The project OpenRGB 1.0 has been published, offering tools for controlling the RGB lighting of PC components and peripheral devices. The code, written in C/C++, is distributed under the GPLv2 license. Ready assemblies will soon be generated for Linux (deb, rpm, appimage, flatpak), macOS, and Windows. Users are advised that when upgrading, they will need to recreate profiles and reinstall plugins.
Main features of OpenRGB include setting color and backlight modes for various RGB equipment, saving and loading profiles, controlling backlight from third-party software via the OpenRGB SDK, a command line interface (CLI), the ability to combine backlight on multiple PCs via a local network, and the options to work in a “client-server” format or as a separate application without a server. Users can also view device information, work independently from the manufacturer’s software, and enjoy a graphic preview when creating custom backlight patterns.
The project aims to provide unified access to hardware capabilities of backlight controllers, including built-in effects or direct color control. Custom effects not included in the controller, such as sound visualization or color temperature display, are supported by plugins. Additional options for customizing the backlight are available through an external API (network SDK) to send commands from third-party programs or scripts.
The OpenRGB package supports various devices, including ASUS, Gigabyte, ASRock, and MSI motherboards with RGB subsystems, backlit memory modules from ASUS, Patriot, Corsair, and HyperX, graphics cards like ASUS Aura/ROG, MSI GeForce, Sapphire Nitro, and Gigabyte Aorus, LED strip controllers from ThermalTake, Corsair, and NZXT Hue+, glowing coolers, mice, keyboards, headphones, and Razer backlit accessories.
With the release of version 1.0, the project has switched to a new numbering system for more frequent releases. After three years since the last “stable” release 0.9, the project was unprepared for the release of version 1.0. Therefore, subsequent stable releases were under RC numbers despite not being release candidates.