Fork of macbook-lighter

• Description
• Setup
• Usage
• Tested Versions
• License

MacBook keyboard and screen backlight adjust on the ambient light with nvidia graphic card. Internally, macbook-lighter-nvidia reads the following files:

# /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/light
# /sys/class/backlight/nv_backlight/brightness
# /sys/class/backlight/nv_backlight/max_brightness
# /sys/class/leds/smc::kbd_backlight/brightness
# /sys/class/leds/smc::kbd_backlight/max_brightness

So you're expected to install corresponding Nvidia/Intel drivers first.

All commands including macbook-lighter-kbd, macbook-lighter-screen will be available with sudo privilege once macbook-lighter-nvidia finished install.

Method: 1

To use in non-root environment such as xbindkeys, it's recommended to setup an "udev" rule to allow users in the "video" group to set the backlights. Place a file /etc/udev/rules.d/90-backlight.rules containing:

SUBSYSTEM=="backlight", ACTION=="add", \
  RUN+="/bin/chgrp video /sys/class/backlight/%k/brightness", \
  RUN+="/bin/chmod g+w /sys/class/backlight/%k/brightness"

And a file /etc/udev/rules.d/91-leds.rules containing:

SUBSYSTEM=="leds", ACTION=="add", \
  RUN+="/bin/chgrp video /sys/class/leds/%k/brightness", \
  RUN+="/bin/chmod g+w /sys/class/leds/%k/brightness"

Method: 2 Create/Add these commands to /etc/rc.local file to change the backlight file mode bits:

# /etc/rc.local
.
.
.
chmod 777 /sys/class/leds/smc::kbd_backlight/brightness
chmod 777 /sys/class/backlight/nv_backlight/brightness
.
.
. exit 0

Note: If you dont have /etc/rc.local file and rc-local.service (Check by executing sudo systemctl status rc-local), follow these steps to create one or both files:

1. Create /etc/rc.local file by running sudo vim /etc/rc.local and paste these:

# /etc/rc.local

#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.

# <Add terminal commands here without sudo>
chmod 777 /sys/class/leds/smc::kbd_backlight/brightness
chmod 777 /sys/class/backlight/nv_backlight/brightness

exit 0

2. Make the file executable using sudo chmod +x /etc/rc.local

3. If you don't have rc-local service too, then:

   a. Create one by executing sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/rc-local.service and paste these

      # /etc/systemd/system/rc-local.service
   
      [Unit]
      Description=/etc/rc.local Compatibility
      ConditionPathExists=/etc/rc.local
   
      [Service]
      Type=forking
      ExecStart=/etc/rc.local start
      TimeoutSec=0
      StandardOutput=tty
      RemainAfterExit=yes
      SysVStartPriority=99
   
      [Install]
      WantedBy=multi-user.target
   

   b. Enable it to start with system by running sudo systemctl enable rc-local and reboot. Check the status of your service file by executing sudo systemctl status rc-local.

# Increase keyboard backlight by 50
macbook-lighter-kbd --inc 50
# Increase screen backlight by 50
macbook-lighter-screen --inc 50
# Set screen backlight to max
macbook-lighter-screen --max
# start auto adjust daemon
systemctl start macbook-lighter
# start auto adjust interactively, root previlege needed
macbook-lighter-ambient

• MacBook Pro Mid 2010 13" (7,1)

MIT License