diff --git a/bin/omarchy-brightness-display b/bin/omarchy-brightness-display
index 241ee091..a6a1e830 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-brightness-display
+++ b/bin/omarchy-brightness-display
@@ -1,28 +1,59 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-# omarchy:summary=Show or adjust brightness on the most likely display device.
-# omarchy:args=[--no-osd] [+N%|N%-|N%|off|on]
-# omarchy:examples=omarchy brightness display | omarchy brightness display +5% | omarchy brightness display --no-osd 50% | omarchy brightness display off | omarchy brightness display on
+# omarchy:summary=Show or adjust brightness on the focused display.
+# omarchy:args=[--no-osd] [--monitor name] [+N%|N%-|N%|off|on]
+# omarchy:examples=omarchy brightness display | omarchy brightness display +5% | omarchy brightness display --monitor DP-1 50% | omarchy brightness display off | omarchy brightness display on
 
 no_osd=0
-if [[ ${1:-} == "--no-osd" ]]; then
-  no_osd=1
-  shift
-fi
+monitor=""
+
+while (( $# > 0 )); do
+  case "$1" in
+  --no-osd)
+    no_osd=1
+    shift
+    ;;
+  --monitor)
+    (( $# >= 2 )) || exit 1
+    monitor="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  *)
+    break
+    ;;
+  esac
+done
 
 # Get the brightness of the passed display
-display_brightness() {
+backlight_brightness() {
   brightnessctl -d "$1" -m 2>/dev/null | awk -F, '{ gsub("%", "", $4); print $4; found=1 } END{ exit !found }'
 }
 
+[[ -n $monitor ]] || monitor="$(omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused 2>/dev/null || true)"
+
+monitor_is_internal() {
+  [[ $monitor =~ ^(eDP|LVDS|DSI)- ]]
+}
+
+use_apple_display() {
+  omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple "$monitor"
+}
+
+use_ddc_display() {
+  [[ -n $monitor ]] && ! monitor_is_internal
+}
+
 if (( $# == 0 )); then
-  if omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple; then
+  if use_apple_display; then
     omarchy-brightness-display-apple
     exit
+  elif use_ddc_display; then
+    omarchy-brightness-display-ddc "$monitor"
+    exit
   fi
 
   device="$(omarchy-hw-display)" || exit 1
-  display_brightness "$device"
+  backlight_brightness "$device"
   exit
 fi
 
@@ -45,18 +76,21 @@ fi
 exec {lock_fd}>"${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/tmp}/omarchy-brightness-display.lock"
 flock -n "$lock_fd" || exit 0
 
-if omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple; then
+if use_apple_display; then
   if (( no_osd )); then
     omarchy-brightness-display-apple --no-osd "$step"
   else
     omarchy-brightness-display-apple "$step"
   fi
+elif use_ddc_display; then
+  brightness="$(omarchy-brightness-display-ddc "$monitor" "$step")" || exit 1
+  (( no_osd )) || omarchy-osd -i brightness -p "$brightness"
 else
   # Current device highlighted
   device="$(omarchy-hw-display)" || exit 1
 
   # Current brightness percentage
-  current=$(display_brightness "$device") || exit 1
+  current=$(backlight_brightness "$device") || exit 1
 
   # Apply non-uniform step size: 1% steps if at or below 5%, otherwise set an
   # absolute target percentage to avoid raw backlight rounding causing uneven OSD steps.
@@ -84,5 +118,5 @@ else
   brightnessctl -d "$device" set "$step" >/dev/null
 
