digital-brightness

With the latest advancements regarding display technology’s increasingly higher maximum brightness measured in nits, plenty of manufacturers seem to overlook the importance of making screens dimmable enough for a comfortable viewing experience during late night work shifts, essay writing or movie watching, which is why the open-source community steps in and tries to fill the gap through the use of software-based overlays that decrease the light emitted by your monitor, such as digital-brightness.

Double-clicking on the included executable instantly launches the app’s background service marked by its dedicated taskbar icon, meant to listen for users’ inputs. Focusing on its process with the cursor allows you to adjust the overlay’s dimming intensity via the up and down arrow keys, making it easier on the eyes in a dimly lit environment, while the left and right buttons let you change its color temperature for a more potent blue light filter for users with sleep problems.

Given its portable format, the program can be easily added to on-the-go USB flash drive-powered setups for those who tend to switch between their work and personal devices without having to worry about synchronizing specific application settings over the cloud.

While the program works well in its current form, certain improvements can be made to take the user experience a step forward, such as the possibility of implementing a system tray icon for easier access, alongside the ability to set custom global hotkeys that can be activated without leaving full screen apps. However, since its source code is openly available, those with programming experience can make these suggestions or fork the repository to create custom versions featuring changes that fit their preferences.

Whether your current monitor’s lowest dimming setting is still too bright for your particular workflow, or Windows’ Night light feature is too cumbersome to customize since it requires users to go through multiple settings panels to adjust its parameters, digital-brightness may be the right solution for you, thanks to its lightweight and portable form-factor that enhances your screen’s dimming capabilities through the use of software overlays.