Command Overview

ddcutil has the following commands:

Primary Command Function
detect report monitors detected
capabilities report a monitor's capabilities string
getvcp feature-code-or-group report a single VCP feature value, or a group of values
setvcp feature-code new-value set a single VCP feature value
vcpinfo (feature-code-or-group)  list VCP features codes that ddcutil knows how to interpret
dumpvcp filename save color related VCP feature values to a file
loadvcp filename restore color related VCP feature values from a file
scs execute DDC/CI Save Current Settings operation


Secondary Command Function
environment explore the ddcutil installation environment (other than USB)
usbenvironment explore USB aspects of the ddcutil installation environment
probe report the capabilities string and probe the features of a single monitor
interrogate collect maximal information for problem diagnosis
chkusbmon /dev/hiddevN   used by udev rules to test if a USB device represents a monitor


A feature code is specified as a hexadecimal number, with or without a leading "x". For example, to the current brightness value:

$ddcutil getvcp 10

A feature-group is a named set of features. For example:

$ ddcutil getvcp all
$ ddcutil getvcp color


If more than one monitor is attached, the desired monitor can be specified using any of several options. The most useful are:

--display <display number>
--bus <i2c bus number>

To see a list of all attached monitors and their associated identifiers:

$ ddcutil detect

These sections document ddcutil commands and options in detail:

The --help option provides a summary of commands and options, as does the man page:

$ ddcutil --help
$ man 1 ddcutil

Command examples: