Install liquidctl with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• liquidctl

Project history

The project grew around a practical gap in enthusiast and workstation hardware: many USB and HID cooling/RGB devices shipped with vendor GUI utilities, but Unix-like users and automation-heavy users wanted inspectable command-line control. The repository describes liquidctl as a cross-platform tool and drivers for liquid coolers and other devices.

Its release history shows steady expansion across device families, including NZXT, Corsair, EVGA, ASUS, Aquacomputer, Lian Li, MSI, Gigabyte, and memory or power-supply sensors. The codebase combines a CLI with Python drivers and documentation for device-specific behavior and access permissions.

Adoption history

liquidctl is adopted by users who want hardware monitoring and control without proprietary background suites, especially on Linux, macOS, BSD, and scripted Windows setups. The docs list distribution packages for Alpine, Arch-family distributions, Fedora, Nix, Homebrew, FreeBSD, and DragonFly BSD.

The official README and docs emphasize package-manager installation, PyPI installation, udev rules for unprivileged device access, and automation at boot, which made it useful in homelabs, Linux gaming rigs, CI-like hardware test benches, and quiet workstation setups.

How it is used

Users run liquidctl list, initialize devices, read status, set fan or pump speed curves, and set LED colors. Some operations require platform-specific permissions or explicit unsafe flags for buses such as SMBus.

For packagers, liquidctl is a small but dependency-sensitive hardware tool: Python, HID, USB, Pillow, and platform access rules all matter more than a typical pure CLI package.

Why package nerds care

liquidctl is a package-manager favorite because it replaces vendor-only GUI control paths with a scriptable, auditable command-line tool. It is especially relevant on Linux systems where hardware support often arrives through community reverse engineering and packaging before vendors provide native tools.

Its supported-device table is unusually package-relevant: new package versions can unlock support for specific hardware families, so users may care about formula freshness in a very concrete way.

Timeline

• 2020: The 1.x release era established liquidctl as a packaged CLI for liquid cooler and device control.
• 2024: liquidctl 1.14.0 expanded supported hardware and documented support for newer NZXT, Corsair, ASUS, and related devices.
• 2025: liquidctl 1.15.0 added support for NZXT Kraken Elite 2024 RGB and Corsair HX1200i ATX 3.1, and raised the minimum Python version to 3.9.
• 2026: liquidctl 1.16.0 was released on March 3, 2026, adding more ASUS, Aquacomputer, Corsair, Lian Li, NZXT, and related device support.

Related projects

• Related projects and interfaces include hidapi, libusb, hwmon, OpenRGB, lm-sensors, vendor suites such as NZXT CAM and Corsair iCUE, and OS-level udev or driver tooling used to grant device access.
• liquidctl also sits near Homebrew, PyPI, Linux distribution packages, BSD ports, and Nix because hardware automation users often install it through the package manager closest to their host OS.

Sources

• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/liquidctl
• https://github.com/liquidctl/liquidctl
• https://github.com/liquidctl/liquidctl/releases
• https://github.com/liquidctl/liquidctl/tags
• https://liquidctl.readthedocs.io/en/latest/