Auto-CPUFreq is an open-source tool that controls the frequency at which your CPU runs at any given time. If you are using your laptop on battery, then it reduces the frequency of your CPU and if you launch any resource-heavy task, then it increases the processor speed (and the power usage).
The only disadvantage of using Linux on Laptops is that it devours the battery very quickly, and therefore you always have to carry a charger. And even the life span of your Laptop battery decreases as it goes through numerous charge cycles in quick succession. This tool attempts to solve this problem.
In this tutorial, we will look at the installation procedure of this tool and also try to configure it so that we maximize the battery life of our system.
Also read: CPU-X: A Linux alternative for CPU-Z
Installing Auto-CPUFreq
Just open a Terminal window and type the following command, regardless of your distribution :
git clone https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/auto-cpufreq.git
cd auto-cpufreq && sudo ./auto-cpufreq-installer
If you are using any Arch Linux-based distribution, then you can also install this tool directly from the AUR:
yay -S auto-cpufreq
Setting up the Auto-CPUFreq Daemon
Once you have installed the application, you can choose to just monitor your system right now, run it either in the Live mode, or you can set it up as a daemon which will make it run in the background. First, let’s monitor our system.
sudo auto-cpufreq --monitor
Note that it shows me a warning that TLP is configured on my system. If you have TLP installed, then just uninstall it. If you want to try it out in Live mode, then you can do so by typing the following command :
sudo auto-cpufreq --live
At this step, figure out what is working on your system and if you like the changes this tool applies on your system. If you like the changes, just press Ctrl+C to exit the Interface and then type the following command :
sudo auto-cpufreq --install
Summary
Auto-CPUFreq is a really awesome tool, specially the automatic configuration of system resources when not in use part amused me. However, this does not mean that this will automatically solve all the Battery life-related issues on Linux. Improvement? Yes, but not a permanent solution. Let’s see what the future holds for us laptop in the Open source world as the community grows strong. We will have to manage in the meantime with Powertop, Power Profiles Daemon, and TLP to save battery and the environment.