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BalancedDef and PowersaverDef set to -1 in all configs effectively disables lpmd when power-profiles-daemon is running

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Assessment

Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Newbie friendliness
52/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Quiet
Tech stack
c, linux
Domain
operating-systems

Research direction

Review BalancedDef, PowersaverDef, and PerformanceDef in intel_lpmd_config.xml, intel_lpmd_config_examples.xml, intel_lpmd_config_experimental.xml, and the F6_M170, F6_M189, and F6_M204 configurations. Then read connect_to_power_profile_daemon() and its fallback in lpmd_proc.c to confirm how PPD profile values control lpmd. Done means the chosen defaults allow the intended profiles to engage under PPD while preserving the performance-profile behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

All shipped configuration files set -1 and -1, which forces lpmd OFF for both the "balanced" and "power-saver" power profiles. Combined with -1, this means lpmd is unconditionally disabled whenever power-profiles-daemon
(PPD) is running.

Since PPD is active by default on most modern Linux desktop environments (GNOME, KDE), and the default profile is "balanced", lpmd will never engage on a typical installation.

The daemon only becomes active when PPD is not installed, because connect_to_power_profile_daemon() failure causes a fallback to LPMD_AUTO in lpmd_proc.c.


  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┬───────────────┐
  │                 Config file                  │ BalancedDef │ PowersaverDef │
  ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────────┤
  │ intel_lpmd_config.xml                        │ -1          │ -1            │
  ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────────┤
  │ intel_lpmd_config_examples.xml               │ -1          │ -1            │
  ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────────┤
  │ intel_lpmd_config_experimental.xml           │ -1          │ -1            │
  ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────────┤
  │ intel_lpmd_config_F6_M170.xml (Meteor Lake)  │ -1          │ -1            │
  ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────────┤
  │ intel_lpmd_config_F6_M189.xml (Lunar Lake)   │ -1          │ -1            │
  ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼───────────────┤
  │ intel_lpmd_config_F6_M204.xml (Panther Lake) │ -1          │ -1            │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────┴───────────────┘
Expected behavior

For mobile/laptop platforms where lpmd is designed to save power, more useful defaults would be:

  • PerformanceDef=-1 — keep lpmd off when user explicitly wants maximum performance (correct as-is)
  • BalancedDef=0 — allow lpmd to opportunistically enter/exit low power mode based on WLT hints and utilization
  • PowersaverDef=0 — same as balanced, or potentially 1 (force on) to aggressively save power

This way lpmd actually participates in power management on systems where PPD is running, which is the common case on desktop Linux distributions.

Dominant language
C
Stars
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Forks
33
Avg merge
2m
Merged PRs (30d)
2

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