react-native-nitro-brightness

Native screen brightness control for React Native built with Nitro Modules.

Overview

This module provides native-level screen brightness control for both Android and iOS. It exposes simple JS/TS APIs to read, set, and listen to brightness changes with system-level and window-level brightness control.

Features

• 🔆 Get current screen brightness (0.0 - 1.0)
• ⚙️ Get and set system brightness
• 🪟 Set window-level brightness (app-specific)
• 🔐 Check and request brightness permissions (Android)
• 👂 Listen to brightness change events with callback API
• 🚀 Built with Nitro Modules for native performance and autolinking support
• 📱 Cross-platform support (iOS & Android)

Requirements

• React Native >= 0.76
• Node >= 18
• react-native-nitro-modules must be installed (Nitro runtime)

Installation

npm install react-native-nitro-brightness react-native-nitro-modules
# or
yarn add react-native-nitro-brightness react-native-nitro-modules

Configuration

Android

Add the following permission to android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS" />

For system brightness control on Android 6.0+, users need to grant the "Modify system settings" permission. The module will automatically guide users to the settings page when needed.

iOS

No additional configuration required. iOS apps can control screen brightness without special permissions.

Quick usage (JS/TS)

import {
  getBrightness,
  setBrightness,
  getSystemBrightness,
  setSystemBrightness,
  addBrightnessListener,
  removeBrightnessListener,
  getBrightnessPermissions,
  requestBrightnessPermissions,
} from 'react-native-nitro-brightness'

// Get current brightness (0.0 - 1.0)
const currentBrightness = getBrightness()
console.log('Current brightness:', currentBrightness)

// Set app window brightness
setBrightness(0.5) // 50% brightness

// Get system brightness
const systemBrightness = getSystemBrightness()

// Set system brightness (requires permission on Android)
setSystemBrightness(0.8) // 80% brightness

// Listen to brightness changes
const listenerId = addBrightnessListener((brightness) => {
  console.log('Brightness changed:', brightness)
})

// Remove listener when done
removeBrightnessListener(listenerId)

API Reference

Brightness Control

getBrightness(): number

Returns the current app window brightness level (0.0 - 1.0).

setBrightness(value: number): void

Sets the app window brightness level.

• value: Number between 0.0 (darkest) and 1.0 (brightest)

getSystemBrightness(): number

Returns the current system brightness level (0.0 - 1.0).

setSystemBrightness(value: number): void

Sets the system brightness level. Requires permission on Android.

• value: Number between 0.0 (darkest) and 1.0 (brightest)

getSystemBrightnessMode(): string

Returns the current brightness mode: "automatic" or "manual".

restoreSystemBrightness(): void

Restores the original system brightness that was active when the module was initialized.

Permission Management

getBrightnessPermissions(): boolean

Checks if the app has permission to modify system settings.

• Returns true on iOS (always allowed)
• Returns true/false on Android based on permission status

requestBrightnessPermissions(): Promise<boolean>

Requests permission to modify system settings (Android only).

• Opens system settings on Android for user to grant permission
• Returns true on iOS immediately

Availability

isAvailable(): boolean

Checks if brightness control is available on the current device.

Event Listening

addBrightnessListener(listener: (value: number) => void): number

Adds a listener for brightness changes.

• listener: Callback function that receives the new brightness value
• Returns: Listener ID for removal

removeBrightnessListener(listenerId: number): void

Removes a brightness change listener.

• listenerId: The ID returned from addBrightnessListener

Usage Examples

Basic Brightness Control

import { setBrightness, getBrightness } from 'react-native-nitro-brightness'

// Set brightness to 75%
setBrightness(0.75)

// Get current brightness
const brightness = getBrightness()
console.log(`Current brightness: ${Math.round(brightness * 100)}%`)

System Brightness with Permission Check

import {
  setSystemBrightness,
  getBrightnessPermissions,
  requestBrightnessPermissions,
} from 'react-native-nitro-brightness'

const setSystemBrightnessWithPermission = async (value: number) => {
  // Check if we have permission
  if (!getBrightnessPermissions()) {
    // Request permission
    const granted = await requestBrightnessPermissions()
    if (!granted) {
      console.log('Permission denied')
      return
    }
  }
  
