FOSSPicks

Universal PC LED controller

OpenRGB

Even if flashy PC hardware with multicolor lights isn't your thing, it's now difficult to buy something that doesn't want to glow or flash in some way. RAM modules, mainboards, cooling systems, CPU fans, power supply units, and even USB ports often sport complex arrays of LEDs and displays that can be used to indicate everything from temperature to their owner's lack of taste. Of course, all of this can typically be turned off or tuned to the same color, but only if you have each manufacturer's custom executable for each brand and product branch. Oh, and you'll need a copy of Microsoft Windows. Linux users are often left in the dark, literally, when it comes to software support for these lights. We're often left struggling with Wine when we need to bend these devices to our will.

This has led to groups of enthusiastic users and developers reverse engineering the protocols behind many of these devices. They then skillfully use this information to create third-party tools that chase product IDs and serial numbers, as well as the huge variety of methods and mechanisms these products use to create their blend of red, green, and blue light. This is what OpenCorsairLink did, for example, and liquidctl, both of which we've covered in these pages. But even with these brilliant tools, you're still left with a disparate collection of utilities for different devices, all of which make their own interface choices and design decisions. This is why the all-encompassing OpenRGB project is so brilliant.

OpenRGB is a desktop application that can talk to hundreds of different light-emitting devices from dozens of different manufacturers. It does this in a consistent and predictable way across all the devices it supports. There's support for devices from AMD, ASRock, ASUS, Cooler Master, Corsair, eVision, Gainward, Gigabyte, Logitech (keyboards and mice), MSI, Razer, Thermaltake, and many others. Most will just work, while a few require some kernel tweaks or a kernel module for your distribution. If your device connects via USB, you'll need to add a new (documented) rule to enable non-root access. Others, such as the Philips Hue Bridge, require a few configuration options such as IP and MAC addresses added to the global configuration file.

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