uConsole-sleep v1.4

Sleep Service Package for uConsole

This service is built for Ubuntu 22.04 and implemented in Python.

It monitors power key events and controls the screen power (on/off).
Initially, power key events were detected using a polling loop, but this was later replaced with epoll to reduce CPU usage.

When the screen turns off for any reason (e.g., screensaver activation, desktop lock, or system sleep), the service detects the screen-off state and applies several power-saving measures:

• Sets the CPU maximum frequency to the minimum
• Disables power to the built-in keyboard
• Disables the keyboard wakeup trigger

I also experimented with switching the CPU governor to powersave, but observed a slight delay during state transitions, so the current implementation adjusts the maximum CPU frequency instead.

Similarly, screen-off detection was originally implemented using a polling loop, but it was replaced with inotify to further reduce CPU load.

Components

The service consists of two background processes:

sleep-remap-powerkey

/usr/local/bin/sleep_remap_powerkey

Detects power key events and controls the screen power state.

sleep-power-control

/usr/local/bin/sleep_power_control

Handles power-saving behavior based on the current screen state.

sleep_display_control

/usr/local/bin/sleep_display_control (shared library used by both services)

Manages DRM/framebuffer display power and backlight control.

How to package and install

Install dependencies first:

sudo apt install python3-inotify python3-uinput

Build and install the package:

ENV_VERSION=1.4 ./make_uconsole-sleep_package.sh
sudo dpkg -i uconsole-sleep.deb

Service management

# Enable and start services (done automatically on install)
sudo systemctl enable sleep-remap-powerkey sleep-power-control
sudo systemctl start sleep-remap-powerkey sleep-power-control

# Check status
systemctl status sleep-remap-powerkey
systemctl status sleep-power-control

# View logs
journalctl -u sleep-remap-powerkey -f
journalctl -u sleep-power-control -f

# Stop and disable
sudo systemctl stop sleep-remap-powerkey sleep-power-control
sudo systemctl disable sleep-remap-powerkey sleep-power-control

Configuration

Configuration file: /etc/uconsole-sleep/config

Option	Default	Description
HOLD_TRIGGER_SEC	0.7	Hold duration (seconds) to trigger power interactive menu
SAVING_CPU_FREQ	100,100	CPU frequency (MHz) <min,max> applied during power saving
DISABLE_POWER_OFF_DRM	no	Disable turning off DRM on sleep (set yes if screen recovery has issues)
DISABLE_POWER_OFF_KB	no	Disable turning off keyboard on sleep (set yes to allow keyboard to control its backlight)
DISABLE_CPU_MIN_FREQ	no	Disable setting CPU max frequency to minimum during sleep

More Information

Discussion and updates are available on the ClockworkPi forum:
https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-sleep-v1-2/15612?u=paragonnov

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