lunar.fyi Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700:3036::6815:151e  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Mastodon
lunar View Source Codeavailable on GithubDownload Lunar 3 (old)for macOS 10.14
and older
Low-tech appsChangelogContactFAQ


LUNAR

THE DEFACTO APP

FOR CONTROLLING MONITORS


Try for free14-day trial included
What features are free without a license?
Pro Meteor Buy Pro
Buy Lunar ProLifetime license costs $23
Compatible with macOS 11+Native on Apple Silicon and Intel
View SourceView Source Code
Download Lunar 3 (old)for macOS 10.14 and older


KEEP THE COLORS VIVID


DDC

Free Feature

Control the real brightness of any monitor, even on Apple Silicon.

Unlike other software that only simulate a brightness change by adding a black
overlay over your screen, Lunar uses DDC (Display Data Channel) to send commands
like set brightness to 30% or switch input to HDMI 2 directly to the monitor.

This keeps the colour rendering closer to reality, consumes less power and
minimizes the backlight bleeding effect.


APPLE NATIVE

Free Feature

Smooth transitions for Apple displays

Apple vendored displays get special treatment as Lunar uses an implementation
hidden inside macOS Display Services to control them natively. The list of
displays include:

 * Studio Display
 * Pro Display XDR
 * LG Ultrafine for Mac
 * Thunderbolt Display
 * LED Cinema (when connected via USB)


CONTROL EVERYTHING FROM THE KEYBOARD


MANUAL MODE

Free Feature

The same familiar keys can now control your external monitors.

 * Brightness Keys: adjust brightness for all displays at once
 * Volume Keys: adjust the volume of the active monitor
 * Input Hotkeys: set hotkeys to switch to other HDMI, DisplayPort or USB-C
   ports

The brightness keys can also adjust only the monitor with the cursor on it.




KEEP ALL YOUR DISPLAYS IN SYNC


SYNC MODE

Pro Feature

Sync Mode ports the MacBook's adaptive brightness feature to all your external
monitors.

Whenever macOS adapts your MacBook display using the built-in Ambient Light
Sensor, Lunar will sync that adjustment to all your monitors.

Syncing also works with adjustments made by TouchBar or brightness keys.

Try for free14-day trial included


BREAK PAST BRIGHTNESS LIMITS


XDR BRIGHTNESS

Pro Feature

Unlock the full brightness of your XDR display

The 2021 MacBook Pro and the Pro Display XDR feature an incredibly bright panel
(1600 nits!), but which is locked by macOS to a third of its potential (500
nits...).

Lunar can remove the brightness lock and allow you to increase the brightness
past that limit.

You can finally go outside and work on your laptop in the bright sunlight
without squinting! You probably don't do this often, but it's nice to have,
right?

Preview this section in Safari, on a MacBook Pro 2021 or an HDR monitor like Pro
Display XDR to see the XDR effect.

This section might look desaturated if viewed with HDR disabled.


Try for free14-day trial included


SUB-ZERO DIMMING

Free Feature

Dim the brightness below the screen limit

This is for the night owls who stay up too late, clacking on their laptop
keyboards way after midnight.

Even at 0%, most monitors are not dark enough for your late-night coding
sessions or for writing that last chapter of your book while the sunrise is
drawing nearer.

With Lunar, when you reach 0%, you can keep pressing the Brightness Down key to
go even lower.


REACT TO THE AMBIENT LIGHT AROUND YOU


SENSOR MODE

Pro Feature

Sensor Mode brings adaptive brightness for any Mac device.

If you use a Mac Mini, a MacBook with the lid closed, or even a Hackintosh,
Lunar can automatically adapt your monitors' brightness and contrast based on
readings from an external ambient light sensor.

The sensor is wireless, can be powered by USB or Lithium-ion battery and can
even be used for multiple computers as long as they're in the same network as
the sensor.

Do it yourself


BLACKOUT DISTRACTING SCREENS


AUTO BLACKOUT

Pro Feature

Turn off the MacBook display when a monitor is connected.

Activate Auto BlackOut and let Lunar turn off your MacBook display automatically
when an external monitor is connected.

When the monitor is disconnected, the MacBook display will come back on.

There are some nice advantages to having the MacBook display off with the lid
open:

 * Sensor Mode: Lunar can use the built-in light sensor to adapt the monitor
   brightness automatically (Apple Silicon only)
 * TrackPad, Keyboard, TouchID, webcam, speakers, microphone are still available
 * Less anxiety about CPU heat melting your display

Try for free14-day trial included


BLACKOUT

Pro Feature

Focus on the real work by disabling screens that you don't need.

BlackOut enables you to selectively turn off displays using a single hotkey.

Use cases:

 * Turn off the MacBook display without closing the lid
 * Turn off external monitors while keeping the USB and charging capabilities
 * BlackOut all displays except one so you can focus on it

Move the cursor on the screen you want to disable and press Control+Command+6 to
activate BlackOut.

