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Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 7:43 am
by vinoman
I've installed Redshift but I don't see any dimming of light on screen? I see that its enabled and autostart are checked. What could be missing?
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 7:54 am
by junoluna
it should dim when it gets dark out ... is it dark out?
VPNs can mess with that of course.... i am dimming on danish time at the moment ....
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 8:47 am
by baldyeti
If you configure your location statically there is no dynamic location to guessed and messed up by your VPN (and you won't need the geoclue helpers).
Said location is recorded in the [local] section of your ~/.config/redshift.conf file:
Code: Select all
[redshift]
temp-day=6500
temp-night=4000
gamma=0.8
adjustment-method=randr
location-provider=manual
[manual]
lat=LA.nn
lon=LO.mm
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:10 am
by vinoman
I don't have a VPN and I don't have a ~/.config/redshift.conf file, but I see redshift in .config/autostart folder
So it looks like its installed but maybe it isn't.
running MX 19.3 Xfce
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:23 am
by baldyeti
The VPN remark was more meant for @junoluna.
@vinoman: well does redshift actually run on your system ? Check through XFCE's task manager or by running
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:41 am
by Stuart_M
To see the color temperature Redshift is currently running just look at the "Info" option when you left- or right-click the Redshift Panel icon. For example my Redshift "Info" window looks like the below image:
Redshift_Info_Window.png
Don't be concerned if your "Info" window looks a little different. I manually configure Redshift to get its location so I can choose when the transition will take place (the location you see is not my location) and I do that by using a configuration file that has the location I want to use.
Normally Redshift uses geoclue (geoclue-2.0) to get a users location by using the internet (unless it is configured otherwise).
The "Period" is "Daytime", which means that Redshift is at its normal display color temperature and brightness. If you see "Daytime" you normally will not see any difference in monitor brightness or color temperature (unless it has been configured differently). Just for your information, the normal color temperature for monitors is 6500K, and Redshift uses 6500K as the default, so unless you have changed the configuration for Redshift, you should see 6500K in the daytime. I use 6000K in my configuration which is why you see that number in the above image.
The default nighttime color temperature for Redshift is 4500K (I think). During the transition between daytime and nighttime, that window will show the color temperature and a percentage of the color temperature change. The percentage will disappear once the final temperature is reached.
What color temperature do you see now, and is it daytime or nighttime?
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:50 pm
by vinoman
Mine are all 0 . No temp. no location. Period: unknown. How do I get it to see my location
Code: Select all
davek@mx:~
$ ps -ef | grep redshift
davek 3257 3048 0 04:26 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/redshift-gtk
davek 3386 3257 0 04:26 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/redshift -v
davek 21254 21246 0 09:47 pts/0 00:00:00 grep redshift
davek@mx:~
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:21 pm
by Stuart_M
Redshift uses one of two ways to get the location; manually (using a configuration file) or automatically (using geoclue-2.0 that needs the Internet to work). Automatically is probably the most common way people use Redshift so I'm guessing that is the way you want it done. (I can provide step-by-step instructions on how to do it manually, using a configuration file if you desire.)
I would first confirm geoclue-2.0 is installed. Go to the MX Package Installer, on the Stable Repo tab and search for geoclue-2.0. It should be greyed out indicating that it is installed. If it is not installed, install it.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:55 pm
by vinoman
geoclue 2.0 is installed when Redshift was installed. I should have picked up my location. But it didn't.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:38 pm
by vinoman
Just reinstalled Redshift and i get this...
Code: Select all
davek@mx:~
$ redshift
Trying location provider `geoclue2'...
Using provider `geoclue2'.
Using method `randr'.
Waiting for initial location to become available...
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 3:31 pm
by Stuart_M
Yea, the problem is redshift is not getting your location from geoclue.
I just saw the redshift GitHub page (Issues tab)
https://github.com/jonls/redshift/issues/805 with a couple posts only a couple days old saying that they are have having problems with geoclue being unable to determine their location using a wired or wireless network connection. I don't know if this has anything to do with your problem. That issue seems to be relevant to this
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugrepo ... bug=978437 Debian Bug report which is about the geoclue-2.0 upgrade from 2.5.6-1 to 2.5.7-1. Since we are using v2.5.2-1 in MX Linux, maybe this has nothing to do with us...
