Category: desktop

Pattern Overlay is a new feature in the Turn Off the Lights for Desktop screen dimmer app for Windows, introduced in the latest update. It lets you customize the dimmed layer with three stylish patterns: Dots, Grids, and Slashes. Adjust the pattern’s opacity to create a more comfortable, distraction-free workspace and stay focused on your selected app.

This feature was introduced alongside the latest Turn Off the Lights MCP update, which gives users and developers more control over how their screens dim using their favorite code editor or AI agent. With the new pattern overlay feature in Turn Off the Lights for Desktop, you can personalize the dimmed background while keeping the application in the foreground as the main focus.

Whether you prefer a clean grid, a subtle dotted texture, or stylish diagonal slashes, you can choose the pattern that best suits your workspace and create a more personalized desktop experience.

Pattern Layer

The Pattern Layer feature offers three different overlay styles: Dots, Grids, and Slashes. Each pattern provides a unique visual effect, allowing you to personalize the dimmed background to match your preferences.

You can also adjust the pattern’s opacity to control how visible it appears. Increase the opacity to make the pattern more prominent, or decrease it for a more subtle effect. This flexibility helps you find the right balance between visual style and a distraction-free workspace.

To enable the Pattern Layer, open the Settings page in the Turn Off the Lights for Desktop Windows app and navigate to the General tab. There, you will find a selection box where you can choose your preferred pattern.

Grids

The Grids pattern adds a structured grid to the dimmed layer. Its clean, organized appearance is ideal for users who prefer a consistent visual style while keeping their attention on the active application.

Dots

The Dots pattern creates a dotted texture across the dimmed background. It offers a different look while helping you customize your desktop environment to suit your personal taste.

Slashes

The Slashes pattern uses diagonal lines to give the dimmed layer a distinctive appearance. Choose this option if you want a different visual texture while keeping the application in the foreground as the main focus.

Download Turn Off the Lights for Desktop

Ready to customize your dimmed screen? Download Turn Off the Lights for Desktop for Windows from the Microsoft Store and try the new Pattern Layer feature for yourself.

Choose your favorite pattern, adjust its opacity, and create a desktop environment that helps you stay focused on the application you are using. With these new customization options, Turn Off the Lights for Desktop makes it easier to personalize your screen and enjoy a more focused computing experience.

MCP: Control Your Desktop with AI

Turn Off the Lights MCP is a new feature in Turn Off the Lights for Desktop version 1.12.0 for Windows 11. With the Model Context Protocol (MCP), you can connect compatible AI assistants and developer tools to control screen dimming, adjust overlay colors and opacity, customize focus modes, and manage eye schedules. This integration makes it easier to automate your desktop lighting experience using supported MCP commands.

MCP is an open protocol that allows AI applications to communicate with external tools and services. By connecting Turn Off the Lights for Desktop to an MCP-compatible client, you can manage your screen dimmer without manually opening the application settings for every adjustment.

For example, you can ask a compatible AI assistant to turn the dimmer on or off, change the overlay color, adjust the opacity, or switch to spotlight mode. You can also configure eye schedules and customize how the dimmer responds to your active window.

Visual Studio Code: Configure Turn Off the Lights MCP

If you use Visual Studio Code with MCP support, you can configure Turn Off the Lights for Desktop as a local MCP server. First, install the latest version of the Turn Off the Lights for Desktop Windows application version 1.12.0 and ensure that the MCP executable is available on your computer. This feature requires Windows 11 build 26220.7262 or later.

Add the following configuration to your MCP server settings:

{
  "servers": {
    "turnoffthelights": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "TurnOfftheLightsMcp.exe"
    }
  }
}

This configuration uses the standard input/output (stdio) transport to communicate with the MCP server. If Visual Studio Code cannot find the executable, you may need to specify the full path to TurnOfftheLightsMcp.exe, depending on your installation and environment.

After saving the configuration, reload the MCP connection or restart the editor if necessary. Once the server is connected, you can use the available tools through your compatible AI workflow to control the desktop dimmer.

Other Editors: Claude, Cursor, and Devin

Turn Off the Lights MCP can also be configured in other MCP-compatible applications, including Claude Desktop, Cursor, Devin, and supported development environments. Configuration requirements vary between clients, so check the documentation for your chosen editor.

For clients that use the mcpServers configuration format, use this example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "turnoffthelights": {
      "command": "TurnOfftheLightsMcp.exe"
    }
  }
}

As with Visual Studio Code, provide the full executable path if your client cannot locate the MCP server. The application must support the stdio transport and have permission to launch the local executable.

