Fine-tuning your screen brightness doesn’t have to be a repetitive process limited to the user interface; it can also be efficiently managed through the command line using the Xrandr Utility. In this guide, we’ll walk you through adjusting your monitor’s brightness using the Ubuntu command line.
Controlling Screen Brightness via Terminal
To modify your screen brightness on an Ubuntu system, follow these steps:
Launch the Terminal application using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut or by searching for it in the application launcher. After that run the following command to retrieve your monitor’s name:
xrandr | grep " connected" | cut -f1 -d " "
The output will display your monitor’s name; for example, mine is indicated as eDP-1. Armed with your monitor’s name, set the desired brightness level using the following command:
xrandr --output [monitor-name] --brightness [brightness-level]
Replace [monitor-name] with your monitor’s actual name and [brightness-level] with the preferred brightness value (e.g., 0.60).
As an example:
xrandr --output LVDS-1 --brightness 0.60
This tool, integrated into your Ubuntu system, enables you to fine-tune your screen brightness directly from the command line.