   # Show the new brightness in OSD
-  (( no_osd )) || omarchy-osd -i brightness -p "$(display_brightness "$device")"
+  (( no_osd )) || omarchy-osd -i brightness -p "$(backlight_brightness "$device")"
 fi
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-brightness-display-ddc b/bin/omarchy-brightness-display-ddc
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..aab91278
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/omarchy-brightness-display-ddc
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# omarchy:summary=Show or adjust DDC/CI display brightness for a Hyprland monitor.
+# omarchy:args=<monitor> [+N%|N%-|N%]
+# omarchy:examples=omarchy-brightness-display-ddc DP-1 | omarchy-brightness-display-ddc DP-1 50%
+
+monitor="${1:-}"
+step="${2:-}"
+
+[[ -n $monitor ]] || exit 1
+
+cache_dir="${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/tmp}/omarchy-brightness-display-ddc"
+cache_name="${monitor//[^[:alnum:]_.-]/_}"
+cache_file="$cache_dir/$cache_name.bus"
+unavailable_cache_seconds=60
+range_cache_seconds=10
+
+cache_unavailable() {
+  mkdir -p "$cache_dir" 2>/dev/null || true
+  printf 'unavailable %s\n' "$(date +%s)" >"$cache_file" 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+
+detect_bus() {
+  ddcutil --skip-ddc-checks detect --brief 2>/dev/null | awk -v monitor="$monitor" '
+    /I2C bus:/ {
+      bus = $NF
+      sub(/^.*\/i2c-/, "", bus)
+    }
+
+    /DRM connector:/ {
+      connector = $NF
+      sub(/^card[0-9]+-/, "", connector)
+      if (connector == monitor && bus != "") {
+        print bus
+        exit
+      }
+      bus = ""
+    }
+  '
+}
+
+find_bus() {
+  local bus=""
+  local cached_value=""
+  local now=0
+
+  if [[ -r $cache_file ]]; then
+    read -r bus cached_value <"$cache_file" || true
+  fi
+
+  if [[ $bus == "unavailable" ]]; then
+    now=$(date +%s)
+    if [[ $cached_value =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && (( now - cached_value < unavailable_cache_seconds )); then
+      return 1
+    fi
+    bus=""
+    rm -f "$cache_file"
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -z $bus ]]; then
+    bus="$(detect_bus)" || return 1
+    if [[ ! $bus =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+      cache_unavailable
+      return 1
+    fi
+    mkdir -p "$cache_dir" 2>/dev/null || true
+    printf '%s\n' "$bus" >"$cache_file" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+
+  printf '%s\n' "$bus"
+}
+
+read_vcp() {
+  local bus="$1"
+
+  ddcutil --bus "$bus" --skip-ddc-checks getvcp 10 --brief 2>/dev/null | awk '
+    $1 == "VCP" && toupper($2) == "10" && $3 == "C" && $4 ~ /^[0-9]+$/ && $5 ~ /^[0-9]+$/ && $5 > 0 {
+      print $4, $5
+      found = 1
+      exit
+    }
+
+    END { exit !found }
+  '
+}
+
+read_brightness() {
+  local bus=""
+  local now=0
+  local values=""
+
+  bus="$(find_bus)" || return 1
+  values="$(read_vcp "$bus")" || {
+    rm -f "$cache_file"
+    return 1
+  }
+
+  now=$(date +%s)
+  mkdir -p "$cache_dir" 2>/dev/null || true
+  printf '%s %s %s\n' "$bus" "${values##* }" "$now" >"$cache_file" 2>/dev/null || true
+  printf '%s %s\n' "$bus" "$values"
+}
+
+bus=""
+current=""
+maximum=""
+percent=""
+range_cached_at=""
+
+if [[ -z $step ]]; then
+  read -r bus current maximum < <(read_brightness) || exit 1
+  [[ -n ${bus:-} && -n ${current:-} && -n ${maximum:-} ]] || exit 1
+  (( percent = (current * 100 + maximum / 2) / maximum ))
+  printf '%s\n' "$percent"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [[ $step =~ ^([0-9]+)%$ ]]; then
+  target="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+  range_cache_fresh=0
+  if [[ -r $cache_file ]]; then
+    read -r bus maximum range_cached_at <"$cache_file" || true
+  fi
+
+  if [[ $bus =~ ^[0-9]+$ && $maximum =~ ^[0-9]+$ && $range_cached_at =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && (( maximum > 0 )); then
+    now=$(date +%s)
+    if (( range_cached_at <= now && now - range_cached_at < range_cache_seconds )); then
+      range_cache_fresh=1
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  if (( ! range_cache_fresh )); then
+    read -r bus current maximum < <(read_brightness) || exit 1
+  fi
+elif [[ $step =~ ^\+([0-9]+)%$ ]]; then
+  read -r bus current maximum < <(read_brightness) || exit 1
+  [[ -n ${bus:-} && -n ${current:-} && -n ${maximum:-} ]] || exit 1
+  (( percent = (current * 100 + maximum / 2) / maximum ))
+  amount="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+  if (( amount == 5 && percent < 5 )); then
+    (( target = percent + 1 ))
+  else
+    (( target = percent + amount ))
+  fi
+elif [[ $step =~ ^([0-9]+)%-$ ]]; then
+  read -r bus current maximum < <(read_brightness) || exit 1
+  [[ -n ${bus:-} && -n ${current:-} && -n ${maximum:-} ]] || exit 1
+  (( percent = (current * 100 + maximum / 2) / maximum ))
+  amount="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+  if (( amount == 5 && percent <= 5 )); then
+    (( target = percent - 1 ))
+  else
+    (( target = percent - amount ))
+  fi
+else
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+(( target < 1 )) && target=1
+(( target > 100 )) && target=100
+(( raw_target = (target * maximum + 50) / 100 ))
+
+if ! ddcutil --bus "$bus" --skip-ddc-checks --noverify setvcp 10 "$raw_target" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  rm -f "$cache_file"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+printf '%s\n' "$target"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple b/bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple
index 99dd55e8..670faa52 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple
+++ b/bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-# omarchy:summary=Return success if the focused Hyprland monitor is an Apple display.
+# omarchy:summary=Return success if the focused or named Hyprland monitor is an Apple display.
+# omarchy:args=[monitor]
 