Aside from the above, as a test try running
where LAT is your latitude and LON is you longtitude. Using the coordinates for Copenhagen, Denmark as an example, it would look like this:
There are many sites to find your latitude/longtitude. This
https://www.whatsmygps.com/ is one.
Remember, a manual configuration file would probably eliminate the problem.
EDIT: Please note that longitudes west of Greenwich, England are negative numbers. So using Texas, U.S. as an example, 31.8:-98.8 would be used.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 5:15 pm
by Stuart_M
Quoting myself:
Stuart_M wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 3:31 pm
I just saw the redshift GitHub page (Issues tab)
https://github.com/jonls/redshift/issues/805 with a couple posts only a couple days old saying that they are have having problems with geoclue being unable to determine their location using a wired or wireless network connection. I don't know if this has anything to do with your problem. That issue seems to be relevant to this
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugrepo ... bug=978437 Debian Bug report which is about the geoclue-2.0 upgrade from 2.5.6-1 to 2.5.7-1. Since we are using v2.5.2-1 in MX Linux, maybe this has nothing to do with us...
I just noticed that geoclue-2.0 was upgraded on 6 February 2021 from 2.5.2-1 to 2.5.2-1+deb10u1.
If your problem with redshift getting its location began after that update, would that just be a coincidence ?
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:54 pm
by vinoman
Right now I resinstalled it and now its fluttering light and darker. I uninstalled it and until they can make Redshift work properly by just installing its not worth the trouble.
Xfce needs a night light app like Gnome uses. It's far better than Redshift.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 10:42 pm
by JayM
redshift-gtk (which is the package you want as it has a GUI, but if you've already installed the package named "redshift" you would have to uninstall it before installing redshift-gtk to avoid conflicts) works for me if I install it from MX Package Installer and also check the box to install recommends. One of its recommended packages is geoclue-2.0 which will find your latitude and longitude for redshift, otherwise you would have to find a default config file's contents on
redshift's github page, copy it, create your own config file, paste the default contents then tweak it a lot. Doing this is "above my pay grade" so I always just used geoclue.
The package named fluxgui, which installs f.lux along with a GUI wrapper for it, also works and does the same thing that redshift does once you configure it by entering your latitude and longitude. However, f.lux only has a few color temperature presets you can choose from while I think redshift offers more flexibility in that regard but it's been awhile since I used it so I'm not sure. I'm currently using f.lux and it seems to work OK for me, though I've used redshift with geoclue in the past and that worked OK too. Give fluxgui a try.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:43 pm
by junoluna
redshift works well for me on all my machines
i did have that flicker on one of them at first ... i think it was caused by a second instance of redshift running at the same time .... maybe a gtk-redshift process that i had to kill
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 12:22 am
by JayM
FYI I just disabled f.lux and also its Application Autostart entry, installed redshift-gtk with recommends and tested it. I got an error message that geoclue couldn't find my location and that redshift didn't have permission to use geoclue, but after I logged out and back in I no longer get the errors and geoclue can find my location. I'll have to wait about 5 hours or so to actually test it though, as it's still early afternoon here.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:00 am
by JayM
Okay, it's night here and it appears that the problem may be with geoclue2. Redshift-gtk can find my lat/long during the day but for some reason it can't now. If I change its location-provider to manual instead of geoclue2 in redshift.conf and enter the correct lat & long it works.
Close redshift-gtk by right-clicking its icon in your notification area of the panel
Create a directory in ~/.config named redshift
Create a file inside that directory named redshift.conf
Paste the following in it:
Code: Select all
; Global settings for redshift
[redshift]
; Set the day and night screen temperatures
temp-day=6500
temp-night=3500
; Disable the smooth fade between temperatures when Redshift starts and stops.
; 0 will cause an immediate change between screen temperatures.
; 1 will gradually apply the new screen temperature over a couple of seconds.
fade=1
; Solar elevation thresholds.
