OpenRazer 3.10.3

Razer keyboards, mice, and headsets work as basic HID devices on Linux without anything installed. Lighting, DPI profiles, macro keys, and battery level do not, because those go through vendor-specific protocols that Synapse handles on Windows.

OpenRazer reimplements them.

What you get

Per-key and zone RGB control, DPI and polling rate settings, macro key support, and battery reporting on wireless devices.

Note the important limitation up front: settings are not stored on the device. OpenRazer configures the hardware each time, so the effects apply while it is running and do not persist if you boot into something else.

Installing

sudo apt install openrazer-meta       # Debian and Ubuntu, via the project PPA
sudo dnf install openrazer-meta       # Fedora, via COPR
sudo pacman -S openrazer-meta         # Arch, via AUR

sudo gpasswd -a "$USER" plugdev
# log out and back in

The plugdev group membership is required and is only read at login, which is the most common reason a fresh install appears to do nothing.

The kernel modules

OpenRazer ships kernel modules built by DKMS:

dkms status | grep openrazer
lsmod | grep razer

They rebuild on kernel updates, and when the build fails your peripherals revert to plain HID behaviour. Lighting stopping after a kernel update is nearly always this.

Controlling it

OpenRazer is a daemon and a library rather than an application. For an interface, use Polychromatic, which is the usual companion, or RazerGenie.

sudo systemctl --user status openrazer-daemon

Device support varies

The project supports a long list of devices and coverage depends on whether someone owned that model and did the work. Newer releases frequently appear before support exists.

Check the supported devices list before buying, and note that an unsupported device still works as a normal keyboard or mouse; you simply get no lighting or configuration.

Verify Your Download

Source releases are on GitHub. Most people install from the project repositories.