QuadcastRGB

About

The program (or driver, if you wish) allows setting the RGB lights of HyperX Quadcast S and Duocast just like NGenuity does. It is supposed to work on all Unix-like systems. The Linux and MacOS versions have been tested and work as expected.

Available modes are solid, blink, cycle, wave, lightning, and pulse. The program runs as a daemon (except the MacOS version), kill it, or unplug the mic to stop.

Features:

free & open source (GPL-2.0-only)
works on Unix-like OSes
cli
daemon

Things yet to be done:

self-contained static compilation (without libusb)
the foreground option (-f and --foreground)
properly test FreeBSD
visualizer mode (i.e. VU meter)
save option
multiple mics support

Examples:

# Default solid color (#f20000, red) for the whole micro:
quadcastrgb solid 
# Random blinking colors:
quadcastrgb blink
# Default cycle (rainbow) mode for the whole micro:
quadcastrgb -a cycle 
# Purple color for the upper part and yellow for the lower:
quadcastrgb -u solid 4c0099 -l solid ff6000 
# Default cycle mode for the upper diode with 50% brightness and yellow lightning for the lower:
quadcastrgb -u -b 50 cycle -l lightning ff6000

Install

Arch-based distro

quadcastrgb is available in the AUR.

Install with yay

yay -S quadcastrgb

Build on your own

mkdir quadcastrgb && cd quadcastrgb
wget https://gitlab.com/Ors1mer/QuadcastRGB/-/raw/main/aur/PKGBUILD
makepkg -sri # build and install
cd .. && rm -rf quadcastrgb # clean-up

Debian-based distro

Simply download it and install:

wget https://ors1mer.xyz/downloads/quadcastrgb-1.0.4-2-amd64.deb
dpkg -i quadcastrgb-1.0.4-2-amd64.deb

Alternatively, it is possible to make a deb package of your own:

git clone https://gitlab.com/Ors1mer/QuadcastRGB.git
cd QuadcastRGB
make debpkg # build the package with dpkg
dpkg -i deb/quadcastrgb-1.0.4-2-amd64.deb # install

RPM-based distro

Everything is pretty much the same as for deb. Simply download and install:

wget https://ors1mer.xyz/downloads/quadcastrgb-1.0.4-2.x86_64.rpm
rpm -ivh quadcastrgb-1.0.4-2.x86_64.rpm

Or build the package from source:

git clone https://gitlab.com/Ors1mer/QuadcastRGB.git
cd QuadcastRGB
make rpmpkg # build the package in ~/rpmbuild/
rpm -ivh quadcastrgb-1.0.4-2.x86_64.rpm

MacOS

Installation

Download the binary executable for your processor architecture (Intel or ARM):

Rename the file however you like (quadcastrgb in the examples). Open the directory (folder) with the file in Terminal. Execute this to make the file executable and allow it to run on the system (MacOS doesn't trust the binary by default; if you do not either - don't use the program):

chmod 711 quadcastrgb
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine quadcastrgb

Launch the program like this:

./quadcastrgb solid

If you have encountered errors (e.g. Library not loaded), you have to install the libusb dynamic library.

Libusb installation

Homebrew

brew install libusb
ln -s /opt/homebrew/Cellar/libusb/1.0.27/lib/libusb-1.0.0.dylib /usr/local/lib/libusb-1.0.0.dylib

The second command creates a symlink so that the binary can find the library (for some reason, homebrew doesn't do it automatically). You'll also need superuser rights for the command.

Compilation

In Terminal enter:

curl -OL https://github.com/libusb/libusb/releases/download/v1.0.26/libusb-1.0.26.tar.bz2
tar xvfj libusb-1.0.26.tar.bz2
cd libusb-1.0.26
./configure
make
make check
make install # needs superuser rights
cd .. && rm -r libusb-1.0.26

The make command might prompt you to install "additional development tools". Just agree and re-execute the command as well as the remaining ones.

I want quadcastrgb to continue running after I close the terminal

Just launch the program like this:

open -a /path/to/quadcastrgb --args <program arguments>

You must enter the absolute path to the executable after the -a option. There are a bunch of options for how to do this. You may find it in the file properties. Or run this while in the program directory in Terminal:

pwd

You'll get something like /Users/Bob/Desktop. Just append /quadcastrgb (assuming quadcastrgb is the name of the file) to the output, and that will be the absolute path.

To make the command shorter, create an alias:

alias quadcastrgb="open -a /path/to/quadcastrgb --args "

To make the alias permanent, run this:

echo "alias quadcastrgb=\"open -a /path/to/quadcastrgb --args\"" >> ~/.zshrc

Now you can run it from any directory in Terminal:

quadcastrgb <arguments>

Keep in mind that if you move the program file elsewhere, its absolute path changes and you'll have to update the alias.

Compiling from source

If you are lucky, this should be enough:

make install # linux
gmake install OS=freebsd # freebsd

Specify BINDIR_INS and MANDIR_INS for make if you want to change the install locations.

FAQ

Problem 1: make failed

Check the dependencies:

gcc v12.2.0 OR clang v14.0.6 (most versions should do fine)
libusb-1.0 v1.0.26 or newer
glibc or any other standard C library

Problem 2: command not found

Check the $PATH and manpath. The program follows XDG specifications, so the binary is stored in $HOME/.local/bin (should be in $PATH) and the man is in $HOME/.local/share/man (should be in $MANPATH). It is possible to move them, of course.

Problem 3: couldn't open the microphone

Check the error code. If it is 4, try running the program under superuser privileges. If that was the problem, you should eventually create a dev rule for the microphone to allow certain users access to it.

How to create the udev rule

Firstly, check what is the VendorID:ProductID of your mic e. g. like this:

$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0951:171f Kingston Technology HyperX QuadCast S # this is what you're looking for
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0951:171d Kingston Technology HyperX QuadCast S

It must be either 0951:171f, 03f0:0f8b, 03f0:028c, 03f0:048c, 03f0:068c, or 03f0:098c (if it isn't, contact me, the author, I'll add support for your IDs).

Let's proceed to the rule creation:

# Here the rules are stored:
cd /etc/udev/rules.d 
# Do under superuser:
vi 10-quadcast-perm.rules

Write this line, save & exit (:wq):

SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="<THE_VENDOR_ID>", ATTRS{idProduct}=="<THE_PRODUCT_ID>", MODE="0660", GROUP="hyperrgb"

Now the microphone is accessible for the group "hyperrgb". Add your user to the group and it's done.

Problem 4: launching the program a second time does nothing

Probably, the previous instance is still running. Kill it with kill or killall.

How to end the program

Simply kill the process by name:

killall quadcastrgb

Problem 5: "HyperX Quadcast S isn't connected" even though it is

Chances are you have a new revision of the mic that has unsupported VendorID:ProductID.

Currently supported IDs:

0951:171f
03f0:0f8b
03f0:028c
03f0:048c
03f0:068c
03f0:098c

If you have different IDs (check it with lsusb, for example), contact the author; I'll add the support very quickly.

When reporting the issue, provide the detailed output about Quadcast S devices if possible:

lsusb -vd 'VendorID:ProductID'