fancontrol

fancontrol [configfile_]

fancontrol is a shell script from the lm-sensors package that provides automated fan speed management based on temperature readings. It reads its configuration from a file, calculates fan speeds from temperatures, and sets the corresponding PWM outputs to the computed values.The daemon continuously monitors hardware temperature sensors and adjusts PWM-controlled fans to maintain desired thermal levels. Configuration is typically generated with the pwmconfig utility, which detects available fans and sensors, then creates appropriate mappings and thresholds.

configfile_

Path to configuration (default: /etc/fancontrol).

/etc/fancontrol

Main configuration file with the following key variables:

Maps PWM outputs to temperature sensors.

Associates PWM outputs with fan speed inputs for monitoring.

Temperature range for fan speed calculation.

PWM value range corresponding to the temperature range.

Minimum PWM value at which fans start spinning.

Minimum PWM value at which fans still spin (below this they stop).

Number of temperature readings to average (default: 1, no averaging).

Requires configured hardware monitoring (lm-sensors). Run pwmconfig first to detect fans and sensors and generate the configuration file. Requires root privileges since it accesses hardware PWM controls. The daemon runs in the foreground by default; use a systemd service or init script to run it as a background service.

sensors(1), hwinfo(1)