/liquidctl

Cross-platform CLI and Python drivers for AIO liquid coolers and other devices

Primary LanguagePythonGNU General Public License v3.0GPL-3.0

liquidctl – liquid cooler control

Cross-platform tool and drivers for liquid coolers and other devices

Status of the tests Status of the build for Windows

# liquidctl list
Device ID 0: NZXT Smart Device (V1)
Device ID 1: NZXT Kraken X (X42, X52, X62 or X72)

# liquidctl initialize all

# liquidctl --match kraken set fan speed  20 30  30 50  34 80  40 90  50 100
# liquidctl --match kraken set sync color spectrum-wave

# liquidctl --match smart set led color fading 350017 ff2608
# liquidctl --match smart set fan1 speed 50

# liquidctl status
NZXT Smart Device (V1)
├── Fan 1                        PWM  
├── Fan 1 current               0.04  A
├── Fan 1 speed                 1035  rpm
├── Fan 1 voltage              11.91  V
├── Fan 2                          —  
├── Fan 3                          —  
├── Firmware version           1.0.7  
├── LED accessories                2  
├── LED accessory type    HUE+ Strip  
├── LED count (total)             20  
└── Noise level                   60  dB

NZXT Kraken X (X42, X52, X62 or X72)
├── Liquid temperature     28.1  °C
├── Fan speed               851  rpm
├── Pump speed             1953  rpm
└── Firmware version      6.0.2

Table of contents

  1. Supported devices
  2. Installing on Linux
  3. Installing on Windows
  4. Installing on macOS
  5. The command-line interface
    1. Listing and selecting devices
    2. Initializing and interacting with devices
    3. Supported color specification formats
  6. Automation and running at boot
    1. Set up Linux using systemd
    2. Set up Windows using Task Scheduler
    3. Set up macOS using launchd
  7. License
  8. Related projects

Supported devices

All-in-one liquid coolers

Family Documentation Notes
Corsair H80i GT, H100i GTX, H110i GTX documentation E, Z
Corsair H80i v2, H100i v2, H115i documentation Z
EVGA CLC 120 (CL12), 240, 280, 360 documentation Z
NZXT Kraken M22 documentation
NZXT Kraken X40, X60 documentation E, L, Z
NZXT Kraken X31, X41, X61 documentation E, L, Z
NZXT Kraken X42, X52, X62, X72 documentation
NZXT Kraken X53, X63, X73 documentation E, U

Other parts

Family Documentation Notes
Corsair HX750i, HX850i, HX1000i, HX1200i documentation E
Corsair RM650i, RM750i, RM850i, RM1000i documentation E
NZXT E500, E650, E850 documentation E
NZXT Grid+ V3 documentation
NZXT HUE 2, HUE 2 Ambient documentation E
NZXT Smart Device documentation
NZXT Smart Device V2 documentation E
NZXT RGB & Fan Controller documentation E, U

E Experimental.
L Requires the --legacy-690lc flag.
Z Requires replacing the device driver on Windows.
U Starting with upcoming liquidctl 1.4.0.

Installing on Linux

Packages are available for certain Linux distributions and package managers:

Alternatively, it is possible to install liquidctl from PyPI or directly from the source code repository. In these cases the following runtime dependencies are necessary:

Dependency Arch Linux Fedora Ubuntu
Python 3.6+ python python3 python3
libusb-1.0 libusb-1.0 libusbx libusb-1.0-0
pkg_resources python-setuptools python3-setuptools python3-pkg-resources
docopt python-docopt python3-docopt python3-docopt
PyUSB python-pyusb python3-pyusb python3-usb
cython-hidapi python-hidapi python3-hidapi python3-hid

Setuptools and, optionally, pip are needed to manually install liquidctl:

Dependency Arch Linux Fedora Ubuntu
setuptools python-setuptools python3-setuptools python3-setuptools
pip (optional) python-pip python3-pip python3-pip

If cython-hidapi is to be installed from sources or directly from PyPI, then build tools and development headers for Python, libusb-1.0 and libudev are also needed.

To install any release from PyPI, pip should be used:

# pip install liquidctl
# pip install liquidctl==<version>

For the latest changes and to contribute back to the project, it is best to clone the source code repository and install liquidctl from your local copy:

$ git clone https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl
$ cd liquidctl
# python setup.py install

Note: in systems that default to Python 2, replace pip and python by pip3 and python3.

Installing on Windows

A pre-built executable for the last stable version is available in liquidctl-1.3.3-bin-windows-x86_64.zip.

Executables for previous releases can be found in the assets of the Releases tab, and development builds can be found in the artifacts on the AppVeyor runs.

Products that cannot use the generic Microsoft HID Driver require another driver that is compatible with libusb (see notes in the Supported devices section). In most cases Microsoft WinUSB is recommended, which can be easily set up for a device with Zadig¹ - open the application, click Options, List All Devices, then select your device from the dropdown list, and click Replace Driver.

The pre-built executables can be used as is by calling them from a Windows Command Prompt, Power Shell or other available terminal emulator. Even so, most users will want to place the executable in a directory listed in the PATH environment variable, or change the variable so that becomes true; this allows omitting the full path and .exe extension when calling liquidctl.

Alternatively to the pre-built executable, it is possible to install liquidctl from PyPI or directly from the source code repository. Pre-build liquidctl executables for Windows already include Python and libusb, but when installing from PyPI or the sources both of these will need to be manually set up.

The libusb DLLs can be found in libusb/releases (part of the libusb-<version>.7z files) and the appropriate (e.g. MS64) .dll and .lib files should be extracted to the system or python installation directory (e.g. C:\Windows\System32 or C:\Python36). Note that there is a known issue in PyUSB that causes errors when the devices are released; the solution is to either manually patch PyUSB or stick to libusb 1.0.21.

To install any release from PyPI, pip should be used:

> pip install liquidctl
> pip install liquidctl==<version>

For the latest changes and to contribute back to the project, it is best to clone the source code repository and install liquidctl from your local copy:

> git clone https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl
> cd liquidctl
> python setup.py install

¹ See How to use libusb under Windows for more information.

Installing on macOS

liquidctl is available on Homebrew, and installing liquidctl using it is straightforward.

$ brew install liquidctl
$ brew install liquidctl --HEAD

By default the last stable version will be installed, but by passing --HEAD this can be changed to the last snapshot from this repository. All dependencies are automatically resolved.

Another possibility is to install liquidctl from PyPI or directly from the source code repository, but in these cases Python 3 and libsub must be installed first; the recommended way is with brew install python libusb.

To install any release from PyPI, pip should be used:

$ pip3 install liquidctl
$ pip3 install liquidctl==<version>

To contribute back to the project, it is best to clone the source code repository and install liquidctl from your local copy:

$ git clone https://github.com/jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl
$ cd liquidctl
$ python3 setup.py install

Note: installation into a virtual environment is recommended to avoid conflicts with Python modules installed with Homebrew. The use of virtual environments is outside the scope of this document. Their use will also restrict the availability of the liquidctl command to that virtual environment.

Introducing the command-line interface

The complete list of commands and options can be found in liquidctl --help, on in the man page, but the following topics cover the most common operations in the command-line interface.

Brackets [ ], parenthesis ( ), less-than/greater-than < > and ellipsis ... are used to describe optional, required, positional and repeating elements. Example commands are prefixed with a number sign #, which also serves to indicate that on Linux root permissions might be required.

The --verbose option will print some extra information, like automatically made adjustments to the user provided settings. And if there is a problem, the --debug flag will make liquidctl output more information to help identify its cause; be sure to include this when opening a new issue.

Note: when debugging issues with PyUSB or libusb it can be useful to set the PYUSB_DEBUG=debug or/and LIBUSB_DEBUG=4 environment variables.

