Ambiway

Ambilight system that captures screen edges via virtual cameras and controls RGB lighting using OpenRGB. Transform your workspace with dynamic ambient lighting that matches your screen content.

Features

• Real-time ambilight effect synchronized with your screen
• Multi-monitor support with independent configuration
• Configurable LED counts and screen indents per monitor
• Smooth color transitions to reduce flickering
• Adjustable brightness and sampling region size
• Theoretically works everywhere, but was only tested on Hyprland

Installation

NixOS (Recommended)

This project is packaged as a Nix flake. Make sure you have flakes enabled in Nix.

You can run ambiway directly with:

nix run github:timasoft/ambiway

If you want to have ambiway always available in your $PATH:

nix profile install github:timasoft/ambiway

If you manage your NixOS configuration with flakes, add ambiway as an input in your flake.nix:

{
  inputs.ambiway.url = "github:timasoft/ambiway";

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, ambiway, ... }:
    {
      nixosConfigurations.my-hostname = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
        system = "x86_64-linux";
        modules = [
          ./configuration.nix
          {
            environment.systemPackages = [
              ambiway.packages.x86_64-linux.default
            ];
          }
        ];
      };
    };
}

Arch Linux

1. Install dependencies:

   sudo pacman -S opencv libx11 libxrandr pkgconf clang ffmpeg v4l-utils openrgb

2. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/timasoft/ambiway.git
   cd ambiway

3. Build and run with Cargo:

   cargo run --release

Make sure the OpenRGB server is running before starting Ambiway.

Virtual Camera Setup

Ambiway requires video input devices to capture screen content. For ambilight functionality, you'll need to set up virtual cameras that mirror your screen.

Remember to replace 2, 3 to the device IDs you want to use.

Arch Linux

1. Install v4l2loopback:

   sudo pacman -S v4l2loopback-dkms

2. Load the v4l2loopback module:

   sudo modprobe v4l2loopback devices=2 video_nr=2,3 exclusive_caps=1

3. Make persistent across reboots:

   echo "options v4l2loopback devices=2 video_nr=2,3 exclusive_caps=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/v4l2loopback.conf
   echo "v4l2loopback" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/v4l2loopback.conf

4. Verify your devices:

   v4l2-ctl --list-devices

NixOS Configuration

Add this to your NixOS configuration:

{ config, pkgs, ... }:

{
  boot.kernelModules = [ "v4l2loopback" ];

  boot.extraModulePackages = with config.boot.kernelPackages; [
    v4l2loopback
  ];

  boot.extraModprobeConfig = ''
    options v4l2loopback devices=2 video_nr=2,3 exclusive_caps=1
  '';

  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    v4l-utils
  ];
}

• Verify your devices:

  v4l2-ctl --list-devices

This creates two virtual video devices at /dev/video2 and /dev/video3 as required by the default configuration. (for 2 monitors)

Screen Capture Setup

For X11 Users (not tested)

Use ffmpeg to capture your screen directly to the virtual cameras:

1. Determine your screen resolution:

   xrandr | grep " connected"

2. Start screen capture for each monitor:

   # For first monitor (replace 1920x1080 with your resolution)
   ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size 1920x1080 -i :0.0 -f v4l2 /dev/video2 &
   
   # For second monitor (adjust coordinates as needed)
   ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size 1920x1080 -i :0.0+1920,0 -f v4l2 /dev/video3 &

3. Add to your startup applications (e.g., .xinitrc or desktop environment autostart):

   # Example for .xinitrc
   ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size $(xrandr | grep " connected" | head -1 | awk '{print $3}' | cut -d '+' -f1) -i :0.0 -f v4l2 /dev/video2 &
   ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size $(xrandr | grep " connected" | tail -1 | awk '{print $3}' | cut -d '+' -f1) -i :0.0+$(xrandr | grep " connected" | head -1 | awk '{print $3}' | cut -d '+' -f2),0 -f v4l2 /dev/video3 &

For Wayland Users (Hyprland)

Hyprland users can use wf-recorder for lightweight screen capture:

1. Install wf-recorder: Arch Linux

   sudo pacman -S wf-recorder

   NixOS Install wf-recorder with your favorite way

2. Add to your Hyprland configuration (~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf):

   # Capture monitor outputs to virtual cameras
   exec-once = wf-recorder -y -t --muxer=v4l2 --codec=rawvideo --file=/dev/video2 -o DVI-D-1
   exec-once = wf-recorder -y -t --muxer=v4l2 --codec=rawvideo --file=/dev/video3 -o HDMI-A-1
   # Start Ambiway after screen capture is set up
   exec-once = nix run github:timasoft/ambiway

   Note: Replace DVI-D-1 and HDMI-A-1 with your actual monitor names (check with hyprctl monitors)

Configuration

Create ~/.config/ambiway/config.toml with the following structure:

[led]
left = [36, 41]   # Number of LEDs on left side for each monitor
up = [62, 76]     # Number of LEDs on top side
right = [36, 42]  # Number of LEDs on right side
down = [62, 81]   # Number of LEDs on bottom side

[indent]
# Indentation for each side of each side of each monitor
left_up = [0, 40]   # Number of pixels to indent on upper side of left side
left_down = [0, 0]  # Number of pixels to indent on lower side of left side
up_left = [0, 0]    # Number of pixels to indent on left side of upper side
up_right = [0, 0]   # Number of pixels to indent on right side of upper side
right_up = [0, 40]  # Number of pixels to indent on upper side of right side
right_down = [0, 0] # Number of pixels to indent on lower side of right side
down_left = [0, 0]  # Number of pixels to indent on left side of lower side
down_right = [0, 0] # Number of pixels to indent on right side of lower side

[settings]
size = 50              # Region size to sample (pixels)
brightness = 0.25      # Brightness multiplier (any f32)
smooth = false         # Enable color smoothing between frames
cams = [2, 3]          # Camera device IDs (/dev/video*)
device_id = 0          # OpenRGB device ID to control
zone_id_list = [1, 2]  # OpenRGB zone IDs corresponding to each monitor

Usage

1. Start the OpenRGB server
2. Start your screen capture (ffmpeg or wf-recorder)
3. Verify camera devices with v4l2-ctl --list-devices
4. Run Ambiway:

   # Arch Linux
   ./target/release/ambiway
   
   # NixOS
   nix run github:timasoft/ambiway
   # Or with custom config
   nix run github:timasoft/ambiway -- --config /path/to/config.toml

How It Works

1. Captures video from specified cameras (one per monitor)
2. Divides screen edges into regions based on your configuration
3. Calculates average color for each region using OpenCV
4. Sends processed color data to OpenRGB-controlled devices
5. Updates lighting in real-time (approximately 10 FPS (limited by OpenRGB))

Dependencies

• OpenCV (with videoio support)
• X11 libraries (libX11, libXrandr)
• OpenRGB server
• Compatible RGB hardware
• Camera(s) with proper V4L2 drivers
• For X11: ffmpeg
• For Wayland: wf-recorder

TODO:

• Replace OpenRGB with something better