Polychromatic

What Polychromatic is

Polychromatic is a GNU/Linux frontend for OpenRazer that controls lighting and other settings on supported Razer peripherals. The home page lists more than 210 supported OpenRazer devices, including keyboards, mice, mouse mats, and headsets. Users can select built-in lighting effects and adjust brightness, DPI, and polling interval. They can also make static or animated lighting mappings from pixels and frames for games, applications, or ambience.

The app can display a device’s firmware version and serial number, and it can test individually addressable LEDs. A tray applet provides access to lighting and device settings when the desktop environment supports a system tray or indicators. A built-in troubleshooter covers problems such as OpenRazer not working or a device not being found. Polychromatic runs on the computer locally, with no cloud service or login required. It is free and open source under the GPLv3 license. Its device support currently runs through OpenRazer, and the maker says other brands are not supported and gives no ETA for that support. The maker also says key remapping is not supported and polychromatic-cli is deprecated, with removal planned for the next major version. Polychromatic and OpenRazer are not affiliated with Razer.

Who it suits

Polychromatic suits GNU/Linux users with supported OpenRazer peripherals who want local control over device lighting and settings. It is especially relevant to users making custom lighting mappings or checking device information and LEDs.

Limits

Polychromatic is limited to GNU/Linux and OpenRazer devices. Key remapping is not supported; the maker says polychromatic-cli is deprecated and will be removed in the next major version.

Getting started

1. Visit the Polychromatic website.
2. Install and use it on a GNU/Linux computer with a supported OpenRazer device.
3. Use built-in controls or create a static or animated lighting mapping.
4. Use the tray applet if your desktop environment supports a system tray or indicators.

Verdict

Pick Polychromatic if you use GNU/Linux with an OpenRazer-supported peripheral and want local control of lighting and device settings. Look elsewhere if you need Windows or macOS support, another peripheral brand, or key remapping.