The open-source tool auto-cpufreq has reached version 3.0, offering Linux laptop users enhanced control over CPU turbo boost and battery monitoring. This update introduces manual turbo settings, better handling of multiple batteries, and support for charge thresholds on Asus devices. Several bug fixes ensure more accurate performance monitoring and smoother installations on distributions like NixOS and Pop!_OS.
Auto-cpufreq is a Linux utility that automatically adjusts CPU speed and power consumption to extend battery life on laptops. It modifies governors, frequencies, and other parameters based on battery status, CPU load, and temperature. The 3.0 release, announced on January 12, 2026, builds on this foundation with several key enhancements.
A major addition is manual control over CPU turbo boost, allowing users to override automatic decisions and set it to Auto, Never, or Always. This feature is accessible via both the command-line interface and the graphical user interface, though the GUI option appears only for CPUs that support turbo boost. For systems with multiple batteries or detection issues, users can now specify a particular battery device in the configuration file, improving reliability.
Asus laptop owners gain support for battery charge thresholds, enabling settings like a maximum of 80% charge to prolong battery health. The update also addresses bugs in CPU frequency scaling: it now correctly reads cpuinfo and scaling values for minimum and maximum frequencies, using scaling_max_freq for precise control. The --monitor mode, which displays CPU frequency scaling, has been fixed to show accurate information.
Installation improvements target specific distributions. NixOS users no longer encounter the "awk: command not found" error, and a new configuration example aids setup with Nix flakes. Pop!_OS installations avoid PyGObject failures. The graphical interface fixes a Wayland-specific bug with incorrect window icons and improves pkexec error handling.
Under the hood, dependencies have been updated, including urllib3 from 2.6.0 to 2.6.3 to address security vulnerabilities, and a migration to urwid v3 using Poetry. Auto-cpufreq can be installed via Snap on Ubuntu with "sudo snap install auto-cpufreq" or by building from the GitHub repository. It conflicts with GNOME's power-profiles-daemon, which must be disabled, and focuses solely on CPU management, unlike broader tools like TLP.
The tool operates in three modes: --monitor for observation, --live for temporary adjustments, and a daemon for persistent use via systemd. User reports suggest 20 to 30 percent longer battery life, with automatic switches to performance governors under high load to maintain capabilities for tasks like gaming.
