Control your monitor with ddcutil

Published: July 6th 2026 (week 28 of 2026) in linux

Quoting the source: "ddcutil is a Linux program for querying and changing monitor settings, such as brightness, color levels, and input connector." I found out about ddcutil after reading this post on wykop.

Get some basic information about your monitor

ddcutil detect

Display 1

  I2C bus:              /dev/i2c-7

  EBID synopsis:

    Model:              PHL BDM4065

    Manufacture year:   2015, Week: 36

I had bought the monitor more than a decade ago and have since forgotten its exact model, but it appears I have a PHL BDM4065 (mirror). This trusty old workhorse has never failed me, and proved sturdy enough to survive five apartment changes, and even an international move.

Set the monitor's brightness to 50%

ddcutil --bus=7 setvcp 10 50

This is pretty neat.

PHL BDM4065

When I bought the monitor it felt like extravangance and dabbling in unnecessary luxury, but I still remember the feeling of awe at the incredible amount of screen real estate I suddenly had available. Suddenly I could have several terminal windows open with the code, debugger, and documentation side by side without having to switch virtual desktops. I started using the awesome window manager, and later, after I migrated to Wayland, switched to Sway. Even for a pure text-based workflow with tmux the screen is totally worth it.

The funny thing is, I did look for a new monitor and never found anything better. The PHL BDM4065 can push 60 FPS at 4K resolution over DisplayPort without any problems, has a good enough power efficiency, and satisfactory pixel density for work, gaming, watching films, etc. The monitors now on offer do not improve on any of these aspects in any meaningful way, and also cost an arm and a leg.

They don't make 'em like they used to, and they charge more on top of it!

Would it be nice to have a USB hub built into the monitor so I can have less clutter on the desk? Of course it would. But would it be nice enough to justify spending hundreds of euro on a brand new screen that I do not actually need, just for some minor convenience? No, it would not (especially if I can just get a really nice hub as a separate device instead).

PHL BDM4065

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