# Install brightness with Homebrew, MacPorts Change macOS display brightness from the command-line. Version 1.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with macports: sudo port install brightness. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:brightness ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install brightness ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install brightness ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/brightness/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:brightness - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.2 - **Source summary:** Change macOS display brightness from the command-line - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - brightness (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.2 ## Project history and usage brightness is a macOS command-line utility for reading and setting display brightness from scripts or the terminal. ### Project history The nriley/brightness repository was created in February 2014, with release 1.2 published in August 2015. The README describes a focused utility for controlling all internal and some external displays from the command line. Its maintenance history mirrors macOS display API changes. The README notes that documented APIs worked through macOS 10.12.3, then Night Shift in 10.12.4 required an undocumented method, and Apple Silicon Macs later required another undocumented method. ### Adoption history brightness became a durable small utility for macOS automation users. It is packaged in Homebrew and MacPorts according to the input package facts, has hundreds of GitHub stars, and Homebrew analytics reported several thousand installs over the prior year at lookup time. ### How it is used Users run simple commands such as `brightness 1`, `brightness 0.5`, or `brightness -l` to set or list display brightness. The README cautions that displays not controllable through macOS Displays settings generally cannot be controlled by the tool either. ### Why package nerds care brightness is the archetypal tiny macOS system utility package: a single-purpose binary that exists because shell scripts and automation tools need access to a GUI-era hardware setting. Its significance is not breadth, but longevity across changing macOS display internals. ### Timeline - 2014: Repository created. - 2015: Release 1.2 published. - 2017: README documents the macOS 10.12.4 Night Shift-era API break and workaround. - 2021: Repository history includes Universal 2 build work for Apple Silicon. - 2026: Homebrew stable version reported as 1.2. ### Related projects - Homebrew and MacPorts distribute brightness for macOS users. - macOS display APIs and IOKit-style display enumeration are the system interfaces around which the utility operates. - Shell scripts, launch agents, and automation workflows are common consumers of this kind of command-line brightness control. ### Sources - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Other Package-Manager Records - MacPorts - brightness: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/brightness/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/brightness.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/brightness.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph