Why it is worth attention

It offers a complete, free display management solution with no Pro tier, including features that competitors charge for, and is fully localized in English and Simplified Chinese.

Who it is for

macOS users with 1080p/1440p external monitors seeking sharp scaling
Users wanting a free alternative to BetterDisplay or Lunar
Chinese-speaking macOS users who prefer a localized interface
Developers interested in display management or open-source contributions

Use cases

Enabling Retina-quality scaled resolutions on 1080p or 1440p monitors
Controlling external monitor brightness via DDC or software fallback from the menu bar
Saving and applying preset display configurations (resolution, brightness, arrangement)
Quickly toggling Dark Mode, Night Shift, and True Tone from the menu bar

Strengths

Free and open source with all features included, no license or Pro tier
Adds proper HiDPI scaling that macOS lacks for non-Retina external displays
Hardware brightness control via DDC with smooth fades and gamma fallback
Comprehensive feature set: presets, arrangement, disconnect, color adjustments, virtual displays

Considerations

Requires macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later
App is not notarized, requiring manual approval on first launch (Homebrew installs skip this)
Accessibility permission needed for keyboard brightness routing; HiDPI setup requires admin password once per monitor

README quick start

Crisp

Crisp is a free, open-source alternative to BetterDisplay and Lunar: a lightweight, native macOS menu bar app for managing external displays. It's built to feel like an expanded version of the Mac's built-in display menu: the controls you already use, plus the ones it's missing.

The headline feature is proper display scaling for external monitors. macOS only offers sharp, scaled resolutions on its own Retina displays, so most monitors below 4K (like 1080p and 1440p) look either blurry when you scale them up or too small at native resolution. Crisp adds the HiDPI (Retina-style) scaled resolutions macOS leaves out, so everything looks sharp and scaled right. It also handles brightness for external displays (DDC), display arrangement, color, and presets, all from the menu bar.

No Pro tier, no license key. Crisp keeps every feature free, including a few that BetterDisplay and Lunar charge for: disconnecting displays, color adjustments, and auto-brightness that follows your built-in screen.

Fully localized in English and Simplified Chinese (简体中文).

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/90a62808-84d2-40d6-8563-0b282b9b4b6d

Features

Sharp, Retina-quality scaling on any display: HiDPI scaled resolutions that make external monitors crisp instead of blurry or undersized, with automatic HiDPI setup for 1440p and larger displays
Brightness everywhere: hardware DDC control for external monitors with software (gamma) fallback, smooth fades, brightness-key routing to the display under the cursor, and true darkness below the hardware floor
Presets: save named display configurations (resolution, brightness, arrangement) with custom icons and colors, apply with one click, update in place
Display arrangement: drag-to-arrange canvas, main display switching
Disconnect displays: turn physical displays off and back on from the menu, remembered across sleep/wake (Apple Silicon)
System toggles: Dark Mode, Night Shift, and True Tone, one click from the menu bar
Color: ICC profile switching, gamma/contrast/gain image adjustment
Virtual displays: create HiDPI virtual screens
Extras: combined brightness slider, auto brightness following the built-in display, notch hiding, launch at login

Install

brew install --cask didriksg/tap/crisp

Or grab Crisp.dmg from the [latest release](https://github

Description

Free, open-source macOS alternative to BetterDisplay and Lunar: a lightweight menu bar app with sharp HiDPI/Retina scaling for external monitors (no more blurry or tiny text), plus brightness (DDC), virtual displays, presets, and color.

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