# Twinkle Tray

> Free brightness sliders for external monitors on Windows

Twinkle Tray is a free Windows app that adds brightness sliders for every compatible monitor to the system tray, a control Windows lacks for external displays. It talks to monitors over DDC/CI and WMI, can change brightness by time of day or when the PC is idle, and can even out backlight levels between different monitors. Hotkeys and command-line arguments cover automation, and the code is published on GitHub under the MIT license.

- **Category:** Desktop Utilities
- **Made by:** Xander Frangos
- **Website:** https://twinkletray.com
- **Runs on:** Windows
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

Twinkle Tray is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** The site says every option and feature is 100% free. It is offered as an installer from GitHub or through the Microsoft Store, where the US listing shows Free with no in-app purchases.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Twinkle Tray | $0 | All features, from the GitHub installer (which the site recommends), the Microsoft Store or winget. MIT licensed. |

Read from https://twinkletray.com/ on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Twinkle Tray before buying.

## Key features

- **Brightness sliders in the tray:** A system tray icon opens a flyout with a slider for each compatible monitor, similar to the Windows volume flyout. Sliders can move one display or all of them together.
- **Time-of-day and idle adjustments:** Brightness can change automatically at set times of day, or when the computer has been idle.
- **Backlight normalization:** Levels can be evened out across monitors of different models. Version 1.17.2 added calibration points for a custom brightness curve on each display.
- **Hotkeys:** Keyboard shortcuts can be bound to raise or lower the brightness of a specific display or of all displays at once.
- **Other DDC/CI controls:** Beyond brightness, the app can control DDC/CI features such as contrast, volume and power state, and the default slider can be swapped for a custom VCP code.
- **Command-line arguments:** From version 1.13.0, a running copy accepts commands that list displays, set or offset brightness for one monitor or all, and send a specific VCP code.

## Good for

- Windows desktop users who want to dim external monitors from the taskbar
- Multi-monitor setups whose screens differ in brightness
- People who script brightness changes or bind them to hotkeys

## Worth knowing

- Windows 10 and Windows 11 only.
- Monitors must support DDC/CI, which can be switched off by default in a monitor's own menu; VGA and DVI connections may not be compatible.
- USB, Thunderbolt and Surface docks with HDMI or DisplayPort may not work, and the AMD Radeon Control Panel can interfere.
- The README warns that DDC/CI commands such as brightness and power state can make certain monitor models behave poorly.

**Tags:** Display control, Open source, Menu bar app

## Alternatives

- [f.lux](https://toolgpa.com/tools/f-lux): Warms your screen's color at night to match the time of day. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/f-lux-vs-twinkle-tray)
- [DisplayFusion](https://toolgpa.com/tools/displayfusion): Multi-monitor taskbars, wallpaper and window control for Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/displayfusion-vs-twinkle-tray)
- [MonitorControl](https://toolgpa.com/tools/monitorcontrol): Free, open-source brightness and volume control for Mac displays. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/monitorcontrol-vs-twinkle-tray)
- [BetterDisplay](https://toolgpa.com/tools/betterdisplay): Display scaling, brightness and DDC control for Mac. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/betterdisplay-vs-twinkle-tray)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://twinkletray.com/
- https://github.com/xanderfrangos/twinkle-tray
- https://github.com/xanderfrangos/twinkle-tray/releases/tag/v1.17.2
- https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9pljwwsv01lk?hl=en-US&gl=US

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/twinkle-tray
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).