- TESIGN / RADAR
- Crisp
Crisp
Controls for Mac external monitors
WHO USES ITMac users with external 4K or 1440p monitors · People switching between display setups · Developers automating their desk
Install to use
Free macOS menu bar app: HiDPI scaling, DDC brightness and presets for external monitors.
1,694 stars · checked on GitHub GitHub check 30 h late · incl. +2 observed via GH Archive since then · 7-day +4 observed via GH Archive (as of ) · 4 Show HN points observed
BACK CATALOG
TESIGN TAKE
The features that sell BetterDisplay licences are the baseline here.
AT A GLANCE
- LICENSE
- MIT
- USAGE
- Use, change and redistribute, commercially too. Keep the notice.
- LANGUAGE
- Swift
- PLATFORM
- macos · cli
- ACTIVITY
- last commit 6 days ago () · latest release v1.6.0 () · 14 releases
- COMMUNITY
- 12 contributors · 6 open issues (incl. PRs) · made by: an individual
- SOURCES
- Show HN
- OPEN SOURCE
- YES
- FIRST SEEN
- CATEGORY
- PRODUCTIVITY
A summary, not legal advice.
WHY IT MATTERS
macOS renders text blurry or tiny on non-Apple monitors and leaves the brightness keys dead; BetterDisplay and Lunar fill that gap but charge for the core features. Crisp gives HiDPI scaling (automatic on 1440p and larger, always at the panel's full refresh rate), DDC hardware brightness and volume, Extra Brightness from the HDR reserve, presets and virtual displays, all free with no Pro tier. Every release is signed and notarized by Apple, and the `crispctl` command line tool exposes the same controls to scripts and Shortcuts.
BUILD FROM THIS
- Script a KVM desk where one button runs `crispctl display toggle`, or a Shortcut that switches brightness and HDR by time of day.
WHO IT'S FOR
- Mac users with external 4K or 1440p monitors
- sharp HiDPI text instead of blurry
- People switching between display setups
- resolution, brightness and arrangement in one preset
- Developers automating their desk
- script brightness, connection and HDR with crispctl
START IN 5 MINUTES
# brew install --cask crisp
# # or download Crisp.dmg and drag Crisp to Applications: https://github.com/didriksg/Crisp/releases/latest/download/Crisp.dmg
# Build from source:
# brew install xcodegen
# xcodegen generate # generates Crisp.xcodeproj from project.ymlCAVEATS
- MIT licence (began as a fork of FreeDisplay, also MIT). macOS 14 Sonoma or later only; disconnecting and reconnecting displays works on Apple Silicon only. Smooth scaling asks for an administrator password once per monitor, and the Brightness Keys feature needs Accessibility permission. Free; the developer accepts sponsorship toward the $99/year Apple Developer Program fee.
RECEIPT
- FIRST SEEN
- AT SOURCE
- KEPT
- STAR DELTA
- +2 ★ / 24h
- CREATED → FIRST SEEN
- 50d
- SOURCES
- Show HN
- ◌ BACK CATALOG
- Reconstructed from archive data, not a live discovery.
The same facts in machine-readable form — View as Markdown · JSON
SIMILAR TOOLS
Up to five from PRODUCTIVITY by ★ total: edited entries first, then repository cards; this entry is highlighted. Drawn from the same stored snapshot as the rankings — a comparison, not a recommendation.
| IMAGE | NAME | ★ TOTAL | ▲ 7d | LICENSE | PLATFORM | LAST PUSH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Hermes AgentSelf-improving personal agent | ★ 246k | ▲ +375 | MITpermissive | linux · macos · windows · android · cli | |
 | CrispControls for Mac external monitorsTHIS ENTRY | ★ 1.7k | ▲ +4 | MITpermissive | macos · cli | |
| immich-app/immichCARD | ★ 114k | ▲ +82 | AGPL-3.0copyleft | — | ||
| stirling-tools/stirling-pdfCARD | ★ 91.9k | ▲ +54 | Licence unconfirmedunconfirmed | — | ||
| sherlock-project/sherlockCARD | ★ 91.5k | ▲ +64 | MITpermissive | — |
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TIMELINE
- Repository created
- Show HN post ↗
- FIRST SEEN BY TESIGN ◌ BACK CATALOG