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Request: Aura SDK Support for Linux

waltercool
Level 7
Guys,

I don't know if I'm the first here doing this, or every other post have been deleted. But I think I need to do it.

I have ASUS Zephyrus GX501, Linux user/coder/gamer, and I was able to make almost everything, except numeric keypad and Aura. Isn't really funny to boot Windows only to make a customization.

My request is to make some kind of Aura SDK or documentation, I know Aura uses i2c interface, so shouldn't be so complicated to create. I know some people are currently doing tests under reverse engineering, but risking all their hardware doing it.

Don't get me wrong, I know Linux marketshare for games is quite low, but currently your direct competitors with similar technology AKA Razer, already published an API, so, people are making friendly software to manage it.

How feasible is that to make or help people to do it?

Some people trying to make everything by their own: https://github.com/CalcProgrammer1/KeyboardVisualizer/issues/85

Many thanks. I would love some support for great gamer laptops. I know you guys rocks.
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7 REPLIES 7

ir883e
Level 7
I have a Linux 1950x threadripper build that should have breathing red LEDs, not rainbow swirling. This should be configurable in the BIOs of a $500+ Zenith Extreme x399 motherboard, but at least give us the documentation so we can figure it out for ourselves.

AkaNe0
Level 10
waltercool wrote:
Guys,

I don't know if I'm the first here doing this, or every other post have been deleted. But I think I need to do it.

I have ASUS Zephyrus GX501, Linux user/coder/gamer, and I was able to make almost everything, except numeric keypad and Aura. Isn't really funny to boot Windows only to make a customization.

My request is to make some kind of Aura SDK or documentation, I know Aura uses i2c interface, so shouldn't be so complicated to create. I know some people are currently doing tests under reverse engineering, but risking all their hardware doing it.

Don't get me wrong, I know Linux marketshare for games is quite low, but currently your direct competitors with similar technology AKA Razer, already published an API, so, people are making friendly software to manage it.

How feasible is that to make or help people to do it?

Some people trying to make everything by their own: https://github.com/CalcProgrammer1/KeyboardVisualizer/issues/85

Many thanks. I would love some support for great gamer laptops. I know you guys rocks.


Hi waltercool,

Thanks for sharing your needs for a Linux compatible API for the Aura SDK. For the close future, we do not plan on releasing it. Additional note, for now the Aura SDK supports the 4 following products line: motherboards, VGA, mouse and keyboard.
And don't forget, Keep pushing it !

AkaNe@Asus wrote:
Hi waltercool,

Thanks for sharing your needs for a Linux compatible API for the Aura SDK. For the close future, we do not plan on releasing it. Additional note, for now the Aura SDK supports the 4 following products line: motherboards, VGA, mouse and keyboard.


Many thanks for the answer, I know that's not an easy job, and company resources may be used on developing new technologies, but at least there is a possibility to publish some technical information? I mean, that's correct Aura is quite a big universe, but at least starting with VGA, or keyboards... or whatever. I think something is better than nothing.

For example, you may know Nvidia does not collaborate too much with Nouveau team (open-source Nvidia driver), but they provide technical documentation to them.

Regards.

waltercool wrote:
Many thanks for the answer, I know that's not an easy job, and company resources may be used on developing new technologies, but at least there is a possibility to publish some technical information? I mean, that's correct Aura is quite a big universe, but at least starting with VGA, or keyboards... or whatever. I think something is better than nothing.

For example, you may know Nvidia does not collaborate too much with Nouveau team (open-source Nvidia driver), but they provide technical documentation to them.

Regards.


Correct, we are focusing on other functions at the moment. Also, the Asus Aura software doesn't work on Linux at the moment, so possibilities are limited.

In term of technical documentation, could you be more precise on what you would need to do the development?

ir883e wrote:
I have a Linux 1950x threadripper build that should have breathing red LEDs, not rainbow swirling. This should be configurable in the BIOs of a $500+ Zenith Extreme x399 motherboard, but at least give us the documentation so we can figure it out for ourselves.


Regarding the BIOS options to control AURA, only On/Off are available.
And don't forget, Keep pushing it !

AkaNe@Asus wrote:
In term of technical documentation, could you be more precise on what you would need to do the development?


I'm not really a kernel dev, but I would like to investigate by myself what I can do.

I read somewhere Aura colors are based on EFI Vars, right? I would like to understand how it works, so I (or someone more advanced) can make some CLI or GUI to manage Aura.

For now, I only have GX501, so, I only have Aura Keyboard. If I can understand how this work, I could do some CLI to manually change Aura colors on keyboard, but for now I don't have any clue how to start.

Many thanks.

It seems based on researching the efforts of others that Aura is controlled over the I2C interface which is trivial to use in Linux. As such all that is really needed to support Linux is a spec sheet on how to talk to the Aura Sync chip over the bus. After that it would be trivial for the community to build out Linux support.

The work here demonstrates that a significant portion of the effort is already done and a proof of concept demonstrates that at least parts of Aura can be controlled over the I2C interface.
https://github.com/CalcProgrammer1/KeyboardVisualizer/issues/85

EDIT
project moved: https://gitlab.com/CalcProgrammer1/KeyboardVisualizer/issues/85

AkaNe0 wrote:
Correct, we are focusing on other functions at the moment. Also, the Asus Aura software doesn't work on Linux at the moment, so possibilities are limited.

In term of technical documentation, could you be more precise on what you would need to do the development?

Regarding the BIOS options to control AURA, only On/Off are available.


Control chip models and/or register addresses, codes and values. Whatever docs you are using to write the windows drivers would be helpful to the Linux community. This shouldn't cost much in terms of resources from ASUS, as the linux users would probably happily develop utilities themselves.