Listing and selecting devices

A good place to start is to ask liquidctl to list all recognized devices.

# liquidctl list
Device ID 0: NZXT Smart Device (V1)
Device ID 1: NZXT Kraken X (X42, X52, X62 or X72)

In case more than one supported device is found, the desired one can be selected with --match <substring>, where <substring> matches part of the desired device's description using a case insensitive comparison.

# liquidctl --match kraken list
Device ID 0: NZXT Kraken X (X42, X52, X62 or X72)

More device properties can be show by passing --verbose to liquidctl list. Any of these can also be used to select a particular product.

# liquidctl --serial 1234567890 list
Device ID 0: NZXT Kraken X (X42, X52, X62 or X72)

Ambiguities for any given filter can be solved with --pick <number>. Devices can also be selected with --device <ID>, but these are not guaranteed to remain stable and will vary with hardware changes, liquidctl updates or simply normal variance in enumeration order.

Initializing and interacting with devices

Devices will usually need to be initialized before they can be used, though each device has its own requirements and limitations. This and other information specific to a particular device will appear on the documentation linked in the supported devices section.

Devices can be initialized individually or all at once.

# liquidctl [options] initialize [all]

Most devices provide some status information, like fan speeds and liquid temperatures. This can be queried for all devices or using the filtering methods mentioned before.

# liquidctl [options] status

Fan and pump speeds can be set to fixed values or, if the device supports them, custom profiles.

# liquidctl [options] set <channel> speed (<temperature> <percentage>) ...
# liquidctl [options] set <channel> speed <percentage>

Lighting is controlled in a similar fashion and, again, the specific documentation for each device will list the available channels, modes and additional options.

# liquidctl [options] set <channel> color <mode> [<color>] ...

Supported color specification formats

When configuring lighting effects, colors can be specified in different representations and formats:

  • as an implicit hexadecimal RGB triple: e.g. ff7f3f

Starting with upcoming liquidctl 1.4.0:

  • as an explicit RGB triple: e.g. rgb(255, 127, 63)
  • as a HSV (hue‑saturation‑value) triple: e.g. hsv(20, 75, 100)
    • hue ∊ [0, 360] (degrees); saturation, value ∊ [0, 100] (percent)
    • note: this is sometimes called HSB (hue‑saturation‑brightness)
  • as a HSL (hue‑saturation‑lightness) triple: e.g. hsl(20, 100, 62)
    • hue ∊ [0, 360] (degrees); saturation, lightness ∊ [0, 100] (percent)

Color arguments containing spaces, parenthesis or commas need to be quoted, as these characters can have special meaning on the command-line; the easiest way to do this on all supported platforms is with double quotes.

# liquidctl --match kraken set ring color fading "hsv(0,80,100)" "hsv(180,80,100)"

On Linux it is also possible to use single-quotes and \(, \), \ escape sequences.

Automation and running at boot

In most cases you will want to automatically apply your settings when the system boots. Generally a simple script or a basic service is enough, and some specifics about this are given in the following sections.

If you need more control for some really ambitious automation, you can also write a Python program that calls the driver APIs directly.

Set up Linux using systemd

On systems running Linux and Systemd a service unit can be used to configure liquidctl devices. A simple example is provided bellow, which you can edit to match your preferences and save the result to /etc/system.d/system/liquidcfg.service.

[Unit]
Description=AIO startup service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=liquidctl set pump speed 90
ExecStart=liquidctl set fan speed  20 30  30 50  34 80  40 90  50 100
ExecStart=liquidctl set ring color fading 350017 ff2608
ExecStart=liquidctl set logo color spectrum-wave

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

The unit can be started manually or set to automatically run during boot using standard Systemd tools:

# systemctl start liquidcfg
# systemctl enable liquidcfg

A slightly more complex example can be seen at jonasmalacofilho/dotfiles, which handles multiple devices and uses the LEDs to convey progress and alert of errors.

