I'm looking for a way to dim my screen on Linux, similar to a program called Dimmer that's available for Windows. It overlays the entire screen to reduce brightness even more than what's typically allowed. I've already tried using xrandr and my Fedora KDE settings to lower the brightness to its minimum, but it's still too bright for my eyes in low light. Anyone know of a program or method to achieve this?
3 Answers
If you're open to creating a virtual screen overlay, you can set one up manually. I use a PC in my bedroom with a darkened screen setup. It sounds complicated, but it's fairly easy depending on your desktop environment. You just create a completely black maximized window that sits on top but remains inactive, so you can see everything below it. This can really help in reducing light without needing a special program!
Have you tried using brightnessctl? You can set the brightness really low with a command like `brightnessctl s 1`. Just keep in mind that 1% brightness isn’t exactly the same as absolute dimming, but it might help a bit!
I tried brightnessctl, but it feels the same as using xrandr or the KDE settings. Still too bright for me.
You might want to check out this tool. It was designed to help with dimming issues on Linux KDE: [Nightlight for Linux KDE](https://linuxvox.com/blog/nightlight-linux-kde/). It might do what you need!
That sounds like a cool workaround! Could you give more details on how to set that up?