Thoughtful display comfort for long days at the screen.
Features · Build and run · Platform support · Preview notes · Documentation · Support
MonitorMate brings monitor brightness, colour warmth, break reminders and focus overlays into one compact desktop window. It is built for people who spend long sessions at a screen and want direct controls, fewer interruptions and a clear view of their work rhythm.
Created and maintained by Benedictus RH (@benedictusrey).
Promotional illustration based on the app. The authentic interface capture appears below.
v1.0.0 GitHub preview. Windows includes display controls, reminders and focus. Linux and macOS have a smaller reminder app with explicit capability limits. Packages are unsigned or ad-hoc signed. This is a feedback preview with no timed trial. Read installation and verification before using it. Release page.
| Area | What MonitorMate adds |
|---|---|
| Display controls | Per-display hardware brightness and opt-in contrast over DDC/CI where supported; software dimming where gamma control is available. |
| Comfort presets | Daylight, Evening, Night, Reading, Focus and Cinema, with adjustable warmth and extra dim. |
| Daily rhythm | Fixed-hour scheduling or offline sunrise/sunset estimates from coordinates you enter. |
| Break reminders | 20-20-20, Pomodoro, Deep work and custom timing, with gentle, full-screen and strict scheduled reminders. |
| Focus sessions | A click-through reading band or spotlight, adjustable surrounding dim and a session timer. |
| Activity | Aggregate screen, break and focus totals stored on your PC while MonitorMate runs. |
| Desktop integration | Tray controls, global shortcuts, close-to-tray and display identification. |
Hardware support varies by monitor, cable, adapter and driver. Gamma controls are not a replacement for calibrated colour management or HDR controls. A readable ramp does not establish write support. Windows can limit or reject an adjustment; administrator access is not a general fix. Use Windows Night light or monitor controls when software colour control is unavailable.
On first launch, choose Use manually or Enable automatic. Manual mode keeps presets, supported display controls and reminders available without scheduled, startup or resume changes. Enabling automatic changes asks for confirmation; declining keeps manual mode available. See display-control choices.
Start with a preset, then adjust your display settings. Schedule changes by fixed hours or estimate daylight from manually entered coordinates. Warmth and software dimming are composed from a stored gamma baseline rather than repeatedly stacking new adjustments on the previous tint.
Pause and normal exit attempt to restore that baseline. Driver failures and forced termination still limit restoration guarantees. The preview repairs own-tint recapture and restart cleanup ordering. Strong dimming or warmth may be reduced to meet Windows gamma limits. The control status distinguishes confirmed, limited and rejected requests; real-monitor validation remains pending.
Generated illustration. Small labels and values may differ from the saved capture; see image provenance.
Keep a reading band or spotlight clear while the surrounding screen recedes. The overlay does not intercept pointer clicks. Pair a session with a break rhythm, or start a break when you need one. Manually started breaks remain skippable, including when strict scheduling is selected.
Esc normally ends focus when Windows registers the key. MonitorMate preserves that registration when shortcuts change. The Focus page and tray provide other exits.
Generated illustration based on the saved Focus page, not a new runtime test.
The saved Today capture shows the compact WPF interface, schedule rail, quick actions and local activity summary. The default window is 1040 by 650 WPF device-independent units. Other page captures are retained separately from promotional artwork.
| Platform | Included features | Available package |
|---|---|---|
| Windows x64 | Full WPF app: display controls, reminders, focus, tray and local activity. | Per-user .exe installer. |
| Linux x64 | Avalonia reminder preview. No native display commands, focus overlays or global shortcuts. | AppImage; Ubuntu 22.04+ with X11/XWayland is the initial target. |
| macOS Intel and Apple Silicon | Same smaller reminder preview. | One DMG containing separately labelled Intel and Apple Silicon apps; macOS 14+. |
These are three platform downloads, not universally compatible binaries. The Mac DMG contains two native apps rather than one Universal 2 binary. Linux/macOS reminders support start, pause/resume, stop, skippable breaks and saved rhythm. They do not measure screen time or run after the app closes. Portable preview scope · Interface capture.
For the smaller cross-platform preview, install the .NET 10 SDK and run:
dotnet run --project src/MonitorMate.Desktop/MonitorMate.Desktop.csprojFor the full Windows app, use Windows x64 and the .NET 10 SDK. Running the framework-dependent output requires the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime.
dotnet build src\MonitorMate\MonitorMate.csproj -c Debug
dotnet src\MonitorMate\bin\Debug\net10.0-windows\MonitorMate.dllThe default project sets UseAppHost=false, so it produces a DLL rather than a
standalone executable. Follow installation and packaging
to publish the complete desktop folder. The local installer creates shortcuts;
exit a running copy normally before using it so gamma cleanup can run.
Download the three packages from v1.0.0 releases. Compare the current SHA256SUMS.txt before launch. Refreshed downloads keep the same version and filenames, so save the checksum when reporting a problem.
No app account, advertising SDK, telemetry client or upload service was found in
the reviewed source. Windows settings, typed solar coordinates, gamma records,
usage totals and logs normally live in %APPDATA%\MonitorMate.
MONITOR_MATE_DATA_DIR overrides that location. Linux/macOS reminders store their rhythm and total separately in the OS local application-data directory. Files are not encrypted by MonitorMate; review diagnostics before sharing.
Activity is an estimate, not system-wide or per-app screen-time measurement. Screen minutes are sampled while the app runs and idle time is under two minutes. Controlled regressions cover break accounting, solar dates, consent, disabled displays, reset, gamma bounds and restoration ordering. Physical multi-monitor, mixed-DPI, Narrator and clean-machine acceptance remain incomplete.
Report vulnerabilities through private GitHub reporting. Read Privacy, Security, Support and the verification matrix. MonitorMate makes no medical treatment claim. Compilation, checksums and generated images do not certify hardware safety.
Start with Contributing, Architecture and the implementation plan. The changelog and preview notes distinguish completed work from proposed releases.
The public v1.0.0 release is a GitHub preview without a timed trial. A paid official Microsoft Store edition is a future plan; pricing and commercial support terms are undecided. The source uses the MIT License. Copyright: Benedictus RH (@benedictusrey). Future paid Store distribution and MIT reuse rights are described in Licensing.
Authors · Project identity · Third-party notices · Repository settings · Complete documentation
Other projects by the author: WhatsNow for WhatsApp and IG-Now.