who need brightness key bindings
Free Free and open source under the GPL-3.0 licence.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Linux, Command line
Controls external monitor brightness over DDC/CI Simple GTK interface All 3 strengths for Luminance Controls external monitor brightness over DDC/CI Simple GTK interface Includes a GNOME Shell extension	Controls both screen backlights and LEDs Easy to bind to brightness keys All 3 strengths for brightnessctl Controls both screen backlights and LEDs Easy to bind to brightness keys Small and scriptable
External monitors must support DDC/CI Linux only	Linux only Command line only, no graphical interface
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0-only	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Luminance github.com/sidevesh/Luminance Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for brightnessctl github.com/Hummer12007/brightnessctl Catalog checked October 2, 2026

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