Processor

CPU_DRIVER_OPMODE_ON_AC/BAT

Version 1.6 and newer

CPU_DRIVER_OPMODE_ON_AC=active
CPU_DRIVER_OPMODE_ON_BAT=active

Selects a CPU scaling driver operation mode. Configuration depends on the active driver:

amd-pstate

AMD Zen 2 or newer CPUs provide:

active - requires kernel 6.3 or newer, changes driver name to amd-pstate-epp
passive
guided - requires kernel 6.4 or newer

Since AMD’s kernel documentation is hard to penetrate, here is an attempt to outline the individual modes (without guarantee):

In active mode, the processor selects the operating frequencies autonomously within the limits imposed by the hardware, including turbo boost. The powersave governor can also lead to max frequency. Configuring the min and max frequency (as shown below) is not supported.
With guided mode, you may configure the min and max frequency (see below), and the processor will choose the operating frequency itself in the specified range. Guided is basically active mode with frequency range enforced.
In passive mode, in contrast to guided, the governor dictates the frequencies as configured.

Note

For kernels older than 6.5 amd-pstate must be activated via a kernel boot option; see the driver documentation linked at the bottom.
It should be kept in mind that not all laptop BIOSes allow the activation despite a suitable CPU. Please done not open TLP issues for this.
Some users have observed limited frequency or P-state ranges after switching modes. These are hardware issues or kernel issues, so please do not open a TLP issue for them.

intel_pstate

Intel Core i 2nd gen. (“Sandy Bridge”) or newer Intel CPUs provide these modes:

active
passive

Starting with kernel 5.7, the intel_pstate driver selects passive mode aka intel_cpufreq for CPUs that do not support hardware-managed P-states (HWP), i.e. Intel Core i 5th gen. or older.

acpi-cpufreq

Older AMD/Intel CPUs and other vendors do not support change of driver mode.

CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_AC/BAT

CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_AC=powersave
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=powersave

Selects the CPU scaling governor for automatic frequency scaling. Configuration depends on the active driver:

amd-pstate | intel_pstate in active mode

performance
powersave – default

amd-state in passive or guided mode | intel_pstate in passive mode | acpi-cpufreq

conservative
ondemand – default for most distributions
userspace
powersave
performance
schedutil – default for newer kernels and the amd-pstate/intel_pstate drivers in passive mode

Note

Refer to the output of tlp-stat -p to determine the active scaling driver and available governors.
Keep in mind that modularized kernels may not reveal all available governors in the tlp-stat -p output after boot. In this case, configure the desired governor anyway and, after tlp start, check the output of tlp-stat -p again (requires version 1.6).

Important

Default governors listed above are power efficient for almost all workloads, therefore kernel devs and most distributions have chosen them as such. So before changing the scaling governor please do your research about the advantages and disadvantages of the others (refer to the links at the bottom of this page).

CPU_SCALING_MIN/MAX_FREQ_ON_AC/BAT

CPU_SCALING_MIN_FREQ_ON_AC=0
CPU_SCALING_MAX_FREQ_ON_AC=9999999
CPU_SCALING_MIN_FREQ_ON_BAT=0
CPU_SCALING_MAX_FREQ_ON_BAT=9999999

Set the min/max frequency available for the scaling governor. Possible values depend on your CPU. For available frequencies consult the output of tlp-stat -p.

Hints:

Do not use this setting with the intel_pstate driver in active mode, use CPU_MIN/MAX_PERF_ON_AC/BAT instead
Min/max frequencies must always be specified for both modes i.e. AC and BAT
To enable processor defaults comment all four settings and reboot
Lowering the max frequency on battery power may not conserve power; best results are to be expected from the above mentioned default governors without frequency limits

CPU_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY_ON_AC/BAT

CPU_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY_ON_AC=balance_performance
CPU_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY_ON_BAT=balance_power

Set CPU energy/performance policies (in order of increasing power saving):

performance
balance_performance
default
balance_power
power

Default when unconfigured: balance_performance (AC), balance_power (BAT)

Requirements:

AMD

Version 1.6 and newer

AMD Zen 2 or newer CPU with kernel 6.3 and amd-pstate driver in active mode

Intel

HWP.EPP (hardware-managed P-states): Intel Core i 6th gen. (“Skylake”) or newer CPU with kernel 4.10 and intel_pstate driver in active mode
EPB: Intel Core i 2nd gen. (“Sandy Bridge”) or newer CPU with kernel 5.2 and intel_pstate driver
Note that HWP.EPP and EPB are mutually exclusive. When EPP is available, Intel CPUs will not honor EPB. Only the matching feature will be applied by TLP and shown by tlp-stat -p.

CPU_MIN/MAX_PERF_ON_AC/BAT

CPU_MIN_PERF_ON_AC=0
CPU_MAX_PERF_ON_AC=100
CPU_MIN_PERF_ON_BAT=0
CPU_MAX_PERF_ON_BAT=30

Define the min/max P-state for Intel CPUs. Values are stated as a percentage (0..100%) of the total available processor performance.

Hints:

Requires Intel Core i 2nd gen. (“Sandy Bridge”) or newer CPU with intel_pstate or intel_cpufreq scaling driver
The driver imposes a limit > 0 on the min P-state, see min_perf_pct in the output of tlp-stat -p
This setting is intended to limit the power dissipation of the CPU

CPU_BOOST_ON_AC/BAT

CPU_BOOST_ON_AC=1
CPU_BOOST_ON_BAT=0

Configure CPU “turbo boost” (Intel) or “core performance boost” aka “turbo core” (AMD):

0 - disable
1 - allow

Note

A value of 1 does not activate boosting, it just allows it
For use with the amd-pstate driver, at least kernel 6.11 is required

CPU_HWP_DYN_BOOST_ON_AC/BAT

CPU_HWP_DYN_BOOST_ON_AC=1
CPU_HWP_DYN_BOOST_ON_BAT=0

Configure the Intel CPU HWP dynamic boost feature:

0 - disable
1 - enable

Requires: Intel Core i 6th gen. (“Skylake”) or newer CPU with intel_pstate scaling driver in active mode