How to control a NZXT Kraken from Linux, with a GUI!
The Kraken X series (X42, X52, X62 or X72) from NZXT are All In One (AIO) liquid CPU Coolers that come bundled with a Windows software, the CAM, that allows to control, via the pump USB interface, the cooling and lighting features.
The CAM software is currently not available for GNU/Linux but, thanks to the open source community, several command line tools can be used to replace it.
These are the most common CLI tools:
These tools allow you to interact and control the Kraken from a terminal but I really wanted a better integration with my desktop environment. So I decided to build my own GUI app on top of one of them.
I chose to use liquidctl because it provides a nice library API to control both cooling and lighting of the Kraken.
Currently the application allows you to control all the cooling features of your Kraken:
- Show fan and pump rpm
- Show liquid temp in both app and app indicator
- Show chart of selected profile
- Add/Delete/Edit custom speed profiles
- Show pump firmware version
- Option to restore last applied profile on startup
- Command line option to start the app hidden
- Command line option to add/remove udev rule
- Command line option to add desktop entry
I tested the app on Ubuntu 18.04, Fedora 28 and Manjaro 18. For updated instructions on how to install it, it is better to refer to the official documentation.
If you are using this application and you are interested in the lighting part, please drop a comment and let me know and, if you have found a bug or have issues, use instead the official issue tracker.
