DDC-CI Control Bridge vs ddcutil
DDC-CI Control Bridge
github.comddcutil
ddcutil.comSide by side
| Figure | DDC-CI Control Bridge | ddcutil |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 2 |
| Spec score · Monitor Control Software | 7.6 (#9) | 8.4 (#3) |
| Intended users | The project describes use by AI agents through MCP and automation platforms through MQTT. | The documentation describes color profile management as a primary use and also presents a C API for programs that need monitor control. |
| License | The repository identifies the project as MIT licensed. | ddcutil and ddcui are released under the GNU General Public License, version 2. |
| Monitor controls | The MCP tools include reading and writing VCP codes, getting and setting brightness, and rescanning monitors and capabilities. | Its commands can detect monitors, report capabilities, read and set VCP feature values, and save or restore color related settings. |
| Purpose | The project controls monitor brightness, contrast, power, and input through DDC/CI. | ddcutil is a Linux program for managing monitor settings such as brightness, color levels, and input source. |
| Support | The README invites contributions through GitHub issues or pull requests. | The project directs technical support questions, bug reports, and feature requests to its GitHub issue tracker. |
Plans
In their own words
DDC-CI Control Bridge
DDC-CI Control Bridge is a free project for controlling compatible monitors through DDC/CI. It can manage brightness, contrast, power, and input, and offers command-line or API access. Its Model Context Protocol server provides resources and tools for AI or agent integration, including reading and writing VCP codes, setting brightness from 0 to 100, and rescanning monitors and capabilities. An MQTT client connects it to automation systems. Listed integrations include Home Assistant auto-discovery, openHAB, Node-RED, Domoticz, and generic MQTT platforms. The project is available as an npm package or as standalone executables for Windows, Linux, and macOS. MCP can run locally over stdio or provide remote HTTP/SSE access to other machines on a network. Authentication requires the DDC_API_KEY environment variable. The project is MIT licensed and invites contributions through GitHub issues or pull requests. A monitor must support DDC/CI with the feature enabled in its on-screen settings. On Linux, access may require i2c-dev and membership in the i2c group. Some VCP codes are read-only, and supported codes vary by monitor.
ddcutil
ddcutil is a free Linux program for controlling monitor settings such as brightness, color levels and input source. It communicates with monitors through DDC/CI over I²C and supports monitors implementing MCCS over USB. Commands can find monitors, show capabilities, read or change VCP feature values, and save or restore color-related settings. The companion ddcui provides a Qt graphical interface with Summary, Capabilities and Features views, with the last allowing changes to modifiable values. For profile workflows, dumpvcp saves current settings to a file and loadvcp restores them. Developers can use the C API through libddcutil.so to read and write VCP values and handle profile-related features. The program is released under GNU GPL version 2. Setup requires the Linux kernel i2c-dev module, and non-root users need permissions to run it. It does not support laptop displays, which use a special API rather than I²C, and generally will not run in virtual machines because virtual video drivers do not implement I²C. For MCCS-over-USB table features, support is limited; the capabilities command synthesizes a response.