Ever found yourself wishing the brightness keys on your Mac keyboard could adjust the brightness of external displays? Have you wanted to tweak the brightness of a secondary monitor directly from your Mac?

For those using multiple monitors, adjusting brightness across all screens can be inconvenient if you have to manually use the buttons on each external display.

Thankfully, there's a free third-party app called MonitorControl that allows you to control the brightness of your external displays using the same F1 and F2 brightness keys (or Touch Bar) you use for your Mac’s built-in display. You can even synchronize brightness levels across all connected displays so that changes apply universally.

This is an excellent tool for any Mac user working with external monitors—especially those who often work at night or in low-light environments and want an easy way to dim their external screens.

To use MonitorControl, your external display must support DDC, which enables software-based adjustments to display settings. Most modern monitors do support this, though you may want to verify with your display manufacturer. As long as DDC is supported, MonitorControl works well with displays connected via HDMI, USB-C, Thunderbolt, or DisplayPort.

• Download MonitorControl for free from GitHub

Once downloaded, drag the app into your Applications folder and launch it.

You'll also need to give MonitorControl permission under "Security & Privacy" > Privacy > Accessibility, allowing it to control your system so it can change display settings.

Provided your external display(s) support DDC (most modern ones do—I'm currently using an AOC 28" 4K display), MonitorControl should work immediately.

The brightness keys will affect whichever display contains the active cursor. So to adjust brightness on an external screen, simply move your mouse cursor to that display, then press the brightness keys.

You can also use the menu bar icon to fine-tune brightness on any connected external display by dragging the slider to your desired level.

There are many configuration options available, and brightness isn't the only thing you can control. If your display supports it, you can also adjust contrast and even audio output if your monitor has built-in speakers.

MonitorControl supports multi-monitor setups and even works when using an iPad as a Sidecar display.

Advanced brightness controls such as holding Shift Option to make finer adjustments are supported too, and you can even adjust brightness through Terminal commands or AppleScript.

Another alternative utility, Lunar, offers similar functionality and additional options for users whose external monitors don’t support DDC. Feel free to explore that option as well if needed.

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