batctl

README

⚡ batctl

Battery charge threshold manager for Linux laptops

Installation • Usage • Hardware • Presets • Persistence

batctl is a terminal UI and CLI tool that lets you control battery charge thresholds on Linux. Set start/stop charge levels to extend battery lifespan, choose from built-in presets, and persist your settings across reboots — all from a single, zero-dependency binary.

Why batctl?

Most laptops support charge thresholds in hardware, but the Linux interface is fragmented: each vendor exposes different sysfs paths, value ranges, and quirks. Tools like TLP are powerful but heavy and config-file-driven.

batctl gives you:

• One binary, zero config — auto-detects your hardware and shows what's possible
• Interactive TUI — see battery health, adjust thresholds with arrow keys, pick presets
• Scriptable CLI — batctl set --stop 80 for automation and dotfiles
• 16+ vendor backends — from ThinkPad to Apple Silicon, with a generic fallback
• Persistence — survives reboots and suspend/resume via systemd

Installation

Quick install (any distro)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Ooooze/batctl/master/install.sh | sudo bash

To uninstall:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Ooooze/batctl/master/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --uninstall

From source

git clone https://github.com/Ooooze/batctl.git
cd batctl
make
sudo make install

Arch Linux / Omarchy (AUR)

yay -S batctl-tui

Or manually:

makepkg -si

Pre-built binary

Download from Releases, then:

chmod +x batctl
sudo cp batctl /usr/bin/

Usage

Interactive TUI

Launch the full terminal interface (requires root for write operations):

sudo batctl

Controls:

Key	Action
↑ ↓ / j k	Navigate between fields
← → / h l	Adjust value (±1)
H L	Adjust value (±5)
Enter	Toggle edit mode
Esc	Cancel edit
p	Open preset picker
a	Apply current thresholds
s	Save config + enable persistence
r	Refresh battery info
q	Quit

CLI Commands

# Show battery info, thresholds, and persistence status
batctl status

# Detect hardware and show capabilities
batctl detect

# Set thresholds directly
sudo batctl set --start 40 --stop 80

# Apply a built-in preset
sudo batctl set --preset max-lifespan

# Apply thresholds from config (used by systemd on boot)
sudo batctl apply

# Enable persistence (systemd services: boot + resume)
sudo batctl persist enable

# Check persistence status
batctl persist status

# Disable persistence and clean up
sudo batctl persist disable

Example: batctl status

Backend: ThinkPad

BAT0 (Sunwoda 5B10W51867)
  Status:     Charging
  Capacity:   85%
  Health:     103.6%
  Cycles:     54
  Energy:     48.3 / 52.8 Wh (design: 51.0 Wh)
  Power:      20.1 W
  Thresholds: start=40% stop=80%
  Behaviour:  auto (available: auto, inhibit-charge, force-discharge)

Persistence:  boot=true  resume=true

Example: batctl detect

Vendor:  LENOVO
Product: 21AH00FGRT
Backend: ThinkPad
Capabilities:
  Start threshold:    true (range: 0..99)
  Stop threshold:     true (range: 1..100)
  Charge behaviour:   true
Batteries: [BAT0]

Presets

Built-in presets adapt automatically to your hardware's supported value ranges:

Preset	Start	Stop	Description
max-lifespan	20%	80%	Best for battery longevity. Ideal if you're mostly plugged in.
balanced	40%	80%	Good mix of available capacity and long-term health.
plugged-in	70%	80%	Narrow band for always-connected workstations.
full-charge	0%	100%	No restrictions. Use when you need maximum runtime.

sudo batctl set --preset balanced

On hardware with limited options (e.g. Samsung with only 80/100), presets snap to the nearest supported value.

Supported Hardware

batctl auto-detects your laptop vendor via DMI and probes sysfs for the right driver. If no specific backend matches, the generic fallback is used for any laptop exposing standard charge_control_{start,end}_threshold files.