Set up Windows using Task Scheduler

The configuration of devices can be automated by writing a batch file and setting up a new task for (every) log on, using Windows Task Scheduler. The batch file can be really simple and only needs to contain the invocations of liquidctl that would otherwise be done manually.

liquidctl set pump speed 90
liquidctl set fan speed  20 30  30 50  34 80  40 90  50 100
liquidctl set ring color fading 350017 ff2608
liquidctl set logo color spectrum-wave

Make sure that liquidctl is available in the context where the batch file will run: in short, liquidctl --version should work within a normal Command Prompt window.

When not using a pre-built liquidctl executable, try installing Python with the option to set the PATH variable enabled, or manually add the necessary folders to the PATH.

A slightly more complex example can be seen in issue #14 ("Can I autostart liquidctl on Windows?"), that uses the LEDs to convey progress or eventual errors. Chris' guide on Replacing NZXT’s CAM software on Windows for Kraken is also a good read.

As an alternative to using Task Scheduler, the batch file can simply be placed in the startup folder; you can run shell:startup to find out where that is.

Set up macOS using launchd

You can use a shell script and launchd to automatically configure your devices upon logging in.

Create a script in /usr/local/bin/liquidcfg.sh and make it executable; it should contain the calls to liquidctl necessary to initialize and configure your devices.

#!/bin/bash -xe
liquidctl set pump speed 90
liquidctl set fan speed  20 30  30 50  34 80  40 90  50 100
liquidctl set ring color fading 350017 ff2608
liquidctl set logo color spectrum-wave

Afterwards, create a new global daemon in /Library/LaunchDaemons/local.liquidcfg.plist that executes the previous script.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>ProgramArguments</key>
	<array>
		<string>/usr/local/bin/liquidcfg.sh</string>
	</array>
	<key>Label</key>
	<string>local.liquidcfg</string>
	<key>RunAtLoad</key>
	<true/>
	<key>KeepAlive</key>
	<false/>
	<key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
	<dict>
		<key>PATH</key>
		<string>/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/?.?/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin</string>
	</dict>
</dict>
</plist>

It is important to adjust the location of Python 3 framework in the PATH environment variable above. launchd agents use the system profile and thus will by default only find the Apple-provided Python 2.7 and its packages.

You can enable and disable the agent with launchctl load|unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/local.liquidcfg.plist. Errors can be found in system.log using Console; search for liquidcfg or liquidctl.

A real world example can be seen in icedterminal/ga-z270x-ug.

License

liquidctl – monitor and control liquid coolers and other devices.
Copyright (C) 2018–2020 Jonas Malaco
Copyright (C) 2018–2020 each contribution's author

liquidctl includes contributions by CaseySJ, Tom Frey and other authors.

liquidctl incorporates work by leaty, KsenijaS, Alexander Tong, Jens Neumaier, Kristóf Jakab, Sean Nelson, Chris Griffith, notaz, realies and Thomas Pircher.

Depending on how it is packaged, it might also bundle copies of python, hidapi, libusb, cython-hidapi, pyusb and docopt.

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

This project uses short SPDX License List identifiers to concisely and unambiguously indicate the applicable license in each source file.

Related projects

jonasmalacofilho/liquidctl-device-data

Device information for developing and maintaining liquidctl, including USB descriptions, traffic captures and protocol analyses.

jonasmalacofilho/liquidtux

Ongoing work on Linux kernel hwmon drivers for some of the devices supported by liquidctl. This allows standard monitoring tools (e.g. lm-sensors or tools built on top of it) to read the sensors in these devices.

audiohacked/OpenCorsairLink

Command-line tool to control Corsair all-in-one liquid coolers and other devices.

jaksi/leviathan and brkalmar/leviathan

Linux kernel device drivers for second and third generation NZXT Kraken X coolers.

KsenijaS/krakenx

A related cross-plataform interface for controlling third generation NZXT Kraken X coolers.

A special thanks to all krakenx contributors; this project would not exist were not for it.