; By default, Redshift will use the current elevation of the sun to determine
; whether it is daytime, night or in transition (dawn/dusk). When the sun is
; above the degrees specified with elevation-high it is considered daytime and
; below elevation-low it is considered night.
;elevation-high=3
;elevation-low=-6
; Custom dawn/dusk intervals.
; Instead of using the solar elevation, the time intervals of dawn and dusk
; can be specified manually. The times must be specified as HH:MM in 24-hour
; format.
;dawn-time=6:00-7:45
;dusk-time=18:35-20:15
; Set the screen brightness. Default is 1.0.
brightness=1.0
; It is also possible to use different settings for day and night
; since version 1.8.
;brightness-day=0.7
;brightness-night=0.4
; Set the screen gamma (for all colors, or each color channel
; individually)
gamma=0.8
;gamma=0.8:0.7:0.8
; This can also be set individually for day and night since
; version 1.10.
;gamma-day=0.8:0.7:0.8
;gamma-night=0.6
; Set the location-provider: 'geoclue2', 'manual'
; type 'redshift -l list' to see possible values.
; The location provider settings are in a different section.
location-provider=manual
; Set the adjustment-method: 'randr', 'vidmode'
; type 'redshift -m list' to see all possible values.
; 'randr' is the preferred method, 'vidmode' is an older API.
; but works in some cases when 'randr' does not.
; The adjustment method settings are in a different section.
adjustment-method=randr
; Configuration of the location-provider:
; type 'redshift -l PROVIDER:help' to see the settings.
; ex: 'redshift -l manual:help'
; Keep in mind that longitudes west of Greenwich (e.g. the Americas)
; are negative numbers.
[manual]
lat=10.327970
lon=123.941110
; Configuration of the adjustment-method
; type 'redshift -m METHOD:help' to see the settings.
; ex: 'redshift -m randr:help'
; In this example, randr is configured to adjust only screen 0.
; Note that the numbering starts from 0, so this is actually the first screen.
; If this option is not specified, Redshift will try to adjust _all_ screens.
[randr]
;screen=0
Change lines 60 and 61 to your own latitude and longitude as found from
https://www.latlong.net/
Save your changes to the .conf file.
Start redshift from the menu, Accessories -> Redshift and it will work.
You can quit redshift then edit redshift.conf to change the "temp-night" value to a cooler or warmer temperature (more or less blue light) by entering a higher or lower number respectively. BTW the value of 6500 for temp-day is that of a normal computer monitor per
https://iristech.co/what-is-the-best-color-temperature/. Also note that by default redshift slowly fades from one temperature to another over a short period of time. There's a setting in redshift.conf to make it change instantly if you prefer, so you can see changes right away. (The first attached image shows my latitude/longitude as found by geoclue2, the second shows my manual entries as per the website I linked to.)
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:48 am
by junoluna
^
@JayM
really great instructions for making it manual .... much better for me since i use a vpn a lot and geoclue puts me wherever that puts me
works well
thanks
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:22 am
by junoluna
sorry ... quoted instead of editing
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:05 am
by vinoman
Thanks for all the advice, but Redshift still needs work. Are there other apps that dim the screen? Gnome's Night Light is the only good one at this point that I have seen.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:44 pm
by JayM
vinoman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:05 am
Thanks for all the advice, but Redshift still needs work. Are there other apps that dim the screen? Gnome's Night Light is the only good one at this point that I have seen.
Read my post #14.
Re: Redshift not working
Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:48 am
by linexer2016
vinoman, I would recommend you do a forum search for SCT (System Colour Temperature I believe it is). SCT can easily be run per session and I expect a simple script would automate the process if that's what you want. I use SCT after boot and as I've posted elsewhere in the forum, it's a trivial thing to activate a terminal after boot and type (in my case) sct 4200. There's also a good article linked from one of the earlier thread posts that explains colour temperature and may assist you in selecting the temp most suited to your needs. I've used Redshift but I never found it as simple and useful as SCT. Dolphin uses it too I believe (he was one of the people who recommended it here).