Vendor	Start	Stop	Behaviour	Kernel Driver
Acer	—	80 or 100	—	acer-wmi-battery
Lenovo ThinkPad	0–99	1–100	✓	thinkpad_acpi
ASUS	—	0–100¹	—	asus_wmi
Dell	50–95	55–100	—	dell_laptop
Lenovo IdeaPad	—	on/off²	—	ideapad_laptop
Huawei MateBook	0–99	1–100	—	huawei_wmi
Samsung	—	80 or 100	—	samsung_laptop
LG Gram	—	80 or 100	—	lg_laptop
MSI	auto³	10–100	—	msi_ec
Framework	0–99⁴	1–100	✓	cros_charge-control
System76	0–99	1–100	—	system76_acpi
Sony VAIO	—	50/80/100	—	sony_laptop
Toshiba/Dynabook	—	80 or 100	—	toshiba_acpi
Tuxedo (Clevo)	discrete⁵	discrete⁵	—	clevo_acpi
Apple Silicon	auto³	80 or 100	—	macsmc_power
Microsoft Surface	0–99⁶	1–100	—	surface_battery
Generic fallback	0–99	1–100	✓	any sysfs

^{¹ Some ASUS models only accept 40, 60, or 80
² Conservation mode: fixed threshold (usually 60%)
³ Start threshold is computed by hardware from stop value
⁴ Start threshold requires EC firmware v3
⁵ Tuxedo start: 40/50/60/70/80/95 — stop: 60/70/80/90/100 ⁶ Requires linux-surface kernel; start threshold availability varies by model}

Persistence

By default, charge thresholds reset on reboot or resume from suspend. batctl solves this with a one-command setup:

sudo batctl persist enable

This installs:

Component	Path	Purpose
Config file	/etc/batctl.conf	Stores your threshold values
Boot service	/etc/systemd/system/batctl.service	Applies thresholds on boot
Resume service	/etc/systemd/system/batctl-resume.service	Restores thresholds after suspend/resume

To disable and remove everything:

sudo batctl persist disable

How It Works

batctl
├── Reads /sys/class/dmi/id/sys_vendor → identifies laptop vendor
├── Probes sysfs paths → confirms driver availability
├── Selects matching backend (or generic fallback)
├── Reads/writes /sys/class/power_supply/BAT*/charge_control_*
└── Manages systemd services for persistence

All operations go through the kernel's standard sysfs interface. No direct hardware access, no custom kernel modules required.

Architecture

batctl/
├── cmd/batctl/          → CLI entry point (cobra)
├── internal/
│   ├── backend/         → 16 vendor backends + generic + auto-detection
│   ├── battery/         → sysfs read/write helpers, battery info
│   ├── persist/         → systemd services, config file
│   ├── preset/          → built-in presets with hardware adaptation
│   └── tui/             → bubbletea TUI (dashboard, presets, styles)
├── configs/             → systemd service templates
├── Makefile
└── PKGBUILD             → Arch Linux package

Requirements

• Linux with a kernel that includes your laptop's battery driver
• Root access (sudo) for writing thresholds and managing persistence
• No runtime dependencies — single static binary

Community Projects

• threshpad — GNOME Shell extension for batctl

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Areas where help is especially appreciated:

• New vendor backends — if your laptop isn't detected, check batctl detect output and open a PR
• Testing — try batctl on your hardware and report what works
• Packaging — help with Fedora, Debian, NixOS packages

Donate

If batctl saved your battery some cycles, consider buying me a coffee in crypto:

Currency	Network	Address
BTC	Bitcoin	bc1qflyxz75wkcyet89cttanyv7ws98lf8wjezdydq
ETH	Ethereum	0xAfAA1CEdb10ECfC696C9984e857c813CB1871b4C
USDT	TRC-20	TSgwHUf6tiuJgFmaerb3TyTjggoP5cPecb
TON	TON	UQA1SYTIdmH7iPNcUtbOtQXtCLPzTYeR8YxCdxksU8HMhkSe

License

MIT