Pyectool

Pyectool provides Python bindings for interacting with the Embedded Controller (EC) on ChromeOS and Framework devices.
It is extracted from and based on Dustin Howett's ectool and exposes EC control functions directly to Python via a native C++ extension built with pybind11.

Pyectool also provides a simple way to build the original ectool CLI tool, or to build libectool—a standalone C library that wrap most of ectool’s functionality, making it reusable in C/C++ projects or accessible from other languages. Both the CLI binary and the library are built automatically during installation.

Features

• Python-native interface to low-level EC functionality via pybind11
• Supports fan duty control, temperature reading, AC power status, and more.
• Designed for hardware monitoring, thermal management, and fan control tooling.
• Bundles the native ectool CLI and libectool C library alongside the Python package:
  • pyectool/bin/ectool (ectool CLI)
  • pyectool/lib/libectool.a (libectool static library)
  • pyectool/include/libectool.h (libectool C header)

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Installation

Prerequisites

Install system dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y libusb-1.0-0-dev libftdi1-dev pkg-config

Clone the repository

Install the package

Option 1: System-wide (not recommended unless you know what you're doing)

sudo pip install .

Or:

sudo env "PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES=1" pip install .

(Required on modern distros like Ubuntu 24.04 due to PEP 668.)

Option 2: Isolated virtual environment (recommended)

python3 -m venv ~/.venv/pyectool
source ~/.venv/pyectool/bin/activate
pip install .

⚠️ Important Note

After installation, do not run Python from inside the libectool/ directory. It contains a pyectool/ folder that may shadow the installed package.

Instead, test from a different directory:

cd ..
python -c "from pyectool import ECController; ec = ECController(); print(ec.is_on_ac())"

If you're using a virtual environment and want to preserve its PATH, use:

cd ..
sudo env "PATH=$PATH" python -c "from pyectool import ECController; ec = ECController(); print(ec.is_on_ac())"

This ensures the correct Python from your virtual environment is used even with sudo.

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Usage

Create an EC controller instance

from pyectool import ECController

ec = ECController()

Available Methods

Method	Description
ec.is_on_ac() -> bool	Returns True if the system is on AC power, else False.
ec.get_num_fans() -> int	Returns the number of fan devices detected.
ec.enable_fan_auto_ctrl(fan_idx: int) -> None	Enables automatic fan control for a specific fan.
ec.enable_all_fans_auto_ctrl() -> None	Enables automatic control for all fans.
ec.set_fan_duty(percent: int, fan_idx: int) -> None	Sets fan duty (speed) as a percentage for a specific fan.
ec.set_all_fans_duty(percent: int) -> None	Sets the same duty percentage for all fans.
ec.set_fan_rpm(target_rpm: int, fan_idx: int) -> None	Sets a specific RPM target for a specific fan.
ec.set_all_fans_rpm(target_rpm: int) -> None	Sets the same RPM target for all fans.
ec.get_fan_rpm(fan_idx: int) -> int	Returns current RPM of a specific fan.
ec.get_all_fans_rpm() -> list[int]	Returns a list of current RPM values for all fans.
ec.get_num_temp_sensors() -> int	Returns the total number of temperature sensors detected.
ec.get_temp(sensor_idx: int) -> int	Returns the temperature (in °C) for the given sensor index.
ec.get_all_temps() -> list[int]	Returns a list of all sensor temperatures (in °C).
ec.get_max_temp() -> int	Returns the highest temperature across all sensors.
ec.get_max_non_battery_temp() -> int	Returns the highest temperature excluding battery-related sensors.
ec.get_temp_info(sensor_idx: int) -> ECTempInfo	Returns detailed info for a sensor, including name, type, and thresholds.

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ECTempInfo

Returned by get_temp_info(), acts like a dict with:

• sensor_name: str
• sensor_type: int
• temp: int
• temp_fan_off: int
• temp_fan_max: int

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License

BSD 3-Clause License See the LICENSE file for full terms.