ddcctl vs ddcutil
ddcctl
github.comddcutil
ddcutil.comSide by side
| Figure | ddcctl | ddcutil |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Monitor Control Software | 7.5 (#12) | 8.4 (#3) |
| Installation | The README gives Homebrew, downloadable release binaries, and build-from-source as installation options. | The maker documents prebuilt packages and source builds; its project maintained packages include builds for some Debian, openSUSE, and Ubuntu releases, with Launchpad and Fedora COPR packages also described. |
| License | The repository identifies the project as GPLv3 open source. | ddcutil and ddcui are released under the GNU General Public License, version 2. |
| Purpose | ddcctl adjusts external monitors’ built-in controls from the macOS shell. | ddcutil is a Linux program for managing monitor settings such as brightness, color levels, and input source. |
| Support | The maker says they do not have time to triage new issues or provide support for non-bugs, and do not intend to moderate a support or discussion forum. | The project directs technical support questions, bug reports, and feature requests to its GitHub issue tracker. |
Plans
In their own words
ddcctl
ddcctl is a free GPLv3 open-source command-line utility for adjusting external monitor controls from the macOS shell. Its primary controls are brightness and contrast. Depending on monitor firmware, it may also switch input source, change built-in speaker volume or RGB colors, select color presets, and reset settings. The stated scope is macOS, Macintosh hardware, and DDC-controlled monitors. Installation is available through Homebrew, downloadable release binaries, or a source build; building requires Xcode and running make. Example scripts can be invoked by Alfred, ControlPlane, or Karabiner to switch presets. The project describes itself as a personal utility in maintenance mode and asks users to debug their own issues. Its maker says there is no time to triage new issues or support non-bugs, and no support or discussion forum is planned. Verification is manual, with no CI connected to real Macs and monitors. The releases page lists v1 as the latest release. The listed controls include DDC/CI, input switching, and command-line access.
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.