asusctl for ASUS ROG

Warning

Kernel Patch Requirement: Many features are developed alongside Linux kernel updates. If an expected feature is missing, ensure your system is running the latest stable kernel or a kernel containing the required patches.

asusctl is a system control utility for Linux designed primarily for ASUS laptops, with reduced functionality available for non-ASUS hardware.

The project consists of three core components:

• asusd: System daemon controlled through D-Bus interfaces.
• rog-control-center: Graphical user interface for asusd.
• asusctl: Command-line client for asusd.

Overview and goals

The primary goal of asusctl is to provide a safe, efficient abstraction layer over hardware features using D-Bus. It manages automated system responses, such as switching performance profiles when connecting or disconnecting AC power.

• Clean interface: Exposes hardware controls safely via D-Bus.
• Resource efficiency: Operates with minimal CPU overhead and under 1 MB of RAM during standard daemon execution.

Hardware and kernel compatibility

Supported laptops

asusctl supports most ASUS gaming laptops equipped with a USB keyboard. To verify device compatibility, run lsusb in your terminal and check for entries matching:

Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0b05:1866 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. N-KEY Device

or

Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0b05:19b6 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. [unknown]

Devices displaying these hardware IDs typically function without extra configuration. Features such as AniMe Matrix, LED controls, and Slash displays work regardless of your laptop make. However, if you are using a newer laptop model, adding explicit hardware support may be required. See Laptop support requests for details.

Features such as battery charge thresholds use generic kernel interfaces and work on non-ASUS hardware, but platform and fan controls require ASUS-specific asus-nb-wmi or asus-armoury drivers.

Kernel requirements

Due to ongoing development, the minimum suggested kernel version is always the latest, as improvements are merged upstream continuously.

Support for Thermal Design Power (TDP) is tied to the new asus-armoury driver: available mainline since Linux 6.19: everything older is not supported.

Display server support (X11)

Note

X11 is officially unsupported. Technical assistance is not provided for X11 environments due to developer resource constraints and the unmaintained status of X11 itself.

Users who require X11 integration may compile the GUI application with X11 support enabled using cargo build --features "rog-control-center/x11". Operation on unmaintained display servers remains the responsibility of the user.

Implemented features

Feature availability depends on upstream Linux kernel support and specific hardware capabilities.

Power and performance

• Battery charge thresholds: Configure maximum charging limits (requires kernel support)
• Custom fan curves: Adjust fan profiles on supported hardware
• GPU MUX toggling: Switch GPU operational modes (G-Sync / MUX) on 2022 and newer laptops
• Power profile management: Control system performance profiles as detailed in MANUAL.md

Lighting and displays

• Built-in LED controls: Adjust integrated keyboard lighting modes
• Per-key RGB configuration: Customize individual key backlight settings
• Advanced lighting effects: Apply custom animation modes (currently undergoing revision)
• AniMe Matrix displays: Control panel rendering on equipped G14, M16, and Strix Scar 16/18 models

System integration

• System daemon (asusd): Background service handling hardware communications
• Graphical interface (rog-control-center): Desktop application with system tray integration and notifications
• POST audio controls: Toggle the BIOS boot sound setting

Additional hardware configuration notes

Keyboard backlight support relies on hardware mappings defined in ./rog-aura/data/aura_support.ron, installed to /usr/share/asusd/aura_support.ron. Because keyboard controller configurations vary across model generations and firmware revisions, explicit layout definitions prevent misconfigurations. Refer to the rog-aura README for configuration details.

Installation and setup

Package installation

Pre-built binary packages are available in several Linux distribution repositories. Check your package manager before building from source.

Distribution	Repository Source	Installation Command	Notes
Ultramarine / Nobara	Official Repositories	sudo dnf install asusctl	Direct package installation
Fedora	Terra Repository	sudo dnf install asusctl	Requires Terra repository enabled
openSUSE	OBS Repository	Add OBS repository	Maintained on OpenSUSE Build Service
Arch Linux	OGC Arch Repository	Refer to OGC Arch Guide	Maintained via OGC Arch pacman repository
Nix / NixOS	Nixpkgs	nix-env -iA nixpkgs.asusctl	Package name: asusctl
Solus	Official Repositories	sudo eopkg install asusctl	Direct package installation

Service management

asusctl uses udev rules to initialize background services when hardware is detected.

On systems such as Fedora or Ultramarine, enable and start the services manually after installation:

sudo systemctl enable --now asusd.service
sudo systemctl enable --now asus-shutdown.service

On Debian, service activation may require manual intervention. On Pop!_OS systems, disable the system76-power GNOME extension and its associated systemd service to prevent power profile conflicts.

Building from source

Compiling asusctl requires the Rust compiler and Cargo toolchain from rustup.rs. Use the stable toolchain for build tasks.

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S git cmake clang pkg-config libzip rust openssl
make
sudo make install

Fedora

sudo dnf install git make cmake clang-devel libxkbcommon-devel systemd-devel expat-devel pcre2-devel libzstd-devel gtk3-devel rust cargo
make
sudo make install

openSUSE

For KDE Plasma desktop environments without GTK dependencies:

sudo zypper in -t pattern devel_basis
sudo zypper in rustup make cmake clang-devel libxkbcommon-devel systemd-devel expat-devel pcre2-devel libzstd-devel
make
sudo make install

Debian (Unsupported)

Debian is officially unsupported, but you can attempt to build with:

sudo apt install libclang-dev libudev-dev libfontconfig-dev build-essential cmake libxkbcommon-dev
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
make
sudo make install

Ubuntu and Pop!_OS (Unsupported)

sudo apt install make cargo gcc pkg-config openssl libasound2-dev cmake build-essential python3 libfreetype6-dev libexpat1-dev libxcb-composite0-dev libssl-dev libx11-dev libfontconfig1-dev curl libclang-dev libudev-dev checkinstall libseat-dev libinput-dev libxkbcommon-dev libgbm-dev
make
sudo make install

Upgrading

When upgrading an existing installation, reload systemd service definitions and restart asusd:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload && sudo systemctl restart asusd

Alternatively, reboot the system to apply updates.

Uninstalling

To remove installations built from source, stop and disable the services, run sudo make uninstall from the source directory, and reload systemd:

sudo systemctl disable --now asusd.service asus-shutdown.service
sudo make uninstall
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Remove any remaining configuration files in /etc/asusd/.

For binary installations, remove asusctl using your distribution package manager.

Development and testing

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution guidelines and git hooks setup.

AniMe Matrix simulator

An SDL2-based simulator is included for testing matrix display rendering without physical hardware.

To compile and launch the simulator:

cargo build --package rog_simulators
./target/debug/anime_sim

Restart asusd after starting the simulator to attach the service to the simulated display interface. Running the simulator on a laptop with a physical display redirects display output to the simulator window.

Laptop support requests

To request support for unlisted hardware models, open an issue on the project issue tracker.

• PPT Sliders: For specific issues regarding PPT sliders, refer to Issue #124.
• Keyboard Backlight Support: The procedure involves testing layout changes locally in /usr/share/asusd/aura_support.ron (or ./rog-aura/data/aura_support.ron). Once you verify that your changes work for your laptop model, create a pull request with the updated mapping.

Legal and governance

License and trademarks

This project is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0).

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ASUS and ROG are registered trademarks of ASUSTeK Computer Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions.

References to ASUS products, services, or trademarks within this repository do not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Trademarks are used solely for hardware identification purposes.

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AI Disclaimer

AI contributions are welcomed like any other contributions, as long as they are reviewed and tested by the human pushing them before being merged.