diff --git a/src/brightness.rs b/src/brightness.rs
index acd2114..e2a6d63 100644
--- a/src/brightness.rs
+++ b/src/brightness.rs
@@ -3,19 +3,21 @@
 
 //! Screen brightness monitor.
 //!
-//! Reads from `/sys/class/backlight/<device>/brightness` and
+//! Reads from `/sys/class/backlight/<device>/actual_brightness` and
 //! `/sys/class/backlight/<device>/max_brightness`, polling every 2 seconds
 //! and sending `CMD_BRIGHTNESS` packets to all keyboards when the value
 //! changes.
 //!
-//! On a KDE6 / Wayland desktop the backlight sysfs path is typically one of:
-//!   - `/sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight`
-//!   - `/sys/class/backlight/amdgpu_bl0`
-//!   - `/sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0`
+//! `actual_brightness` is preferred over `brightness` because it reflects the
+//! real hardware state; on AMD GPU panels these can diverge.
+//!
+//! When multiple backlight devices are present (e.g. `amdgpu_bl2` and
+//! `nvidia_0`), the device most likely to represent the internal laptop panel
+//! is selected automatically (amdgpu/intel > acpi/platform > other > nvidia).
 //!
 //! # Future improvement
-//! Replace polling with an inotify watch on the `brightness` file so changes
-//! are reflected immediately.
+//! Replace polling with an inotify watch on the `actual_brightness` file so
+//! changes are reflected immediately.
 
 use std::fs;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
@@ -65,23 +67,54 @@ pub fn monitor(keyboards: Vec<Keyboard>) {
 // Helpers
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Return the sysfs path to the first available backlight device.
+/// Preference score for a backlight device name (higher = more preferred).
+///
+/// Internal GPU panels (amdgpu, intel) are preferred over discrete GPU
+/// outputs (nvidia), which often report a fixed ceiling value rather than the
+/// actual adjustable panel brightness.
+fn backlight_score(name: &str) -> u8 {
+    if name.starts_with("amdgpu_") || name.starts_with("intel_") {
+        3
+    } else if name.starts_with("acpi_") || name.starts_with("platform_") {
+        2
+    } else if name.starts_with("nvidia_") {
+        0
+    } else {
+        1
+    }
+}
+
+/// Return the sysfs path to the best available backlight device.
+///
+/// Scores each candidate by name prefix and returns the highest-scoring one.
+/// Requires both `actual_brightness` and `max_brightness` to be present.
 fn find_backlight() -> Option<PathBuf> {
     let read_dir = fs::read_dir("/sys/class/backlight").ok()?;
+
+    let mut best: Option<(u8, PathBuf)> = None;
+
     for entry in read_dir.flatten() {
         let path = entry.path();
-        // Verify the required files exist before committing to this device.
-        if path.join("brightness").exists() && path.join("max_brightness").exists() {
-            return Some(path);
+        if !path.join("actual_brightness").exists() || !path.join("max_brightness").exists() {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let name = path.file_name()?.to_string_lossy().into_owned();
+        let score = backlight_score(&name);
+        if best.as_ref().map_or(true, |(best_score, _)| score > *best_score) {
+            best = Some((score, path));
         }
     }
-    None
+
+    best.map(|(_, path)| path)
 }
 
 /// Read the current brightness as a percentage (0-100) from a sysfs backlight
-/// directory, or `None` if the files cannot be read / parsed.
+/// directory, or `None` if the files cannot be read or parsed.
+///
+/// Uses `actual_brightness` (hardware-reported) rather than `brightness`
+/// (software-requested) for accuracy on AMD GPU panels.
 fn read_brightness(backlight: &Path) -> Option<u8> {
-    let current: u64 = fs::read_to_string(backlight.join("brightness"))
+    let current: u64 = fs::read_to_string(backlight.join("actual_brightness"))
         .ok()?
         .trim()
         .parse()