The command line is very straightforward: it was a precursor to the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) we are so used to, so it is much more simple and explicit than a GUI.
A shell/terminal like Windows Command Prompt or Powershell is just some place
were you write what you want some program to do. And they come with a few
build-in "special programs" like cd (change directory).
Unlike GUIs, command-line programs simply output their results to the terminal they were called from.
I will get to "how to install" in a bit, but for now let us assume liquidctl has already been set up.
If you want to list all devices, just type and hit enter:
liquidctl list
And this will result in an output that looks similar to:
Device ID 0: NZXT Smart Device (V1)
Device ID 1: NZXT Kraken X (X42, X52, X62 or X72)
If you want to list all devices showing a bit more information:
liquidctl list --verbose
If you want to initialize all devices (which you should!):
liquidctl initialize all
If you want to show the status information:
liquidctl status
To change say the pump speed to 42%:
liquidctl set pump speed 42
This last command will not show any output. This is normal: command-line programs tend to follow a convention that simplifies chaining programs and automating things with scripts: (unless explicitly requested otherwise), only output useful information or error messages.
Some liquidctl commands can get slightly less English-looking than what was showed above, but they should still be readable. For example, to set the fans to follow the profile defined by three points (25°C -> 10%), (30°C -> 50%), (40°C -> 100%), execute:
liquidctl set fan speed 25 10 30 50 40 100
While in isolation these numbers are not very self explanatory, they are simply the pairs of temperature and corresponding duty values:
liquidctl set fan speed 25 10 30 50 40 100
^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^
pairs of temperature (°C) -> duty (%)
(The profiles run on the device, and therefore can only refer to the internal liquid temperature sensor).
Each device family has a guide that can be found in the list of Supported Devices, and that lists all features and attributes that are supported by those devices, as well as examples.
There is currently no installer for Windows, due to a number of reasons (that are not very important right now).
But the README has an extensive section on how to manually install liquidctl, and you can join our Discord server and ask for assistance.
While you should be able to use liquidctl with just these tips, I still recommend you take a look at the rest of the README, the documents in docs and, also, the output of:
liquidctl --help
This document was originally a response to a direct message:
Hi. How are you? Hope you're staying safe and well. I just wanted to know of there is a windows gui for liquidctl? I have zero experience with command line stuff and I don't entirely understand it... also most of the guides are from late 2018 or early 2019. And i just bought a x53 kraken.