Press the hotkey again to deactivate BlackOut and return to the previous
brightness.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


FACELIGHT FOR YOUR FACETIME

OR ZOOM, HANGOUTS, WHATEVER


FACELIGHT

Pro Feature

Use your monitor as a really bright LED panel when you're having video calls in
your cozy dark room.

If having your face well lit in a video call is more important than screen
space, Lunar can help you with a single hotkey.

Press Control+Command+5 or use the Lunar menu to activate FaceLight and Lunar
will increase the active monitor's brightness and contrast to maximum and place
a warm-white overlay on top of your screen.

Press the hotkey again to deactivate FaceLight and return to the previous
brightness.


LUNAR

VS

MONITORCONTROL AND DISPLAYBUDDY

WITH AN EMPHASIS ON LUNAR BEING THE BEST, OF COURSE

FeatureLunarMonitor ControlDisplay BuddyDDC support

Native brightness control for all modern monitors

Brightness and volume keys support

Control monitors using the same keys used by macOS

Fallback when DDC fails

Software dimming using Gamma or Dark Overlay

Native macOS feel

OSD, native UI, OS integration

Dim brightness below zero

Use software dimming to go below the screen 0% brightness limit

Input switching

Switch to HDMI/DisplayPort/USB-C port from the app

No brightness preset per input

Sync brightness between displays

Allows macOS adaptive brightness on external monitors

No auto-learning algorithm

No per-monitor brightness curve

No auto-learning algorithm

Built-in light sensor support

Monitors adapt to ambient light even when the MacBook display is off

Turn off the MacBook display

Automatically turn on/off the MacBook display when a monitor is connected

XDR brightness

Go over the 500nits limit of the 2021 MacBook Pro

External light sensor supportScheduled brightness presetsDDC support for
DisplayLinkDDC on the HDMI port of M1 MacsmacOS ShortcutsCommand-line
integrationColor calibration controlsAutomatic App-based PresetsCustom Presets
with HotkeyUse monitor as a light-panel in meetingsSunrise/sunset based adaptive
brightnessOpen source code

Source available

for non-paid features

Pricing

Free

for manual adjustments

$23

for adaptive brightness (5 Macs)

$0

$20

for 2 Macs

$30

for 5 Macs


MENUBAR INTERFACE


PREFERENCES INTERFACE

Try for free14-day trial included


PUT YOUR MONITORS ON A SCHEDULE


CLOCK MODE

Pro Feature

In Clock Mode, Lunar will automatically adapt your monitors based on a
pre-defined schedule.

If you're working in a shared office and the sun shines from 9 to 5 no matter
the season, Clock Mode is the thing for you.

There are 5 available schedules that can be set to any of the following schedule
types:

 * Time: set the configured brightness and contrast at a specific time of day
 * Sunrise: set the configured brightness and contrast at sunrise
 * Noon: set the configured brightness and contrast when the sun is at its
   highest point in the sky
 * Sunset: set the configured brightness and contrast at sunset

For sunrise, sunset and noon there's a configurable offset, so you can do things
like:

 * set brightness to 70%, 30 minutes before sunrise
 * set brightness to 30%, 1 hour and 30 minutes after sunset

TRANSITIONS

Clock Mode supports the following transitions:

 * None: apply the brightness and contrast instantly on the defined time
 * 30 minutes: start transitioning slowly to the defined brightness and contrast
   30 minutes before the schedule time
 * Full: transition brightness and contrast slowly from previous schedule until
   the next schedule



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


LET THE SUN GUIDE THE BRIGHTNESS


LOCATION MODE

Pro Feature

In Location Mode, Lunar will automatically adapt your monitors based on the sun
position in the sky.

Location Mode shines in environments with lots of natural light, where the
ambient light in the room correlates with the sun elevation.

If you're using a Mac Mini or a MacBook with the lid closed, Location Mode can
be a good alternative because Sync Mode is not available without a built-in
Ambient Light sensor.

If you still need the monitors to adapt to the light around you, Sensor Mode
would be a better choice.




MACBOOK M1/M2 DUAL MONITOR SETUP

The M1 and M2 MacBooks can work with more than one monitor with the help of a
DisplayLink adapter and a Raspberry Pi. (not needed for M1 Pro/Max)


DISPLAYLINK

Even though the M1/M2 MacBook has two Thunderbolt ports, only one of those can
be connected to a monitor.

To work around this limitation, DisplayLink adapters can collect video data from
the Mac through a simple USB connection and then send it to multiple monitors.

ADAPTERS FOR DUAL MONITOR SETUP

These are cheaper but they need a separate USB-C hub or adapter as they only
have an USB-A connector.

 * StarTech:
   * Amazon.com
   * Amazon.de
   * Amazon.co.uk
 * Plugable:
   * Amazon.com

ADAPTERS FOR MULTI-MONITOR SETUP

These are more expensive but with a single USB-C connection you get
multi-monitor support, a ton of USB ports, card readers, ethernet and 65W-100W
charging.

