The desktop
Power
Click the battery on the bar, or open Setup › Power in the menu, for the power popup: the charge, the power mode, and what the lid and the power button do. Settings › Power has the same and a little more.
Power mode
| Mode | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Power saver | Longest on a battery |
| Balanced | The default |
| Performance | Gives the processor everything |
alpymist-power profile # the mode, and the modes offered
alpymist-power profile power-saver
alpymist set power.mode performance
The lid and the power button
| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Closing the lid, on battery | Suspend, lock, nothing, hibernate | Suspend |
| Closing the lid, on the charger | The same | Suspend |
| Closing the lid, with a screen connected | The same | Nothing |
| Power button | The System menu, suspend, power off, nothing | The System menu |
Suspending always locks the screen first. The popup offers hibernate only on a machine that can do it; chosen anyway, a lid that cannot hibernate locks instead.
alpymist set power.lid lock
alpymist set power.lid-on-power nothing
alpymist set power.button suspend
Charge limit
A battery that is mostly plugged in lasts longer if it is not kept full. Charge limit stops charging at 90, 80 or 60 %, on laptops whose firmware allows it. Changing it asks for an administrator's password.
alpymist set power.charge-limit 80
What the bar shows
Beside the battery icon, any of these, each a switch in Settings › Power:
| Setting | Shows | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Battery percentage in the bar | The charge | On |
| Time left in the bar | How long the battery lasts, or until it is full | Off |
| Power draw in the bar | Watts in or out | Off |
| Power mode in the bar | The mode | Off |
Suspending, restarting, shutting down
From the System menu on Super+Esc, or:
alpymist-power suspend
alpymist-power hibernate
alpymist-power restart
alpymist-power power-off
alpymist-power status
None of these asks for a password for someone sitting at the machine.
When the screen turns off by itself
That is idleness, not power, and is set in Screensaver, idle and lock.