Keyboard Timeout Profile Switcher (Solaar)

A custom Linux utility script designed to add an automatic backlight timeout profile switcher for backlit keyboards that lack a built-in hardware or BIOS timeout (specifically tailored for the Logitech G815 using Solaar on Wayland).

Background & Motivation

Many modern keyboards and laptops lack proper firmware or BIOS controls for backlight timeouts. For example, some laptop BIOS updates remove ACPI/AC backlight timeout functionality entirely without manufacturer support fixes.

This project provides a lightweight userspace solution that monitors user inactivity via Wayland idle tools (wprintidle), tracks audio output changes (wpctl) to prevent unwanted wake triggers (like media playback), and dynamically switches Solaar onboard profiles to dim or turn off the keyboard backlight.

---

Features

• Idle Detection on Wayland: Uses wprintidle to track user inactivity accurately in Wayland sessions (such as GNOME).
• Smart Volume Interaction: Detects audio stream changes (wpctl) and temporarily delays idle triggers if volume changes occur, preventing media consumption from being interrupted by dimming.
• Solaar Profile Integration: Automatically swaps between your active profile and an idle "dim" profile (e.g., Profile 3) when idle thresholds are met.
• Resource Efficient: Single-instance enforcement via flock, low CPU priority (renice), and minimal resource overhead.
• Systemd Integration: Runs reliably as a user service tied to your graphical session.

---

Prerequisites & Dependencies

Make sure you have the following packages installed on your system:

• Solaar (configured for your device, e.g., Logitech G815)
• wprintidle (for Wayland idle tracking)
• wireplumber / pipewire (wpctl for volume monitoring)
• bash, awk, coreutils

---

Installation & Setup

1. Place the Script

Save the main script to your local binaries directory:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
# Save your script as:
~/.local/bin/kbd_timeout-no-volume_G815_Solaar.sh
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/kbd_timeout-no-volume_G815_Solaar.sh

2. Set Up the Systemd User Service

Create a systemd user service file to ensure the script starts automatically with your graphical session.

Create ~/.config/systemd/user/kbd-timeout.service:

[Unit]
Description=Keyboard timeout profile switch (Solaar)
After=graphical-session.target

[Service]
ExecStartPre=/bin/bash -c "sleep 10"
ExecStart=%h/.local/bin/kbd_timeout-no-volume_G815_Solaar.sh
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

3. Enable and Start the Service

Reload systemd and enable the service for your user account:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now kbd-timeout.service

---

Configuration

You can customize the script behavior by editing the variables at the top of kbd_timeout-no-volume_G815_Solaar.sh:

dim_time=15             # Seconds of inactivity before dimming the keyboard
idle_profile="Profile 3"# Solaar onboard profile to activate when idle
priority=19             # CPU nice priority for the script

---

Alternative Methods

• Take inspiration on the old folder.

---

Acknowledgments & Inspiration

• Inspired by PartRobot's Guide on Setting Keyboard Backlight Timeout on Linux. (Reference: Arch Linux Wiki - Keyboard Backlight)