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⇱ Linux's Intel-Speed-Select Tool Will Allow Non-Root Use With Linux 7.0 - Phoronix


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Linux's Intel-Speed-Select Tool Will Allow Non-Root Use With Linux 7.0

Written by Michael Larabel in Intel on 18 January 2026 at 06:13 AM EST. 7 Comments
The intel-speed-select tool that lives within the Linux kernel source tree for allowing some control over Intel Speed Select Technology (SST) and managing of clock frequencies / performance behavior will finally allow limited non-root usage.

Ahead of the Linux 6.20~7.0 kernel cycle, a pull request to the x86 platform driver maintainers has been submitted with updates to the intel-speed-select tool.

Most notable with the intel-speed-select tool update is beginning to allow for non-root use. Rather than just always bailing out if detecting a non-root user, intel-speed-select tool will now see if the /dev/isst_interface device can be opened by the current user. If /dev/isst_interface can at least be opened, intel-speed-select will now at least run and allow for read-only commands to be properly handled.

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Obviously non-root users can't alter the Intel SST state but at least useful for those wanting to query various attributes via intel-speed-select without having to launch the program as root. Barring no last minute issues, that intel-speed-select update will be merged for the next Linux kernel merge window in February.

Michael Larabel is the principal author of Phoronix.com and founded the site in 2004 with a focus on enriching the Linux hardware experience. Michael has written more than 20,000 articles covering the state of Linux hardware support, Linux performance, graphics drivers, and other topics. Michael is also the lead developer of the Phoronix Test Suite, Phoromatic, and OpenBenchmarking.org automated benchmarking software. He can be followed via Twitter, LinkedIn, or contacted via MichaelLarabel.com.