Projects / Dimmer

Version 1.0.1 · macOS · GPL-3.0

Dimmer

Your MacBook’s keyboard backlight and screen dim as you close the lid, and are dark before it shuts. Dimmer reads the angle from the hinge sensor and sets both from it.

Download for MacSource on GitHub
The Dimmer mark: a silver diamond cut across by a line, sharp above it and blurred below.

What it does

  • Full brightness while the lid is open past 85 degrees, off at 30, fading in between; both angles are sliders in its menu bar panel
  • Puts the backlight back the way it found it, automatic brightness included, when you pause it, quit it or the Mac sleeps
  • Dims the built-in screen along the same curve to black, and always brings your brightness back when the lid opens again; it can be switched off
  • Leaves what happens when the lid shuts alone
  • Makes no network connections, and has no account or telemetry
  • One universal app for macOS 14 or later, signed with a Developer ID and notarised by Apple; tested on Apple silicon, Intel untested

Get it

FAQs

Will it work on my Mac?

It is tested on one machine, a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max (2021) on macOS 27.2, and it needs a MacBook with a lid-angle sensor. Without one, its panel says the sensor is unavailable and it does nothing. It also runs on Intel, untested; only an Intel MacBook with the hinge sensor can work, reportedly the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro onwards. Whether it works on yours or not, tell me your Mac model and macOS version: open a bug report.

Could a macOS update break it?

Yes. Apple documents neither the lid-angle sensor nor the keyboard backlight control Dimmer uses, so either can change in an update without notice.

Does it dim the screen too?

Yes, by default, along the same curve as the keyboard, fading the picture to black at the off angle. It takes your normal brightness while the lid is fully open and always ramps back to it when you open the lid again, even if automatic brightness moved the screen in between. Turn off Dim screen too if you only want the keyboard.

What is the licence?

GPL-3.0, and free, with no account. Fork it if you want to.

Is it from Apple?

No. Dimmer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.