-hyprctl monitors -j | jq -e '.[] | select(.focused == true) | select(.make == "Apple Computer Inc" and (.model | test("StudioDisplay|ProDisplayXDR|Studio XDR")))' >/dev/null
+monitor="${1:-}"
+
+hyprctl monitors -j | jq -e --arg monitor "$monitor" '
+  .[]
+  | select(if $monitor == "" then .focused == true else .name == $monitor end)
+  | select(.make == "Apple Computer Inc" and (.model | test("StudioDisplay|ProDisplayXDR|Studio XDR")))
+' >/dev/null
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-monitor-state b/bin/omarchy-monitor-state
index 13452679..f4dcd05c 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-monitor-state
+++ b/bin/omarchy-monitor-state
@@ -3,9 +3,10 @@
 # omarchy:summary=Print monitor panel state for the shell
 # omarchy:group=monitor
 
-{ omarchy-brightness-display 2>/dev/null; echo; } | head -n 1
-
 monitors_json=$(hyprctl monitors all -j)
+focused_monitor=$(printf '%s\n' "$monitors_json" | jq -r '[.[] | select(.focused == true)][0].name // ""')
+
+{ omarchy-brightness-display --monitor "$focused_monitor" 2>/dev/null; echo; } | head -n 1
 
 printf '%s\n' "$monitors_json" | jq -r '
   def internal: test("^(eDP|LVDS|DSI)-");
@@ -15,7 +16,7 @@ printf '%s\n' "$monitors_json" | jq -r '
   ([.[] | select((.name | internal) and .mirrorOf != "none")][0].mirrorOf // "")
 '
 
-omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused 2>/dev/null || echo
+printf '%s\n' "$focused_monitor"
 omarchy-hyprland-monitor-scaling 2>/dev/null || echo
 
 printf '%s\n' "$monitors_json" | jq -c \
diff --git a/install/omarchy-base.packages b/install/omarchy-base.packages
index 2e01c3a1..96d44d7b 100644
--- a/install/omarchy-base.packages
+++ b/install/omarchy-base.packages
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ cups
 cups-browsed
 cups-filters
 cups-pdf
+ddcutil
 docker
 docker-buildx
 docker-compose
diff --git a/migrations/1785608251.sh b/migrations/1785608251.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5ee563d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/1785608251.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+echo "Install ddcutil for external monitor brightness control"
+
+omarchy-pkg-add ddcutil
diff --git a/shell/plugins/panels/monitor/Panel.qml b/shell/plugins/panels/monitor/Panel.qml
index daeb2c8c..1753906e 100644
--- a/shell/plugins/panels/monitor/Panel.qml
+++ b/shell/plugins/panels/monitor/Panel.qml
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ Panel {
     }
 