  // Set system brightness
  setSystemBrightness(value)
}

// Usage
setSystemBrightnessWithPermission(0.6) // 60%

React Hook for Brightness Listening

import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
import { addBrightnessListener, removeBrightnessListener } from 'react-native-nitro-brightness'

const useBrightness = () => {
  const [brightness, setBrightness] = useState<number>(0)

  useEffect(() => {
    const listenerId = addBrightnessListener((value) => {
      setBrightness(value)
    })

    return () => {
      removeBrightnessListener(listenerId)
    }
  }, [])

  return brightness
}

// Usage in component
const MyComponent = () => {
  const brightness = useBrightness()
  
  return (
    <Text>Current brightness: {Math.round(brightness * 100)}%</Text>
  )
}

Class Component Example

import React, { Component } from 'react'
import { addBrightnessListener, removeBrightnessListener } from 'react-native-nitro-brightness'

class BrightnessDisplay extends Component {
  state = { brightness: 0 }
  private listenerId: number | null = null

  componentDidMount() {
    this.listenerId = addBrightnessListener(this.handleBrightnessChange)
  }

  componentWillUnmount() {
    if (this.listenerId !== null) {
      removeBrightnessListener(this.listenerId)
    }
  }

  handleBrightnessChange = (brightness: number) => {
    this.setState({ brightness })
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <Text>Brightness: {Math.round(this.state.brightness * 100)}%</Text>
    )
  }
}

Advanced Brightness Manager

import {
  addBrightnessListener,
  removeBrightnessListener,
  setBrightness,
  restoreSystemBrightness,
} from 'react-native-nitro-brightness'

class BrightnessManager {
  private listeners: number[] = []
  private originalBrightness: number | null = null

  addListener(callback: (value: number) => void): number {
    const listenerId = addBrightnessListener(callback)
    this.listeners.push(listenerId)
    return listenerId
  }

  removeAllListeners() {
    this.listeners.forEach(id => removeBrightnessListener(id))
    this.listeners = []
  }

  setBrightnessTemporarily(value: number) {
    if (this.originalBrightness === null) {
      this.originalBrightness = getBrightness()
    }
    setBrightness(value)
  }

  restoreBrightness() {
    if (this.originalBrightness !== null) {
      setBrightness(this.originalBrightness)
      this.originalBrightness = null
    }
  }

  dispose() {
    this.removeAllListeners()
    this.restoreBrightness()
  }
}

Platform Support

Feature	iOS	Android
Get brightness	✅	✅
Set window brightness	✅	✅
Get system brightness	✅	✅
Set system brightness	✅	✅ (with permission)
Brightness listeners	✅	✅
Permission management	✅ (automatic)	✅
Brightness mode detection	✅ (manual only)	✅

Troubleshooting

Android Permission Issues

• System brightness not changing: Make sure the user has granted "Modify system settings" permission
• Permission dialog not appearing: Ensure you're targeting Android API 23+ and have the WRITE_SETTINGS permission in AndroidManifest.xml

iOS Issues

• Brightness not changing: Make sure you're setting values between 0.0 and 1.0
• Listeners not working: Ensure you're properly removing listeners in component cleanup

General

• Memory leaks: Always remove brightness listeners when components unmount
• Values out of range: Brightness values are automatically clamped between 0.0 and 1.0

Best Practices

1. Always remove listeners: Use proper cleanup in useEffect or componentWillUnmount
2. Check permissions: Use getBrightnessPermissions() before setting system brightness
3. Handle permission requests: Guide users through the permission flow on Android
4. Validate values: Ensure brightness values are between 0.0 and 1.0
5. Restore brightness: Consider restoring original brightness when your app goes to background

Migration Notes

When updating spec files in src/specs/*.nitro.ts, regenerate Nitro artifacts:

npx nitro-codegen

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution workflow. Run npx nitro-codegen after editing spec files.

Project Structure

• android/ — Native Android implementation (Kotlin)
• ios/ — Native iOS implementation (Swift)
• src/ — TypeScript API exports
• nitrogen/ — Generated Nitro artifacts

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the following open-source projects which inspired and supported the development of this library:

• mrousavy/nitro – for the Nitro Modules architecture and tooling

License

MIT © Thành Công