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NAME

       nvidia-settings - configure the NVIDIA graphics driver

SYNOPSIS

       nvidia-settings [options]
       nvidia-settings [options] --no-config
       nvidia-settings [options] --load-config-only
       nvidia-settings [options] {--query=attr | --assign=attr=value} ...
       nvidia-settings [options] --glxinfo

       Options: [-vh] [--config=configfile] [-c ctrl-display]
                [--verbose={errors | warnings | all}]

       attr has the form:
            DISPLAY/attribute_name[display_devices]

DESCRIPTION

       The  nvidia-settings  utility  is  a  tool  for  configuring the NVIDIA
       graphics driver.  It  operates  by  communicating  with  the  NVIDIA  X
       driver, querying and updating state as appropriate.  This communication
       is done with the NV-CONTROL X extension.

       Values such as brightness and gamma,  XVideo  attributes,  temperature,
       and  OpenGL settings can be queried and configured via nvidia-settings.

       When nvidia-settings starts, it reads the  current  settings  from  its
       configuration  file and sends those settings to the X server.  Then, it
       displays a graphical user interface (GUI) for configuring  the  current
       settings.   When nvidia-settings exits, it queries the current settings
       from the X server and saves them to the configuration file.

OPTIONS

       -v, --version
              Print the nvidia-settings version and exit.

       -h, --help
              Print usage information and exit.

       --config=config
              Use the  configuration  file  config  rather  than  the  default
              ~/.nvidia-settings-rc

       -c, --ctrl-display=ctrl-display
              Control  the  specified X display.  If this option is not given,
              then  nvidia-settings  will  control  the  display  specifed  by
              --display.   If that is not given, then the $DISPLAY environment
              variable is used.

       -n, --no-config
              Do not load the configuration file.  This mode of  operation  is
              useful  if  nvidia-settings  has  difficulties  starting  due to
              problems with applying settings in the configuration file.

       -l, --load-config-only
              Load the configuration file, send the values  specified  therein
              to  the X server, and exit.  This mode of operation is useful to
              place in your .xinitrc file, for example.

       -r, --rewrite-config-file
              Write the current X server configuration  to  the  configuration
              file,  and  exit without starting a grpahical user interface.See
              Examples section.

       -V, --verbose=verbosity
              Controls how much  information  is  printed.   By  default,  the
              verbosity is errors and only error messages are printed.

              verbosity can be one of the following values:
                   errors - Print errors.
                   warnings - Print errors and warnings.
                   all - Print errors, warnings, and other information.

       -a, --assign=assign
              The assign argument to the --assign commandline option is of the
              form:

                      {DISPLAY}/{attribute name}[{display devices}]={value}

              This assigns the attribute {attribute name} to the value {value}
              on  the  X  Display  {DISPLAY}.   {DISPLAY}  follows  the  usual
              {host}:{display}.{screen}  syntax  of  the  DISPLAY  environment
              variable  and  is optional; when it is not specified, then it is
              implied following the same rule as  the  --ctrl-display  option.
              If the X screen is not specified, then the assignment is made to
              all X  screens.   Note  that  the  ’/’  is  only  required  when
              {DISPLAY} is present.

              {DISPLAY}  can  additionally  include  a target specification to
              direct an assignment to something other than  an  X  screen.   A
              target  specification  is contained within brackets and consists
              of a target type name, a colon, and the target id.   The  target
              type name can be one of screen, gpu, or framelock; the target id
              is the index into the list of targets (for  that  target  type).
              The  target specification can be used in {DISPLAY} wherever an X
              screen     can     be     used,     following     the     syntax
              {host}:{display}[{target_type}:{target_id}].  See the output of

                      nvidia-settings --query all

              for  information  on  which  target types can be used with which
              attributes.  See the output of

                      nvidia-settings -q screens -q gpus -q framelocks

              for lists of targets for each target type.

              The [{display devices}] portion is also optional; if it  is  not
              specified,  then  the  attribute  is  assigned  to  all  display
              devices.

              Some examples:

                      -a FSAA=5
                      -a localhost:0.0/DigitalVibrance[CRT-0]=0
                      --assign="SyncToVBlank=1"
                      -a [gpu:0]/DigitalVibrance[DFP-1]=63

       -q, --query=query
              The query argument to the --query commandline option is  of  the
              form:

                      {DISPLAY}/{attribute name}[{display devices}]

              This queries the current value of the attribute {attribute name}
              on the X Display {DISPLAY}.  The syntax is the same as that  for
              the  --assign  option, without ={value}.  Specify -q screens, -q
              gpus, or -q framelocks to query a list of X  screens,  GPUs,  or
              Frame  Lock  devices,  respectively,  that  are present on the X
              Display {DISPLAY}.  Specify -q all to query all attributes.