     root.brightnessSetQueued = false
-    setBrightnessProc.command = ["bash", "-c", "omarchy-brightness-display --no-osd " + percent + "%"]
+    setBrightnessProc.command = ["omarchy-brightness-display", "--no-osd", "--monitor", root.focusedMonitor, percent + "%"]
     setBrightnessProc.running = true
   }
 
diff --git a/test/shell.d/brightness-display-test.sh b/test/shell.d/brightness-display-test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..3e41c511
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/shell.d/brightness-display-test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+source "$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)/base-test.sh"
+
+test_tmp=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$test_tmp"' EXIT
+
+mock_bin="$test_tmp/bin"
+call_log="$test_tmp/calls"
+runtime_dir="$test_tmp/runtime"
+mkdir -p "$mock_bin" "$runtime_dir"
+
+cat >"$mock_bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+exit 1
+SH
+
+cat >"$mock_bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+printf '%s\n' "${FOCUSED_MONITOR:-eDP-1}"
+SH
+
+cat >"$mock_bin/omarchy-hw-display" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+printf 'mock_backlight\n'
+SH
+
+cat >"$mock_bin/brightnessctl" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+printf 'brightnessctl %s\n' "$*" >>"$CALL_LOG"
+if [[ $* == *" -m"* ]]; then
+  printf 'mock_backlight,backlight,40,40%%\n'
+fi
+SH
+
+cat >"$mock_bin/ddcutil" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+printf 'ddcutil %s\n' "$*" >>"$CALL_LOG"
+
+if [[ $* == *" detect --brief"* ]]; then
+  cat <<EOF
+Display 1
+   I2C bus:             /dev/i2c-${DDC_BUS:-7}
+   DRM connector:       card1-${DDC_CONNECTOR:-DP-1}
+EOF
+elif [[ $* == *" getvcp 10 "* ]]; then
+  [[ ${DDC_READ_FAIL:-0} == "1" ]] && exit 1
+  printf 'VCP 10 C %s %s\n' "${DDC_CURRENT:-40}" "${DDC_MAXIMUM:-80}"
+fi
+SH
+
+chmod +x "$mock_bin"/*
+
+run_brightness() {
+  CALL_LOG="$call_log" XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$runtime_dir" PATH="$mock_bin:$ROOT/bin:$PATH" \
+    "$ROOT/bin/omarchy-brightness-display" "$@"
+}
+
+brightness=$(run_brightness --monitor DP-1)
+[[ $brightness == "50" ]] || fail "external brightness is converted to a percentage" "actual: $brightness"
+pass "external brightness is converted to a percentage"
+
+(( $(grep -c '^ddcutil --skip-ddc-checks detect --brief$' "$call_log") == 1 )) || fail "DDC bus is detected once"
+run_brightness --monitor DP-1 >/dev/null
+(( $(grep -c '^ddcutil --skip-ddc-checks detect --brief$' "$call_log") == 1 )) || fail "DDC bus mapping is cached"
+pass "DDC bus mapping is cached"
+
+run_brightness --no-osd --monitor DP-1 25%
+grep -F 'ddcutil --bus 7 --skip-ddc-checks --noverify setvcp 10 20' "$call_log" >/dev/null || \
+  fail "external percentage is converted to the monitor VCP range"
+pass "external percentage is converted to the monitor VCP range"
+
+get_count=$(grep -c ' getvcp 10 ' "$call_log")
+run_brightness --no-osd --monitor DP-1 30%
+(( $(grep -c ' getvcp 10 ' "$call_log") == get_count )) || \
+  fail "absolute external brightness reuses the cached VCP range"
+grep -F 'ddcutil --bus 7 --skip-ddc-checks --noverify setvcp 10 24' "$call_log" >/dev/null || \
+  fail "absolute external brightness skips write verification"
+pass "absolute external brightness reuses the cached VCP range"
+
+brightness=$(run_brightness --monitor eDP-1)
