LUMEL is a tiny macOS menu-bar app that unlocks the brightness range your Mac already has but hides. Boost a supported XDR display toward ~1600 nits for sunlight, or dim below the macOS floor for dark rooms at night. Free to download; a one-time $2.99 unlocks full-screen boost. No subscription, no account, no data collected.
⬇️ Download on the Mac App Store · 🌐 getlumel.app · 🐞 Report a bug / request a feature
Note
LUMEL is a commercial, closed-source Mac app. This repository hosts its docs, release notes, and issue tracker, not the source code. Found a bug or want a feature? Open an issue. They're read and welcomed.
macOS quietly caps two things:
- Brightness tops out around 500 nits for everyday (SDR) content, even on MacBook Pro displays rated for 1000 nits sustained and ~1600 peak. Step into sunlight and the screen washes out.
- The brightness slider won't go below a fixed floor. In a dark room at night, even the lowest setting can feel harsh, a common cause of eye strain. (Apple's own 2024 MacBook Pro displays were widely covered for going "even dimmer in low light", proof both ends of the range matter.)
LUMEL fixes both, from the menu bar, using Apple's public Extended Dynamic Range rendering. No private APIs, no system hacks.
- ☀️ Boost beyond the cap: push a supported XDR display toward its ~1600-nit peak so it stays readable in direct sunlight.
- 🌙 Eclipse: dim below the minimum. Go darker than macOS allows for night reading and dark rooms. Free and unlimited.
↔️ Both directions, one app: the only Mac brightness app that brightens and dims. No second app for night.- ⌨️ Global shortcut (⌃⌥⌘B): toggle boost from any app. No Accessibility permission required.
- 🔋 Battery-aware: set a 10-50% threshold and boost switches off automatically; Low Power Mode disables it too.
- ⏲️ Optional auto-off timer: 30 min / 1 h / 2 h, so sustained brightness never sneaks up on you.
- 🖥️ Per-display memory: on/off per screen, remembered across reconnects, sleep, and hot-plug.
- 🔒 Private by architecture: sandboxed, no network entitlement, collects nothing. See SECURITY.md.
| Display | Boost (brighter than max) | Eclipse (dim below min) |
|---|---|---|
| 14″ / 16″ MacBook Pro (Apple silicon, XDR) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Pro Display XDR · Studio Display | ✅ | ✅ |
| Other Macs / external monitors | No (needs EDR headroom) | ✅ |
Boost requires a display that reports Extended Dynamic Range headroom. On displays without it, LUMEL still runs and Eclipse dimming still works, so the boost controls simply stay inactive until a compatible display is connected.
An honest look at the apps people ask about: differences, not trash-talk.
| LUMEL | Vivid | BrightIntosh | LumiMax | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direction | Brighten + dim | Brighten only | Brighten only | Brighten only |
| Dim below minimum | ✅ Eclipse | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Price | Free + $2.99 once | ~$15 once | $1.99 once | $16.35 + fee |
| Free tier | ✅ Compare boost + full Eclipse | Watermark demo | 3‑day trial | 3‑day trial |
| Native brightness keys | ❌ (sandbox trade-off) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Collects no data | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Open source | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
Where others win: Vivid, BrightIntosh, and LumiMax hook into your Mac's native brightness keys; LUMEL trades that away to stay sandboxed and permission-free. BrightIntosh is also open-source and $1.99, so it's cheaper. If below-minimum dimming, a free tier that never expires, and a single app for both directions matter more to you, that's LUMEL. Competitor prices verified June 2026. Check each store for current pricing.
LUMEL is sandboxed with no network entitlement, so it cannot send data off your Mac. No analytics, no telemetry, no accounts, no ads. The $2.99 purchase is handled by the App Store (StoreKit), not by LUMEL. Full details in SECURITY.md.
- Open the Mac App Store listing and click Get.
- Launch LUMEL. It lives in your menu bar.
- Click the icon, choose Boost or Eclipse, and drag the slider.
- (Optional) Tap Full screen to unlock LUMEL Pro ($2.99) for whole-display boost across every screen.
- Update: via the Mac App Store → Updates (auto-updates if enabled).
- Uninstall: quit LUMEL, then remove it from the App Store (Uninstall) or
/Applications. It leaves nothing behind but a small preferences file in~/Library. - Requirements: macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. Boost requires an EDR/XDR-capable display.
Have a bug, a Mac that should be supported, or a feature idea? Open an issue. This tracker is the official place for it, and it shapes the roadmap.
Is LUMEL open source? No. LUMEL is a commercial, closed-source app on the Mac App Store. This repository hosts its docs, release notes, and issue tracker. (Prefer open source? BrightIntosh is a solid GPL-licensed, brighten-only option.)
Why pay $2.99 when BrightIntosh is $1.99 (and free apps exist)? Because LUMEL is the only one that also dims below the minimum, and its free tier (Compare boost plus unlimited Eclipse dimming) never expires. You're paying for two-way control and a lasting free tier, not just a brightness boost. If you only ever brighten, a cheaper brighten-only app may suit you better, and that's fine.
Does it collect any data? No. Sandboxed, no network entitlement, no analytics or accounts. Your preferences stay on your Mac. See SECURITY.md.
Which Macs work? Boost needs an EDR/XDR display (14″/16″ MacBook Pro Apple silicon, Pro Display XDR, Studio Display). Eclipse dimming works on any Mac running macOS 13+.
If LUMEL makes your Mac better, ⭐ star this repo. It helps others find it.
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