       -g, --glxinfo
              Print GLX Information for the X display and exit.

USER GUIDE

   Contents
       1.   Layout of the nvidia-settings GUI
       2.   How OpenGL Interacts with nvidia-settings
       3.   Loading Settings Automatically
       4.   Commandline Interface
       5.   X Display Names in the Config File
       6.   Connecting to Remote X Servers
       7.   Licensing
       8.   TODO

   1. Layout of the nvidia-settings GUI
       The  nvidia-settings  GUI  is  organized  with  a  list  of   different
       categories  on  the  left  side.   Only  one  entry  in the list can be
       selected at once, and the selected category controls  which  "page"  is
       displayed on the right side of the nvidia-settings GUI.

       The  category  list  is organized in a tree: each X screen contains the
       relevant subcategories beneath  it.   Similarly,  the  Display  Devices
       category  for a screen contains all the enabled display devices beneath
       it.   Besides  each  X  screen,  the  other  top  level   category   is
       "nvidia-settings  Configuration",  which  configures  behavior  of  the
       nvidia-settings application itself.

       Along the bottom of the nvidia-settings GUI, from left to right, is:

       1)     a status bar which indicates the most recently altered option;

       2)     a Help button that toggles the display of a  help  window  which
              provides  a detailed explanation of the available options in the
              current page; and

       3)     a Quit button to exit nvidia-settings.

       Most  options  throughout  nvidia-settings  are  applied   immediately.
       Notable  exceptions  are  OpenGL  options which are only read by OpenGL
       when an OpenGL application starts.

       Details about the options on each page of nvidia-settings are available
       in the help window.

   2. How OpenGL Interacts with nvidia-settings
       When an OpenGL application starts, it downloads the current values from
       the X driver, and then reads the environment (see  APPENDIX  E:  OPENGL
       ENVIRONMENT  VARIABLE  SETTINGS  in  the  README).  Settings from the X
       server  override  OpenGL’s  default  values,  and  settings  from   the
       environment override values from the X server.

       For  example,  by default OpenGL uses the FSAA setting requested by the
       application (normally, applications do not request any FSAA).  An  FSAA
       setting   specified   in  nvidia-settings  would  override  the  OpenGL
       application’s  request.   Similarly,  the  __GL_FSAA_MODE   environment
       variable  will  override the application’s FSAA setting, as well as any
       FSAA setting specified in nvidia-settings.

       Note that an OpenGL application only  retrieves  settings  from  the  X
       server  when  it  starts, so if you make a change to an OpenGL value in
       nvidia-settings, it will only apply to OpenGL  applications  which  are
       started after that point in time.

   3. Loading Settings Automatically
       The  NVIDIA  X driver does not preserve values set with nvidia-settings
       between runs of the X server (or even between logging  in  and  logging
       out  of  X,  with  xdm(1), gdm, or kdm ).  This is intentional, because
       different users may have different preferences, thus these settings are
       stored on a per-user basis in a configuration file stored in the user’s
       home directory.

       The configuration file is named ~/.nvidia-settings-rc.  You can specify
       a  different  configuration  file  name  with  the --config commandline
       option.

       After  you  have  run  nvidia-settings  once  and  have   generated   a
       configuration file, you can then run:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only

       at  any  time  in  the  future to upload these settings to the X server
       again.  For  example,  you  might  place  the  above  command  in  your
       ~/.xinitrc  file  so  that your settings are applied automatically when
       you log in to X.

       Your .xinitrc file,  which  controls  what  X  applications  should  be
       started  when  you  log  into  X (or startx), might look something like
       this:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only &
            xterm &
            evilwm

       or:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only &
            gnome-session

       If you do not already have an ~/.xinitrc file, then  chances  are  that
       xinit(1) is using a system-wide xinitrc file.  This system wide file is
       typically here:

            /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

       To use it, but also have  nvidia-settings  upload  your  settings,  you
       could create an ~/.xinitrc with the contents:

            nvidia-settings --load-config-only &
            . /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

       System  administrators  may  choose  to  place the nvidia-settings load
       command directly in the system xinitrc script.

       Please see the xinit(1) man page for  further  details  of  configuring
       your ~/.xinitrc file.

   4. Commandline Interface
       nvidia-settings  has  a rich commandline interface: all attributes that
       can be manipulated with the GUI can also be queried and  set  from  the
       command  line.   The  commandline  syntax  for  querying  and assigning
       attributes matches that of the .nvidia-settings-rc configuration  file.