Available Turn Off the Lights MCP Commands

The MCP integration provides a collection of tools to control and customize your desktop dimmer:

• toggle_lights — Turns the screen dimmer on or off.
• get_lights_status — Checks whether the screen is currently dimmed.
• set_dim_color — Changes the overlay color, for example, to black (#000000).
• set_opacity — Adjusts the overlay opacity from 0 to 100 percent.
• set_background_image — Uses an image file as the dimmer overlay background.
• set_pattern — Applies a pattern, including dots, grids, slashes, or no pattern.
• set_display_mode — Switches between normal, custom-area, and spotlight display modes.
• set_focus_mode — Configures window focus detection using disabled, automatic, process-list, or manual modes.
• set_eye_schedule — Configures eye scheduling, including always-on, time-range, and weekly-planner options.
• set_mouse_shake — Enables or disables mouse movement to temporarily reveal the screen.
• set_fade_in — Enables or disables the fade-in animation when the dimmer turns on.
• set_fade_out — Enables or disables the fade-out animation when the dimmer turns off.
• exit_app — Closes Turn Off the Lights for Desktop.

These commands offer flexibility for both everyday users and developers who want to integrate desktop lighting controls into AI-assisted workflows. The specific actions available depend on the MCP server implementation, its supported parameters, and the connected client’s capabilities.

Conclusion: A Smarter Way to Control Your Screen

With MCP support in Turn Off the Lights for Desktop version 1.12.0, you can connect compatible AI tools to your desktop dimmer and simplify common screen-lighting tasks. Whether you want to create a darker workspace, highlight a specific area of your screen, customize overlay patterns, or configure an eye schedule, MCP provides a new way to interact with these features.

Explore the new Turn Off the Lights MCP integration and discover how AI-assisted desktop control can make your Windows workflow more convenient and customizable.

If you are using the premium Turn Off the Lights – Desktop Mac app (aka TOtL Desktop), and have just upgraded or are considering upgrading to macOS 26 Tahoe, there are some hidden gems and new behaviours you might not yet have discovered. Even if you have used the Turn Off the Lights for Desktop app for years, the macOS 26 update unlocks a few subtleties that change how the app works, especially when paired with Tahoe’s redesigned UI and features. Here are three things you probably did not know, plus how to get the most out of them.

1. Liquid Glass Icon for macOS 26

One of the subtle but neat changes in macOS 26 is the introduction of the Liquid Glass effect, which gives app icons a fresh and adaptive look. With this new rendering system, icons are no longer static. Instead, they dynamically adjust their appearance depending on your selected system theme. That means the TOtL Desktop icon can look slightly different in Light Mode, Dark Mode, Clear Style, and your chosen Tinted Style.

This creates a more seamless integration with the macOS environment, as the icons feel alive and consistent with the overall design language of Tahoe.

👉 Try switching between Light, Dark, Clear, and Tinted modes with the TOtL Desktop Settings window open. You will see the icon subtly transform to match each environment, creating a polished, system-native feel.

2. New Slider and User Interface Changes that Fit Tahoe’s Style

When you click the lamp icon in the Apple menu bar, you will see the Turn Off the Lights for Desktop control panel. It now includes a new update slider, harmonized with the design style of macOS Tahoe.

The settings window has been redesigned: instead of the traditional top-tab navigation, TOtL Desktop now uses a tab bar on the left side, giving it a cleaner, more modern look that aligns with macOS 26’s UI trends.

👉 Try to open the menu panel when you click on the white/black lamp button in your Apple menubar that is located left of the clock.

3. Deeper Shortcut and Automation Integration

The macOS 26 update makes TOtL Desktop even more powerful when paired with the Shortcuts app and scheduled automation.

• You can also connect TOtL Desktop to weather or time-based conditions. For instance, when the sun sets in your location at a specific time, TOtL Desktop can automatically activate and add a dimming layer to your Mac’s screen, helping you transition to a softer evening workspace.
• Keyboard shortcuts and menu bar triggers are snappier, reducing lag when toggling dimming or switching focus modes.

👉 Try creating a Shortcut that dims the desktop to 60% whenever you switch to Dark Mode or when sunset begins in your city. It is a simple automation that helps eye comfort in low-light environments.

Final thought

Turn Off the Lights for Desktop has always been a great tool for focus and eye comfort, but with macOS 26, it feels even more integrated into the Mac experience. If you have not yet explored these hidden improvements, now’s the perfect time to rediscover them. You can get the premium Turn Off the Lights for Desktop app from the Mac App Store.