+[[ $brightness == "40" ]] || fail "internal monitor uses the kernel backlight" "actual: $brightness"
+grep -F 'brightnessctl -d mock_backlight -m' "$call_log" >/dev/null || \
+  fail "internal monitor queries brightnessctl"
+pass "internal monitor uses the kernel backlight"
+
+brightness=$(FOCUSED_MONITOR=DP-1 run_brightness)
+[[ $brightness == "50" ]] || fail "brightness follows the focused external monitor" "actual: $brightness"
+pass "brightness follows the focused external monitor"
+
+detect_count=$(grep -c ' detect --brief' "$call_log")
+if DDC_CONNECTOR=DP-1 run_brightness --monitor DP-2 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  fail "unsupported external monitor has no brightness backend"
+fi
+if DDC_CONNECTOR=DP-1 run_brightness --monitor DP-2 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  fail "cached unsupported external monitor has no brightness backend"
+fi
+(( $(grep -c ' detect --brief' "$call_log") == detect_count + 1 )) || \
+  fail "unsupported external monitor detection is temporarily cached"
+pass "unsupported external monitor has no brightness backend"
+
+rm -f "$runtime_dir/omarchy-brightness-display-ddc/DP-1.bus"
+detect_count=$(grep -c ' detect --brief' "$call_log")
+if DDC_READ_FAIL=1 run_brightness --monitor DP-1 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  fail "transient DDC read failure is reported"
+fi
+(( $(grep -c ' detect --brief' "$call_log") == detect_count + 1 )) || \
+  fail "transient DDC read failure is not retried immediately"
+brightness=$(run_brightness --monitor DP-1)
+[[ $brightness == "50" ]] || fail "transient DDC read failure is retried on the next invocation" "actual: $brightness"
+(( $(grep -c ' detect --brief' "$call_log") == detect_count + 2 )) || \
+  fail "transient DDC read failure does not create a negative cache entry"
+pass "transient DDC read failure is retried on the next invocation"
+
+printf '7 80 0\n' >"$runtime_dir/omarchy-brightness-display-ddc/DP-1.bus"
+get_count=$(grep -c ' getvcp 10 ' "$call_log")
+DDC_MAXIMUM=100 run_brightness --no-osd --monitor DP-1 50%
+(( $(grep -c ' getvcp 10 ' "$call_log") == get_count + 1 )) || \
+  fail "expired external brightness range is refreshed"
+grep -F 'ddcutil --bus 7 --skip-ddc-checks --noverify setvcp 10 50' "$call_log" >/dev/null || \
+  fail "expired external brightness range uses the refreshed maximum"
+pass "expired external brightness range is refreshed"
+
+rm -f "$runtime_dir/omarchy-brightness-display-ddc/DP-1.bus"
+DDC_CURRENT=4 DDC_MAXIMUM=100 run_brightness --no-osd --monitor DP-1 +5%
+grep -F 'ddcutil --bus 7 --skip-ddc-checks --noverify setvcp 10 5' "$call_log" >/dev/null || \
+  fail "external low brightness writes the one-percent target"
+pass "external low brightness uses a one-percent step"
+
+cat >"$mock_bin/hyprctl" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+printf '%s\n' '[
+  {"name":"DP-1","focused":true,"make":"HPN","model":"OMEN X 25f"},
+  {"name":"DP-2","focused":false,"make":"Apple Computer Inc","model":"StudioDisplay"}
+]'
+SH
+chmod +x "$mock_bin/hyprctl"
+
+PATH="$mock_bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple" DP-2 || \
+  fail "named Apple display is detected independently of focus"
+if PATH="$mock_bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/bin/omarchy-hyprland-monitor-focused-apple"; then
+  fail "focused non-Apple display is not detected as Apple"
+fi
+pass "named Apple display is detected independently of focus"