The convenient alternative to screen blanking - automatically dims your Raspberry Pi touchscreen when idle, keeping it visible but power-efficient.
Note: This tool is designed for displays connected via ribbon cable (like the official Pi touchscreen). It may not work with HDMI displays.
- Ribbon-cable connected display (HDMI wont work)
- X11 Display protocol (Wayland wont work)
- Automatic dimming of your Raspberry Pi's screen, controlled by last input (touch, mouse, keyboard)
- Improves power efficiency and LCD life compared to an always-on display
- Allows you to set the brightness percentage for both "active" and "inactive" states
- Give you a way to control / change screen brightness on the fly
- Force the PI from going into sleep/blank mode (though this is configurable in other ways)
rpi-auto-dimmer-v2.mp4
Watch the auto-dimmer in action - idle timeout is set to 2s for demo purposes
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdennis281/rpi-auto-dimmer/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bashsudo /opt/rpi-auto-dimmer/config.shcurl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdennis281/rpi-auto-dimmer/refs/heads/main/update.sh | bashcurl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdennis281/rpi-auto-dimmer/refs/heads/main/uninstall.sh | bashThe installer automatically handles:
- System packages:
python3,python3-pip,python3-venv,xprintidle - Python dependencies:
rpi_backlightfor display control - Service setup: Creates and enables systemd service for automatic startup
- Permissions: Configures user access to GPIO and backlight controls
- Configuration: Sets up sensible defaults (customizable later)
- Idle brightness: 5% (nearly off but visible)
- Active brightness: 100% (full brightness)
- Dim delay: 30 seconds of inactivity
sudo /opt/rpi-auto-dimmer/config.shThe interactive configuration script will guide you through customizing:
- Brightness levels for idle and active states
- Delay before dimming kicks in
- Update frequency for activity checking
# Check status
sudo systemctl status rpi-auto-dimmer
# Start service
sudo systemctl start rpi-auto-dimmer
# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop rpi-auto-dimmer
# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart rpi-auto-dimmer
# View logs
sudo journalctl -u rpi-auto-dimmer -f- Service name:
rpi-auto-dimmer - Installation path:
/opt/rpi-auto-dimmer/ - Configuration file:
/opt/rpi-auto-dimmer/config.ini - Runs as: Current user with hardware access permissions
- Auto-start: Enabled on boot
- xprintidle - Detects user idle time in X11
- rpi_backlight - Controls Raspberry Pi display backlight
- Raspberry Pi (any model with display output)
- Official Raspberry Pi 7" Touchscreen Display (or compatible)
- Raspberry Pi OS with desktop environment
Service won't start?
# Check service status
sudo systemctl status rpi-auto-dimmer
# Check logs for errors
sudo journalctl -u rpi-auto-dimmer -n 50Permission errors?
# Ensure user is in correct groups
groups $USER # Should include 'gpio' and 'video'
# If not, run the installer again
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdennis281/rpi-auto-dimmer/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bashScreen not dimming?
- Check if
xprintidleis working:xprintidle(should return a number) - Verify display is supported: Check
/sys/class/backlight/for available controls - Review configuration:
/opt/rpi-auto-dimmer/config.ini
Still having issues? Open an issue with:
- Service logs:
sudo journalctl -u rpi-auto-dimmer -n 100 - System info:
uname -aandcat /proc/device-tree/model
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Thanks to the rpi_backlight project for making display control simple
- Built for the awesome Raspberry Pi community 🥧
⭐ Star this repo if it helped you save power and extend your Pi display's life!
Made with ❤️ for Raspberry Pi enthusiasts