macOS menu bar app

Gentle brightness
for your Mac

Unified brightness, warmth & break reminders.
One app to protect your eyes, day and night.

Download for macOS Requires macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon & Intel
Dimly
72%
🌡 45%
👁
Next break 14:32

Everything your eyes need,
nothing they don't

Unified Brightness

One slider controls native macOS brightness and gamma dimming seamlessly. Go beyond what your display allows — down to pitch black.

73% of headache sufferers report bright screens aggravate symptoms.
🌡

Warm Color Temperature

Shift your screen to warmer tones at night. Dimly reduces blue light in the 446-477nm range — the wavelength most responsible for melatonin suppression.

Blue light suppresses melatonin 2x longer than other wavelengths.
👁

Eye Relief Breaks

Smart 20-20-20 reminders that detect your activity. Pauses during meetings, adapts to your workflow. Benefits vanish without consistent reminders — Dimly keeps you on track.

Only 34% of people know or practice the 20-20-20 rule.

Grayscale Mode

Toggle system-wide grayscale to reduce visual stimulation. Removes the colorful cues that trigger dopamine and keep you glued to your screen.

Grayscale reduces screen time by 38-50 min/day on average.

Backed by science,
not marketing

Every feature in Dimly is grounded in peer-reviewed research. Here's what the evidence says.

69%
of workers suffer from digital eye strain
Journal of Optometry, 2024
71%
melatonin reduction from evening screen light
PMC, 2011
~40 min
less screen time per day with grayscale
Social Science Journal, 2020
3h
circadian clock shift from blue light exposure
Harvard Health
Brightness

Lower brightness, fewer headaches

Research using EEG and eye-tracking shows that low screen brightness significantly reduces visual fatigue in dark environments. Meanwhile, bright screens provoke headaches in 29% of chronic sufferers and aggravate them in 73%.

🌡 Warmth

Warm screens, better sleep

Blue light (446-477nm) is the strongest melatonin suppressor. Harvard researchers found it suppresses melatonin twice as long as green light and shifts your circadian rhythm by 3 hours. Just 2 hours before bed reduces melatonin by ~50%. Warmer color temperatures let your body prepare for sleep naturally.

👁 Breaks

Consistent breaks work — but only if you keep doing them

Clinical trials show the 20-20-20 rule reduces dry eye symptoms and digital eye strain. But the benefits disappear within one week of stopping. Only 34% of people actually practice it. Automated reminders are the only reliable way to build the habit.

Grayscale

Remove color, reclaim focus

Grayscale eliminates the colorful visual cues that trigger dopamine and fuel app addiction. Studies show it reduces daily screen time by 38-50 minutes — more effective than active self-control. Participants reported better sleep, improved focus, and reduced anxiety.

Set up in seconds,
benefit for years

01

Install & launch

Download Dimly, drag to Applications. It lives in your menu bar — always one click away.

02

Adjust to your comfort

Set your preferred brightness, warmth, and break intervals. Dimly remembers your settings across sessions.

03

Let it work for you

Dimly runs quietly in the background. Automatic scheduling, smart break detection, and keyboard shortcut support.

Start free,
upgrade anytime

Free trial
7 days

Full access to all features.
No credit card, no commitment.

  • Unified brightness & gamma dimming
  • Color temperature control
  • Smart 20-20-20 break reminders
  • System-wide grayscale toggle
Download for Mac

macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon & Intel

One-time purchase
$ 12

Pay once, use forever.
All future updates included.

  • Unified brightness & gamma dimming
  • Color temperature control
  • Smart 20-20-20 break reminders
  • System-wide grayscale toggle
  • 2 Mac activations per license
  • Lifetime updates, no subscription
Buy license

2 Mac activations · Lifetime updates