RGB control for ASUS Vivobook HID LampArray keyboards on Linux

Overview

VRGB is a lightweight Linux CLI utility for controlling RGB keyboards on Vivobook and Zenbook ASUS laptops that expose the HID LampArray interface.

Why this exists:

I bought a Vivobook S14 and put Fedora on it for school and work. Fn brightness worked, but the keyboard was stuck on white and none of the usual ASUS RGB tools did anything. After digging into it, I found the keyboard wasn’t using the typical ASUS control path at all.

VRGB is just a small script built around that discovery to get simple RGB control working on Linux without touching the kernel or running a daemon.

The project was developed and validated on:

ASUS Vivobook S14 (S5406SA-WH79)

Keyboard controller: ITE5570

Unlike some RGB tools, VRGB does not rely on kernel patches, vendor utilities, background daemons, controller hacks, or reverse-engineered Windows drivers. VRGB simply communicates with the keyboard controller through the Linux HID subsystem.

Control path:

vrgb.py
   ↓
/dev/hidrawX
   ↓
ITE5570 keyboard controller
   ↓
RGB lighting

Current Stable Release: v.0.3

Example Usage

Features

• Static RGB color control
• Fine brightness scaling (0–100%)
• Custom profiles
• Firmware autonomous mode toggle
• OEM rainbow toggle (sudo required)
• Debug diagnostics
• Persistent configuration
• Installer and uninstaller included
• Non-root daily usage via udev permissions
• Optional KDE autostart restore

Supported Hardware

Currently validated on:

• ASUS Vivobook S14 (S5406SA)
• Keyboard controller: ITE5570
• Interface: HID LampArray (Usage Page 0x59)

Example device identifiers:

HID_NAME=ITE5570:00 0B05:19B6
HID_ID=0018:00000B05:000019B6

Compatibility

VRGB scans available hidraw devices and selects the matching ASUS keyboard controller automatically.

Other ASUS laptops using the same controller may work but require testing. Community reports are more than welcome. If vrgb works (or doesn't work) on your system, please click the Hardware Compatibility Reports issue below and post your vrgb --debug status output. This will help the project immensely.

Hardware support will expand over time. Stability and correctness are prioritized over broad but unreliable compatibility.

See community reports here:
#1

Quick Install

Clone the repository and run the installer.

git clone https://github.com/vrgb-dev/vrgb.git
cd vrgb
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

After installation log out and log back in so group permissions apply.

Note: Keyboard color persists on reboot, but may reset to firmware default after a full power cycle. Use the KDE autostart option in the installer (or set it manually) to reapply your configuration automatically.

Command List

Show Current Status

vrgb status

Set RGB Color

vrgb set RRGGBB [brightness %]

Example:

vrgb set 00aa55 65

Change Brightness

vrgb brightness 80

Save Profile (Current State)

vrgb profile save fedorablue

Load Profile

vrgb profile load fedorablue

Delete Profile

vrgb profile delete fedorablue

List Saved Profiles

vrgb profile list

Turn Lighting Off

vrgb off

Restore Saved State

vrgb restore

Enable firmware lighting (Firmware Autonomous Mode)

vrgb auto on

Return control to VRGB:

vrgb auto off

OEM Rainbow Mode (requires sudo)

sudo vrgb rainbow on
sudo vrgb rainbow off

Debug Mode

vrgb --debug status

About

vrgb about

Manual Installation

Install Binary

sudo install -m 755 vrgb.py /usr/local/bin/vrgb

Create Access Group

sudo groupadd -f vrgb
sudo usermod -aG vrgb $USER

Install udev Rule

Create:

/etc/udev/rules.d/99-vrgb.rules

Contents:

SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", KERNELS=="i2c-ITE5570*", MODE="0660", GROUP="vrgb"

Reload udev

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Log out and log back in afterward.

Optional KDE Autostart Restore

Create:

~/.config/autostart/vrgb.desktop

Contents:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=/usr/local/bin/vrgb restore
Hidden=false
NoDisplay=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Name=VRGB Restore
Comment=Restore keyboard RGB state

Uninstall

./uninstall.sh

Removes:

• /usr/local/bin/vrgb
• the udev rule
• optional autostart entry

Future Development

• expanded ASUS hardware compatibility
• GUI frontend
• breathing / fade effects
• effect profiles

With future updates in mind, this project will aim to continue to be as efficient and lightweight as possible.

Changelog

v0.3

• added named profile support
• profile save/load/list/delete commands
• profile data stored in config.json
• profile load applies immediately to hardware
• non-HID commands no longer require device detection

v0.2.2

• improved CLI help output
• installer/Uninstaller validation
• confirmed non-root HID access
• release packaging

v0.2.0

• automatic hidraw detection
• debug mode
• persistent config
• installer script

v0.1

Initial prototype with static RGB and brightness control.

License

MIT License

Repository

https://github.com/vrgb-dev/vrgb