Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Contexts VS Lunar.fyi

Compare Contexts VS Lunar.fyi and see what are their differences

Contexts logo Contexts

Switch between application windows effortlessly — with Fast Search, a better Command-Tab, a Sidebar or even a quick gesture. Free trial available.

Lunar.fyi logo Lunar.fyi

Control monitor brightness, adapt using the ambient light sensor, adjust volume, switch inputs and turn off displays without fiddling with clunky buttons.
  • Contexts Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-21
  • Lunar.fyi Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-24

Native brightness control

macOS can't control external monitors brightness natively. Lunar adds that capability so you can use the same familiar brightness keys to adjust all monitors at once, or fine tune each one.

Volume keys also work for adjusting monitor volume, and there are hotkeys for switching between monitor inputs/ports.

Adaptive brightness

By using the MacBook and iMac integrated Ambient Light Sensor, Lunar can automatically adapt your monitor brightness and contrast throughout the day so you can forget about fiddling with buttons.

Even if you have monitors with different brightness capabilities, Lunar can learn the differences between them and compute a custom brightness curve for each one so they're always at the same perceived luminance.

Break brightness limits

Displays that have more than 500nits of brightness are limited by macOS so they can't reach their full brightness. Lunar unlocks that through its XDR Brightness feature so you can work in sunlight.

The Sub-zero Dimming feature allows you to lower the brightness below the usual 0% so you can work comfortably during the night.

Turn off displays

Lunar's BlackOut feature can turn off individual displays (even the built-in MacBook display) so you can focus on single tasks:

  • No need to close the lid or press power buttons
  • Webcam, keyboard and trackpad keep working as usual
  • Monitors can still be adapted through the MacBook light sensor

Contexts

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

Lunar.fyi

Website
lunar.fyi
$ Details
freemium $23.0 / One-off (Pro)
Platforms
Mac OSX
Release Date
2017 November

Contexts features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Lunar.fyi features and specs

  • Adaptive Brightness: Yes
  • Native Brightness Control: Yes
  • XDR Brightness: Yes
  • Dim brightness below zero: Yes
  • Switch monitor inputs: Yes
  • Sync brightness between displays: Yes
  • Turn off individual displays: Yes
  • External light sensor support: Yes
  • Scheduled brightness presets: Yes
  • Command-line integration: Yes

Contexts videos

The Art of Discovering Bounded Contexts by Nick Tune

More videos:

  • Review - A Fresh Take on Contexts
  • Review - Contexts and Methods: Literature Review - Intro and Assessment Criteria

Lunar.fyi videos

Lunar 5 Demo

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Contexts and Lunar.fyi)
Mac
57 57%
43% 43
Window Manager
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
58 58%
42% 42
Utilities
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Contexts and Lunar.fyi

Contexts Reviews

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Lunar.fyi Reviews

  1. I can not live without Lunar.

    Have you ever felt down? Depressed? Like there's something missing?

    That's computing life before Lunar. You might still be depressed, but at least you'll feel control over your displays.

    Facelight, smart brightness sync across monitors, support for a DIY-ish light sensor, command line integration, APP SPECIFIC PRESETS (!) the ability to access the XDR brightness in your shiny new Macbook, and much more.

    Your screens deserve better, your eyes deserve better. There's simply no better way to manage how light gets into your eyes from your monitor.

    🏁 Competitors: DisplayBuddy, MonitorControl
    👍 Pros:    Cheap price|Great set of functions|Unique|Comprehensive functions
    👎 Cons:    You don't own it yet

Social recommendations and mentions

Lunar.fyi might be a bit more popular than Contexts. We know about 77 links to it since March 2021 and only 59 links to Contexts. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Contexts mentions (59)

  • Show HN: I3wm Alt+Tab Workspace Switcher
    I like using Contexts on the Mac as replacement: https://contexts.co. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • My MacBook setup (the 2024 version)
    I use the Contexts [1] app, couldn't live without it (not affiliated...) It shows me all open Windows and in which Desktop, in its Sidebar (I've disabled the macOS dock.) Also the Cmd-Tab functionalities are nice, and I can use "Fn + [a single key] " shortcut to focus an app. Would recommend. [1] https://contexts.co/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Arc 1.0 – a freeware web browser developed by The Browser Company
    Thanks for your feedback, I'll have to give TST in the Firefox sidebar another try... > "I make use of ctrl-uparrow to switch between browser and VSCode" I use the Contexts app (Fast Search) for that - https://contexts.co/. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Is there a program that can show my open apps as tabs across a bar like open tabs in a web browser?
    Https://contexts.co has a sidebar option. In their landing page its there under the sidebar heading. Source: 12 months ago
  • Witch – macOS window switcher replacement
    You should try contexts! It also has a bunch of other features and is highly configurable. I'm not one to normally pay for software, but this is probably up there with some of the best $10 I ever spent. https://contexts.co/. - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
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Lunar.fyi mentions (77)

  • Reverse Engineering a Software Crack
    It’s done in a similar way on macOS: a dylib is added to the bundle and an LC_LOAD command is added to the app binary. The dylib is the first thing that runs because of using the constructor attribute, like this: https://notes.alinpanaitiu.com/Injecting%20a%20DYLIB%20into%20a%20macOS%20app The nice thing is that a signed app will refuse to load a dylib that does not have the same signature. So crackers will be... - Source: Hacker News / 21 days ago
  • No I don't want 2, Emacs
    Pretty sure Lunar [0] can do this for you, and you can buy a lifetime license. [0]: https://lunar.fyi/. - Source: Hacker News / 29 days ago
  • Show HN: Multi-monitor KVM using just a USB switch
    I've had good luck with the Lunar app - it manages my Dell and LG monitors on an M2. (No affiliation) https://lunar.fyi. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • PHOLED Will Transform Displays
    Wild! I am working on exactly the same thing now for Lunar (https://lunar.fyi), and I'm also calling it Night Mode ^_^ what a coincidence I've been trying to make "white regions in dark backgrounds" less painful for months, but doing that at the system level on macOS is incredibly hard. I see you're doing it with CSS filters, which make sense in the limited scope of an article. But applying something like... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing
    I was comparing anti-piracy measures with DRM, I don't have actual DRM in my app. I can't block users that really bought the app from using it (which is what DRM is notorious for). But I do have a license verification for the Pro features (https://lunar.fyi/#pro), and that is what people are cracking in the app. I only added more protection around this verification. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Contexts and Lunar.fyi, you can also consider the following products

Witch - Welcome to the world of W. i. t. c. h.

DisplayBuddy - Control the real brightness of your monitors directly from your Mac - no need to touch the buttons on your Monitor.

Compiz - Project information. Maintainer: PS Project Management Team. Driver: Compiz Maintainers. Licence: GNU GPL v2, GNU LGPL v2. 1, MIT / X / Expat Licence.

rcmd - rcmd makes app switching instantaneous!When you have a lot of apps open, finding and switching to them might feel too slow using Command-Tab or the Dock.Hold down the right side |⌘ command| and press the first letter of the app name to focus it.

Hyperswitch - HyperSwitch provides a compelling alternative to HyperDock for keyboard junkies. What's New

MonitorControl - Control your external monitor brightness&volume on your Mac