For many streamers, content creators, and remote workers, Elgato Key Light panels have become the standard lighting solution for video calls and streaming setups. These large LED panels mounted on stands provide clean, adjustable lighting that’s perfect for webcams.

However, the official control software from Elgato is fairly basic. It allows you to turn the lights on or off and adjust brightness or color temperature—but that’s about it.

To solve this limitation, a Finnish developer created Lolgato, a free and open-source macOS app that adds powerful automation and control features for Elgato lights.

Control Your Lights Directly from the Menu Bar

Installing Lolgato is simple. After downloading the DMG file and dragging the app into the Applications folder, an icon appears in the macOS menu bar.

From there, you can quickly access all your lighting controls without opening the official Elgato Control Center application.

Available controls include:

• turning lights on or off
• adjusting brightness
• changing color temperature

Everything is accessible with a single click directly from the menu bar.

But the real strength of Lolgato lies in its automation features.

Automatic Lighting When Your Webcam Activates

One of the most useful features is automatic light activation.

Lolgato detects when your webcam starts being used—whether in:

• FaceTime
• Zoom
• OBS Studio

As soon as the camera activates, the app automatically turns on your lights. When you lock your Mac, the lights switch off again.

This means you never have to remember to adjust your lighting before a meeting or livestream.

Keep in mind that Lolgato currently works only with Elgato lighting devices, such as the Key Light series, and not with generic LED panels.

Sync Lighting with Night Shift

Another clever feature is synchronization with Night Shift, the macOS feature that warms your display color at night.

When Night Shift activates in the evening, Lolgato automatically adjusts the color temperature of your Key Light to match the warmer tone of your screen.

Instead of harsh white lighting late at night, your workspace transitions to a softer, warmer illumination. When Night Shift turns off, the lights return to the default daylight temperature of around 6500K.

This creates a more natural and comfortable lighting environment, especially during late-night work sessions.

Global Keyboard Shortcuts for Faster Control

Lolgato also includes a full set of global keyboard shortcuts.

You can quickly:

• turn lights on or off
• increase or decrease brightness
• adjust color temperature

All without touching the mouse.

For users with multi-monitor setups and external keyboards, this can significantly speed up workflow.

Automatic Network Discovery

The app automatically detects compatible lights on your Wi-Fi network using the same protocol as the official Elgato software.

If automatic discovery fails—for example due to router configuration or VLAN segmentation—you can manually enter the IP address of your light in the settings.

This makes the app flexible even in more complex home or studio networks.

A Perfect Companion for MonitorControl

Many macOS users already rely on MonitorControl to adjust the brightness of external displays directly from their keyboard.

Lolgato complements that setup by providing similar control for lighting devices.

Together, these tools create a fully integrated brightness and lighting control system for your workspace.

System Requirements and Technical Details

Lolgato requires:

• macOS Sonoma (macOS 14) or later
• compatibility with macOS Sequoia (macOS 15)

The app is written in Swift and distributed under the MIT open-source license.

The developer is also known for creating other macOS utilities, including:

• WalkingMate – an app for controlling walking treadmills from a Mac
• KeepMic – a tool to keep a preferred USB microphone as the default input device

A Simple but Powerful Tool for Streamers and Remote Workers

If you already use Elgato lighting products, Lolgato is a simple way to unlock much more functionality.

With:

• automatic lighting control
• Night Shift synchronization
• global keyboard shortcuts
• fast menu bar access

this small open-source utility greatly improves how you manage your studio lighting on macOS.

And the best part? It’s free, lightweight, and open source.