How to adjust the keyboard backlight on a Mac
Many recent MacBooks have no dedicated keys for keyboard brightness, so the setting is easy to lose. Here is where to find it, and how to put it on your trackpad instead.
Quick answer
Open Control Center in the menu bar and drag the Keyboard Brightness slider. If it isn't there, add it in System Settings › Control Center. To change it without leaving the trackpad, Haptiker adds a keyboard backlight slider along the top edge of the trackpad.
Control Center
- Open System Settings › Control Center.
- Find Keyboard Brightness and choose to show it in Control Center or the menu bar.
- Click it in the menu bar and drag the slider.
Function keys
Depending on the model, the function row may have keys for keyboard brightness. Many recent MacBooks don't, which is why Control Center is the usual route.
Automatic keyboard brightness
In System Settings › Keyboard you can let macOS adjust keyboard brightness in low light and turn the backlight off after a period of inactivity. If the backlight keeps changing on its own, those settings are the first place to check.
On the trackpad, with Haptiker
Haptiker turns the top edge of the trackpad into a keyboard backlight slider. Slide one finger sideways along the top edge to light the keys, and the other way to dim them. The same app puts volume on the right edge and display brightness on the left.
- Works on Macs with a backlit keyboard, on macOS 12 or later.
- An on-screen level shows the new value while you slide.
- You can turn the top-edge slider off in Settings › General if you don't need it.
Haptiker's menu bar menu also shows the current keyboard light level next to sound and display. See the FAQ or the volume and brightness guide for more.