 * Dell D6000
   * Amazon.com
   * Amazon.de
   * Amazon.co.uk
 * Kensington SD4900P
   * Amazon.com
 * Kensington SD4780P
   * Amazon.de
 * Kensington SD4750P
   * Amazon.com
   * Amazon.co.uk
 * WAVLINK
   * Amazon.com
   * Amazon.de
   * Amazon.co.uk

After connecting a DisplayLink adapter to your MacBook, install the required
software and your monitors should appear in System Preferences -> Displays and
in Lunar.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The DisplayLink software on macOS doesn't support passing through DDC or Gamma
changes to the monitors, so we have to get inventive.


BRIGHTNESS AND VOLUME CONTROL

Lunar can control DisplayLink monitors with the help of a network connected
Raspberry Pi.

The way Lunar does this is by having a Pi board connected to a separate HDMI
port of your monitor and Lunar relaying the DDC commands through a custom server
running on the Pi.

Minimum requirements

 * An unused HDMI port on your DisplayLink monitor
 * Raspberry Pi Zero W (cheapest Pi with Wi-Fi)
 * Micro SD card with Raspberry Pi OS
 * Mini HDMI to HDMI cable
 * Micro USB cable and a 5V power adapter with a minimum of 1A output (this is
   usually present in most houses)

Setting up the Pi is as simple as clicking on Install DDC Server on Raspberry Pi
and waiting for Lunar to install and configure the server.


FALLBACK WHEN DDC FAILS

Lunar can work around the lack of DDC support of some devices using two separate
and very different methods.


GAMMA TABLES

Free Feature

The works out of the box method.

Lunar can approximate a decrease in brightness by changing the software gamma
tables to make the colors look darker.

This doesn't change the hardware brightness as DDC does, so you have to manually
set the monitor's brightness and contrast (using the monitor physical buttons)
to the highest possible values that look good for your monitor.

This also means that monitor volume and input can't be controlled.


NETWORK CONTROL

Free Feature

The why do I have to do this? method...

If your monitor simply refuses to accept commands from your Mac and you want
your DDC controls back, Lunar can use a Raspberry Pi with network access for
this.

The way this works is by having the Pi connected to a separate HDMI port of your
monitor and Lunar relaying the DDC commands through a custom server running on
the Pi.

Minimum requirements

 * A monitor with an unused HDMI port
 * Raspberry Pi Zero W (cheapest Pi with Wi-Fi)
 * Micro SD card with Raspberry Pi OS
 * Mini HDMI to HDMI cable
 * Micro USB cable and a 5V power adapter with a minimum of 1A output (this is
   usually present in most houses)


WORKS WITH APPLE SILICON

Lunar can use DDC to control monitors on all Apple Silicon Macs!


HARDWARE CONTROLS

Free Feature

Lunar can use the Apple Silicon GPU to communicate with monitors through the I²C
protocol and do the following:

 * Change the hardware brightness and contrast
   * these are the same values that you can change through the monitor buttons
 * Adjust the volume
 * Switch the input
 * Power off the monitor


POWERFUL AUTOMATIONS

Make Lunar do things your way using macOS Shortcuts


SHORTCUTS

Pro Feature

Create your own complex presets, arrange monitors in organized layouts, and
automate every aspect of your monitors.

Shortcuts can even be used to fix macOS issues like swapped screen positions and
rotations.

Designing with reference modes like P3-D65 also gets easier as Shortcuts can
switch to any mode and add hotkeys to the actions.

Check out the Shortcuts page to find some useful pre-made shortcuts that you can
add with a click.


COMMAND-LINE INTEGRATION


LUNAR CLI

Free Feature

Control and automate your monitors from the command-line.

/Applications/Lunar.app/Contents/MacOS/Lunar install-cli


 * lunar get and lunar set: Quickly set/get monitor values if you have a single
   external monitor
 * lunar displays: Control and query each display separately
 * lunar lux: Check the ambient light around you
   * only on M1 Macbooks and iMacs
 * lunar builtin: Query the built-in display of the Macbook
 * lunar ddc: Send arbitrary DDC commands
 * lunar gamma: Control the Gamma tables per monitor
 * lunar lid: Check if the lid of the Macbook is open or closed
 * lunar ddcctl: Use ddcctl directly
   * only on Intel Macs
 * lunar hotkeys: See all the hotkeys of Lunar


LUNAR PRO

More details about each Pro feature here

FeatureFree versionLunar ProDDC ControlsSub-zero dimmingFallback when DDC
failsBrightness keys supportVolume keys supportCommand-line integrationInput
switchingMulti-monitor supportApp PresetsXDR BrightnessFaceLightBlackOutSync
ModeLocation ModeSensor ModeClock ModeManual Mode100 adjustments per
dayUnlimited adjustmentsShortcuts100 action calls per dayUnlimited
actionsPricingFree$23

Try for free14-day trial included
Pro Meteor
Buy Lunar ProLifetime license costs $23

LUNAR © 2022

Who did this?The Monitor DatabasePrivacyEULA
Who did this?