Below
Darker than macOS allows.
Under about 6%, the screen stays on and the image keeps dimming through 0% to black.
LumiCore
A Mac menu bar app for brightness past the limits macOS will set.
$9
One-time purchase. Updates included. Requires macOS 26.6 or later.
Get the highlights.
Boost
Brighter than 100%.
The ceiling is yours, from 110% to 200%. Midtones get brighter. Highlights can clip.
BlackDim50%75%MaxBoost
Six presets.
Black, Dim, half, 75%, the macOS maximum, and your boost ceiling.
⌃⌥↑ ⌃⌥↓ ⌃⌥0
The display under the pointer.
Keys that keep going.
Brightness keys continue outside the macOS range. The shortcuts do not need Accessibility access.
Three parts of one slider.
Below is darker than the system minimum. The middle is the range Control Center and the brightness keys already use. Boost continues past 100%. Each display has its own slider. With more than one, they can move together.
The menu bar icon follows the zone, and can show the level. On quit, LumiCore can put each display back inside the range macOS controls. Your level is remembered. Startup never fades the screen all the way to black.
The keys, past both ends.
A brightness key keeps moving once the level leaves the macOS range. Below the minimum, one step is 2% of the way to a black image and the screen stays on. Above 100%, one step is 1%. You choose how many steps each press takes.
Control-Option-Up, Control-Option-Down, and Control-Option-0 change the display under the pointer, or every display when they are linked. They keep working after the image has faded to black.
Technical specifications
Mac
- System
- macOS 26.6 or later
- Version
- 1.0
- Where it runs
- The menu bar
Brightness
- Control
- Per display. More than one display can be adjusted together.
- Below the minimum
- Under about 6%, the screen stays on and the image dims through 0% to black
- macOS range
- The span Control Center and the brightness keys already set
- Boost
- Above 100%, up to a ceiling from 110% to 200%
- Presets
- Black, Dim, 50%, 75%, Max, and Boost
- Without hardware control
- The display is adjusted in software, including below and above the macOS range
- On quit
- Optional return to the macOS range. The level is remembered. Launch never fades all the way to black.
Controls
- Menu bar
- Icon follows the zone. The percentage can be shown or hidden.
- Brightness keys
- Continue below the minimum and above 100%. Step size is adjustable.
- Increase
- Control-Option-Up
- Decrease
- Control-Option-Down
- Reset
- Control-Option-0, back to 100%
- Which display
- The one under the pointer, or every display when they are linked
- Open at login
- Available once LumiCore is in the Applications folder
Privacy
- Account
- None
- Location
- Not used
- Settings
- Stored on your Mac
Purchase
- Price
- $9, once
- Updates
- Included
- Delivery
- Email, via Lemon Squeezy
- License
- The Macs you personally use
Questions
Which versions of macOS?
macOS 26.6 or later.
How do I receive the app?
Lemon Squeezy emails the download and a license key as soon as the payment is complete. Open LumiCore and enter that key. It activates this Mac.
Does LumiCore need an account?
No account. Enter the license key from the receipt to activate this Mac. Levels, presets, and the boost ceiling stay on the Mac.
Will it turn the display off?
No. Below about 6%, the panel stays lit and the image keeps dimming. Black is a black image with the screen still on. Opening LumiCore never starts from a fully black screen.
What does Boost do?
It continues past 100%, up to a ceiling you set between 110% and 200%. Levels above 100% brighten midtones and can clip highlights.
Which keys does it add?
Control-Option-Up increases brightness, Control-Option-Down decreases it, and Control-Option-0 returns the display to 100%. They change the display under the pointer, or every display when Adjust all displays together is on. They do not need Accessibility access, and they keep working after the image has faded to black.
Can it open at login?
Yes, after you move LumiCore into the Applications folder.
What if I want a refund?
Email [email protected] within 14 days.
Buy LumiCore.
$9
One-time purchase. Updates included.
BuyCheckout stays on this page, through Lemon Squeezy, the merchant of record. Tax is calculated before you pay. The download and license key arrive by email.