Nocturnal

Nocturnal is a pretty cool open-source app that helps you get more out of the Night Shift feature on your Mac. Since it came out with macOS Sierra, Night Shift has been loved by many, but some users think it could be better. One big issue? It can be hard to fine-tune the settings because you have to dig into your Mac's display options for manual tweaks.

Why Choose Nocturnal?

That’s where Nocturnal steps in! This app lets you lower your screen brightness even more than what your regular hardware settings allow. For me, this is its best feature. It really helps if you want to adjust how strong the color temperature filter is when using Night Shift.

Easy Adjustments

Normally, you can set Night Shift to automatic or make a custom schedule, but for manual changes, you have to go through the Displays prefpane. With Nocturnal, everything is simpler! When it's running, it takes over your usual Night Shift schedule and gives you a handy slider right in your menu bar.

Flexibility at Your Fingertips

You can turn off Nocturnal anytime and go back to the default macOS settings. Sure, there might not be tons of reasons to use this feature unless your monitor can't dim enough—but it could come in handy at night or whenever accessing your monitor’s brightness controls is tricky.

Your Brightness Buddy

Plus, just like with macOS Night Shift, you can pause Nocturnal for a bit if needed. The difference? You get more control over how long it stays off—set exact hours and minutes!

A Simple Solution

Nocturnal might not do a ton of things, but it's free and makes managing Night Shift on your Mac so much easier. If you're someone who likes tweaking display color temperatures often or simply wants an easy way to adjust brightness levels, give Nocturnal a try!