       The  --query  option  can  be  used  to  query  the  current  value  of
       attributes.  This will also report the valid values for the  attribute.
       You  can  run  nvidia-settings  --query  all  for  a  complete  list of
       available attributes, what the current value is, what values are  valid
       for  the  attribute,  and  through which target types (e.g., X screens,
       GPUs)  the  attributes  can  be  addressed.   Additionally,  individual
       attributes may be specified like this:

               nvidia-settings --query CursorShadow

       Attributes   that   may   differ   per  display  device  (for  example,
       DigitalVibrance can be set independently on each display device when in
       TwinView) can be appended with a "display device name" within brackets;
       e.g.:

               nvidia-settings --query DigitalVibrance[CRT-0]

       If an attribute is display device specific,  but  the  query  does  not
       specify  a  display  device,  then  the attribute value for all display
       devices will be queried.

       An attribute name may be prepended with an X Display name and a forward
       slash to indicate a different X Display; e.g.:

               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0.0/DigitalVibrance[DFP-1]

       An attribute name may also just be prepended with the screen number and
       a forward slash:

               nvidia-settings --query 0/DigitalVibrance[DFP-1]

       in which case the default X Display will be used, but you can  indicate
       to  which X screen to direct the query (if your X server has multiple X
       screens).  If no X screen is specified, then the attribute  value  will
       be queried for all X screens.

       Attributes  can  be  addressed  through  "target types".  A target type
       indicates the object that is queried when you query an attribute.   The
       default target type is an X screen, but other possible target types are
       GPUs and Frame Lock devices.

       Target types give you different granularities  with  which  to  perform
       queries  and  assignments.   Since X screens can span multiple GPUs (in
       the case of Xinerama, or SLI), and multiple X screens can exist on  the
       same  GPU,  it  is sometimes useful to address attributes by GPU rather
       than X screen.

       A target specification is contained within brackets and consists  of  a
       target type name, a colon, and the target id.  The target type name can
       be one of screen, gpu, or framelock; the target id is  the  index  into
       the  list of targets (for that target type).  Target specifications can
       be used wherever an X screen is used in query and assignment  commands;
       the  target specification can be used either by itself on the left side
       of the forward slash, or as part of an X Display name.

       For example, the following queries address X screen 0 on the localhost:

               nvidia-settings --query 0/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0.0/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query [screen:0]/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0[screen:0]/VideoRam

       To address GPU 0 instead, you can use either of:

               nvidia-settings --query [gpu:0]/VideoRam
               nvidia-settings --query localhost:0[gpu:0]/VideoRam

       See the output of

               nvidia-settings --query all

       for what targets types can be used with each attribute.  See the output
       of

               nvidia-settings --query screens --query gpus --query framelocks

       for lists of targets for each target type.

       The --assign option can be used to assign a new value to an  attribute.
       The  valid  values  for an attribute are reported when the attribute is
       queried.  The syntax for --assign is the  same  as  --query,  with  the
       additional requirement that assignments also have an equal sign and the
       new value.  For example:

               nvidia-settings --assign FSAA=2
               nvidia-settings --assign 0/DigitalVibrance[CRT-1]=9
               nvidia-settings --assign [gpu:0]/DigitalVibrance=0

       Multiple queries and assignments may be specified  on  the  commandline
       for a single invocation of nvidia-settings.

       If   either   the   --query   or   --assign   options   are  passed  to
       nvidia-settings, the GUI will not  be  presented,  and  nvidia-settings
       will exit after processing the assignments and/or queries.

   5. X Display Names in the Config File
       In  the  Commandline Interface section above, it was noted that you can
       specify an attribute without any X Display qualifiers, with only  an  X
       screen qualifier, or with a full X Display name.  For example:

               nvidia-settings --query FSAA
               nvidia-settings --query 0/FSAA
               nvidia-settings --query stravinsky.nvidia.com:0/FSAA

       In  the  first  two  cases,  the default X Display will be used, in the
       second case, the screen from the default X Display can  be  overridden,
       and  in the third case, the entire default X Display can be overridden.

       The same  possibilities  are  available  in  the  ~/.nvidia-settings-rc
       configuration file.

       For  example,  in a computer lab environment, you might log into any of
       multiple workstations, and your home directory is NFS mounted  to  each
       workstation.     In   such   a   situation,   you   might   want   your
       ~/.nvidia-settings-rc file to be applicable to  all  the  workstations.
       Therefore,  you  would  not  want  your  config  file  to  qualify each
       attribute with an X Display Name.  Leave the "Include X  Display  Names
       in   the   Config   File"   option  unchecked  on  the  nvidia-settings
       Configuration page (this is the default).

