25
Is there a way to turn on the screen programmatically in Wayland (KDE Plasma 6)? (europe.pub)
submitted 3 days ago by blackbeard@europe.pub to c/linux@programming.dev
8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hi everyone, I’m running KDE Plasma 6 with Wayland and I’m trying to find a way to turn on the screen programmatically via the command line. In X11, I could use xset dpms force on, but this doesn’t work in Wayland due to its security model. Has anyone found a reliable method to wake or turn on the screen from the command line in a Wayland session? I’m aware of the security and architectural reasons behind this limitation, but I’m curious if there are any workarounds, compositor-specific DBus calls, or third-party tools that might help. What I’ve tried so far: xset dpms force on (fails, as expected)

Simulating keyboard input with wtype/ydotool (unreliable)

Checking KWin’s DBus interface (no obvious method exposed)

Context: I’m automating some tasks and would like to avoid switching back to X11 just for this feature. Any insights, scripts, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] minfapper@piefed.social 2 points 3 days ago

I think it's something like

kscreen-doctor --dpms off

works the same as xset dpms

[-] blackbeard@europe.pub 1 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

This works!

Key Commands

  1. List Connected Displays To see all connected outputs and their status:

kscreen-doctor -o

Example output:

Output: 1 eDP-1
        enabled
        connected
        Modes: 1:2560x1600@60.00*!

This helps identify your display names (e.g., eDP-1 or HDMI-A-1).

  1. Turn Off All Displays (DPMS) To put all displays into low-power mode:

kscreen-doctor --dpms off

Uses DPMS (Display Power Management Signaling) to turn off displays safely.

  1. Turn On All Displays To wake all displays:

kscreen-doctor --dpms on

  1. Disable/Enable a Specific Output To control a specific display (e.g., HDMI-A-1):
kscreen-doctor output.HDMI-A-1.disable
kscreen-doctor output.HDMI-A-1.enable

Note: Avoid disabling your primary/laptop panel (e.g., eDP-1) unless you have another display connected.

  1. Bonus: Adjust Brightness or Scale
kscreen-doctor output.eDP-1.brightness.50  # 0-100
kscreen-doctor output.eDP-1.scale.1.5     # Scale factor
this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2026
25 points (100.0% liked)

Linux

13055 readers
199 users here now

A community for everything relating to the GNU/Linux operating system (except the memes!)

Also, check out:

Original icon base courtesy of lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Ategon@programming.dev
anzo@programming.dev
dwraf_of_ignorance@programming.dev