asusctl
CLI for ASUS ROG and TUF laptop hardware on Linux
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
asusctl command [subcommand] [options]
DESCRIPTION
asusctl is the command-line client for asusd, a system daemon that exposes ASUS laptop hardware over D-Bus. It controls performance profiles, keyboard RGB (Aura), battery charge limits, fan curves, AniMe Matrix lid displays, Slash LED bars, firmware attributes via asus-armoury, and related BIOS/efivar settings.The CLI queries the daemon for the laptop's support level and only shows commands the hardware can use. asusd is started by udev and systemd when a supported device is present. A companion GUI, rog-control-center, talks to the same daemon.Many features track Linux kernel work on `asus-wmi` and `asus-armoury`. A current kernel is recommended; missing options often mean the running kernel lacks the matching driver support.
CONFIGURATION
/etc/asusd/asusd.conf
System daemon settings, including the persistent battery charge limit./etc/asusd/anime.conf
System AniMe sequences for boot, wake, and shutdown, plus global brightness./etc/asusd/profile.conf
Fan-curve and profile data. First run fills it from EC defaults./usr/share/asusd/aura_support.ron
Per-model Aura keyboard layout and supported LED modes.~/.config/rog/rog-user.cfg
User-daemon (asusd-user) config for custom Aura effects and AniMe sequences.
COMMANDS
profile
Manage platform power profiles (Quiet, Balanced, Performance). Subcommands: next, list, get, set. set takes a profile name; -a applies it on AC power and -b on battery.leds
Keyboard brightness. Subcommands: set (off, low, med, high), get, next, prev.battery
Charge control. limit percent sets a persistent 20–100 charge cap. info prints the current limit. oneshot [percent] allows one full charge (default 100) then returns to the limit.fan-curve
Custom fan curves on laptops that expose them. --get-enabled lists enabled profiles. --mod-profile selects which profile to edit. --data supplies temperature:percentage points. --fan selects cpu, gpu, or mid. --default restores the EC defaults for the active profile.aura
Built-in Aura LED modes and power. effect --next-mode / --prev-mode cycle factory effects. Further subcommands set power state and individual modes on supported keyboards.anime
AniMe Matrix lid display sequences (models that include the panel).slash
Slash LED-bar control on supported chassis.scsi
SCSI LED control.armoury
Read and write asus-armoury firmware attributes. Subcommands: list, get property, set property value.backlight
Screenpad brightness, gamma, and sync with the primary display.info
Print version and product information. --show-supported lists which functions this laptop implements.
INSTALL
CAVEATS
Requires asusd running and a kernel with the matching ASUS drivers. Commands and LED modes vary by model; unsupported hardware returns errors or hides options. Profile switching often needs power-profiles-daemon. Fan curves need both hardware support and a recent enough kernel. Do not treat unofficial GitHub mirrors as upstream; the project lives on GitLab.
HISTORY
asusctl is part of the ASUS Linux suite started by Luke Jones to give ASUS ROG and TUF laptops a safe D-Bus layer over keyboard LEDs, charge limits, platform profiles, and related firmware. Version 6.3 rebuilt the CLI around nested subcommands (`profile set`, `battery limit`, `leds set`) in place of the older short flags.
SEE ALSO
tlp(8), powertop(8), auto-cpufreq(8)
