FineDisplay

Unlock the HiDPI modes macOS hides

No "looks like 1920×1200" option for your external display? There is one. macOS built it, then hid it. FineDisplay shows the list and lets you pick. No virtual display, no mirroring, no system files, no reboot. Free and open source.

Download — FineDisplay 1.2.0 Install How it works GitHub

macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon and Intel · Developer ID signed + notarized · MIT license · Türkçe

ARZOPA
2560 × 1600  HiDPI 5120×3200 ★
✓2048 × 1280  HiDPI 4096×2560 ★
1920 × 1200  HiDPI 3840×2400 ★
1600 × 1000  HiDPI 3200×2000 ★
1280 × 800  HiDPI 2560×1600
Low Resolution ›
☼☀
✓Match Built-in Brightness
Panel 2560×1600 · 9 unlocked
Re-apply Saved Modes
✓Launch at Login
Quit FineDisplay

★ = modes Apple generated and hid. Example: Arzopa Z1RC (16", 2560×1600).

Native, no detour

No ghost display, no copied frames. FineDisplay switches to a row that is already in macOS's own mode table. The desktop renders at 2×, the GPU scales to the panel. The same mechanism your MacBook's built-in Retina display uses.

Remembers

Mode choice and desktop position are stored per display. When you replug the display or the Mac wakes, FineDisplay re-applies both — even when macOS shuffles your arrangement. Launch at login is optional.

Brightness too

A brightness slider per display. Hardware control (DDC/CI) where the monitor supports it, automatic software dimming where it does not. And an external can match the built-in panel: brightness keys and the ambient light sensor carry over.

Command line included

finedisplay list shows the table, finedisplay set 2 1920x1200 switches, finedisplay brightness 2 40 dims. Good for scripts and automation.

Free, open, honest

MIT license. No ads, no account, no "Pro" tier. What it does and how is below and in the source.

How it works

Every display has a mode table inside WindowServer. For a 2560×1600 panel macOS generates modes such as 1920×1200 @2x and 2048×1280 @2x, then stamps them with kDisplayModeValidForMirroringFlag and never returns them from the public API. That is why System Settings stops at the panel size. The panel can do it; the cut-off is Apple's choice.

FineDisplay reads the full table with WindowServer's own calls (SkyLight CGSGetDisplayModeDescriptionOfLength) and switches with CGSConfigureDisplayMode. WindowServer accepts it. Everything after that is the standard macOS Retina pipeline. Apple's own override file for the 13" MacBook Air (same 2560×1600 panel) lists the same resolutions with the same flags.

Full investigation log: docs/how-it-works.md

Plain talk

Release notes

v1.2.0current

  • Brightness sync: an external display can follow the built-in panel ("Match Built-in Brightness" in the menu, finedisplay sync in the CLI).
  • Arrangement memory: if macOS shuffles your displays after sleep or replug, FineDisplay puts them back where you had them.
  • "Check for Updates…": compares against the latest GitHub release and opens the download page. No background installer.

v1.1.1

  • Software dimming (gamma) for monitors that do not answer DDC/CI — the same method as BetterDisplay's software dimming. The slider now works on every monitor.
  • Fixed the brightness slider layout in the menu.
  • Calibration profiles are preserved; 100% restores the profile exactly.

v1.1.0

  • Brightness control: a slider per external display (DDC/CI, Apple Silicon) and the system route for built-in/Apple displays.
  • finedisplay brightness command: brightness 2 40, brightness 2 +10.
  • Monitors that never report their value get a slider seeded from the last value set.

v1.0.0

  • First release: menu bar app that lists and switches to hidden HiDPI modes.
  • Per-display memory; automatic re-apply on reconnect and wake.
  • Launch at login option; finedisplay command-line tool.
  • Universal binary (Apple Silicon + Intel), macOS 13+. Verified on macOS 15.7 Sequoia.

Install

  1. Download FineDisplay-1.2.0.zip (mirror: this site), unzip, move FineDisplay.app to Applications.
  2. Open it. The app is notarized by Apple; it opens without warnings.
  3. Click the monitor icon in the menu bar. Pick a ★ HiDPI mode for your external display. Done.

Command line: inside the app at FineDisplay.app/Contents/Resources/bin/finedisplay, or as a separate zip: finedisplay-cli-1.2.0.zip

finedisplay list                 # displays and modes; ★ = hidden HiDPI
finedisplay set 2 1920x1200      # looks like 1920×1200, rendered at 3840×2400
finedisplay set 2 2048x1280 --hz 60
finedisplay apply                # re-apply saved choices now
finedisplay brightness 2 40      # external display to 40% brightness
finedisplay sync 2 on            # follow the built-in panel's brightness

Build from source:

git clone https://github.com/ofbakirci/finedisplay
cd finedisplay
swift build -c release
scripts/build-app.sh             # dist/FineDisplay.app

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