       There may be cases when you do want attributes in the config file to be
       qualified  with the X Display name.  If you know what you are doing and
       want config file attributes to be qualified with an  X  Display,  check
       the  "Include  X  Display  Names  in  the  Config  File"  option on the
       nvidia-settings Configuration page.

       In the typical home user environment where your home directory is local
       to  one  computer  and  you are only configuring one X Display, then it
       does not matter whether each attribute setting is qualified with  an  X
       Display Name.

   6. Connecting to Remote X Servers
       nvidia-settings  is  an  X client, but uses two separate X connections:
       one to display the GUI,  and  another  to  communicate  the  NV-CONTROL
       requests.   These  two  X  connections  do not need to be to the same X
       server.  For example, you might run  nvidia-settings  on  the  computer
       stravinsky.nvidia.com,    export    the   display   to   the   computer
       bartok.nvidia.com, but be configuring the  X  server  on  the  computer
       schoenberg.nvidia.com:

               nvidia-settings --display=bartok.nvidia.com:0 \
                   --ctrl-display=schoenberg.nvidia.com:0

       If  --ctrl-display  is  not specified, then the X Display to control is
       what --display indicates.  If --display is also not specified, then the
       $DISPLAY environment variable is used.

       Note, however, that you will need to have X permissions configured such
       that you can establish an X connection from the computer on  which  you
       are  running  nvidia-settings  (stravinsky.nvidia.com)  to the computer
       where you are displaying the GUI (bartok.nvidia.com) and  the  computer
       whose X Display you are configuring (schoenberg.nvidia.com).

       The  simplest, most common, and least secure mechanism to do this is to
       use ’xhost’ to allow access from the computer on which you are  running
       nvidia-settings.

               (issued from bartok.nvidia.com)
               xhost +stravinsky.nvidia.com

               (issued from schoenberg.nvidia.com)
               xhost +stravinsky.nvidia.com

       This  will  allow all X clients run on stravinsky.nvidia.com to connect
       and   display   on   bartok.nvidia.com’s   X   server   and   configure
       schoenberg.nvidia.com’s X server.

       Please see the xauth(1) and xhost(1) man pages, or refer to your system
       documentation on remote X applications and security.   You  might  also
       Google for terms such as "remote X security" or "remote X Windows", and
       see documents such as the Remote X Apps mini-HOWTO:

            〈http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-X-Apps.html〉

       Please also note that the remote X server  to  be  controlled  must  be
       using the NVIDIA X driver.

   7. Licensing
       The source code to nvidia-settings is released as GPL.  The most recent
       official version of the source code is available here:

            〈ftp://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/nvidia-settings/〉

       Note that nvidia-settings is simply an NV-CONTROL client.  It uses  the
       NV-CONTROL X extension to communicate with the NVIDIA X server to query
       current settings and make changes to settings.

       You can make additions directly to nvidia-settings, or write  your  own
       NV-CONTROL client, using nvidia-settings as an example.

       Documentation on the NV-CONTROL extension and additional sample clients
       are available in the nvidia-settings source tarball.   Patches  can  be
       submitted to linux-bugs@nvidia.com.

   8. TODO
       There  are  many  things  still to be added to nvidia-settings, some of
       which include:

       -      configurability of TwinView (NVIDIA  is  planning  to  implement
              this)

       -      configurability  of  multiple  X  screens (NVIDIA is planning to
              implement this)

       -      different toolkits?  The  GUI  for  nvidia-settings  is  cleanly
              abstracted  from  the backend of nvidia-settings that parses the
              configuration file and  commandline,  communicates  with  the  X
              server,  etc.  If someone were so inclined, a different frontend
              GUI could be implemented.

       -      write  a  design  document  explaining  how  nvidia-settings  is
              architected;  presumably this would make it easier for people to
              become familiar with the code base.

       If there are other things you would like to see added (or  better  yet,
       would like to add yourself), please contact linux-bugs@nvidia.com.

FILES

       ~/.nvidia-settings-rc

EXAMPLES

       nvidia-settings
              Starts the nvidia-settings graphical interface.

       nvidia-settings --load-config-only
              Loads the settings stored in ~/.nvidia-settings-rc and exits.

       nvidia-settings --rewrite-config-file
              Writes     the     current    X    server    configuration    to
              ~/.nvidia-settings-rc file and exits.

       nvidia-settings --query FSAA
              Query the value of the full-screen antialiasing setting.

       nvidia-settings --assign RedGamma=2.0 --assign  BlueGamma=2.0  --assign
       GreenGamma=2.0
              Set the gamma of the screen to 2.0.

AUTHOR

       Aaron Plattner
       NVIDIA Corporation

SEE ALSO

       nvidia-xconfig(1), nvidia-installer(1)

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright © 2006 NVIDIA Corporation.