ddcutil

6.9easy start · #4 of 25
in Monitor Control Software

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you worknot on record

Runs on api, Linux, self-hosted.

ddcutil is ranked #4 of 25 in monitor control software on The Geeks Club. It runs on API, Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

ddcutil plans and pricing

All plans

ddcutil Free GNU General Public License, V2 (GPLV2) ddcutil.com · 4 Oct 2026

ddcui Free GNU General Public License, V2 (GPLV2); graphical interface for ddcutil ddcutil.com · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on monitor control software

Free plan: Yes
Supported platforms: Linux
DDC/CI control: Yes
Input switching: Yes
Monitor profiles: Yes
CLI or API access: Yes

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The record

Purpose: ddcutil is a Linux program for managing monitor settings such as brightness, color levels, and input source.
Monitor communication: It communicates with monitors using DDC/CI over I²C and also supports monitors that implement MCCS over USB.
Monitor controls: Its commands can detect monitors, report capabilities, read and set VCP feature values, and save or restore color related settings.
Graphical interface: ddcui is a Qt graphical interface with Summary, Capabilities, and Features views, and its Features view can change modifiable values.
Color profiles: The dumpvcp command saves current color related monitor settings to a file, and loadvcp restores them.
Integration: The documentation says ddcui can be used alongside DisplayCal’s monitor adjustment phase, and C or C++ programs can access dump/load services through the API.
API: The C API is exposed through the shared library libddcutil.so and includes functions for reading and writing VCP values and saving and restoring profile related features.
License: ddcutil is released under the GNU General Public License version 2, and its source is hosted on GitHub.
Installation: The maker documents prebuilt packages and source builds; its project maintained packages include builds for some Debian, openSUSE, and Ubuntu releases, with Launchpad and Fedora COPR packages also described.
Linux distributions: The documentation says ddcutil is included in Arch, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, Manjaro, openSUSE, and Raspbian.
Setup requirements: ddcutil requires the Linux kernel i2c-dev module, and permissions must be granted for non-root users to run it.
Support: The maker directs technical support questions, bug reports, and feature requests to the GitHub issue tracker.
Display limits: ddcutil does not support laptop displays, which are controlled through a special API rather than I²C.
USB limits: For MCCS over USB, table type features are unsupported and the capabilities command synthesizes a response because the specification has no mechanism to query a capabilities string.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Monitor Control Software in 2026#4 of 25

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Sources

ddcutil.com· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/commands/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/ddcui_main/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/colormgt/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/api_main/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/install/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/config_steps/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/tech_support/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/usb/· checked 3 Oct 2026
ddcutil.com/command_detail/· checked 4 Oct 2026