Night Light

Applies color temperature shifts using the Wayland wlr-gamma-control protocol. Supported on compositors that implement gamma control (Hyprland, Sway, niri, etc.). Follows the [location] schedule when enabled; use force to ignore the schedule.

[nightlight]
enabled              = false
force                = false   # hold night temperature, ignoring the schedule

temperature_day   = 6500       # Kelvin (must be > temperature_night by at least 100)
temperature_night = 4000       # Kelvin

How the fade works

Day and night are separated by a one-hour fade centered on sunrise and sunset, so the temperature starts moving 30 minutes before the boundary and settles 30 minutes after it. The scheduled time is the midpoint of the fade, not its start.

The fade is anchored to the wall clock, not to when Noctalia started. The temperature you get is a function of how far into the fade window the current time is, so starting the shell in the middle of a sunset lands on the right temperature immediately rather than beginning a fresh fade.

Only the schedule fades. Anything else applies at once:

• Startup applies the current scheduled (or forced) temperature immediately.
• Enabling, disabling, or toggling force — from settings or IPC — snaps straight to the new temperature.
• Disabling night light releases gamma control, which restores the compositor’s native output instantly.

Related IPC

For night light commands, see System Controls → Night light.