diff --git a/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/config.nix b/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/config.nix
index 1cb6b6909..cc3e111f1 100644
--- a/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/config.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/config.nix
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #   - use sane-sysload
 {
   controlsSettingsComponents,
+  controlsSettingsCustomItems,
   height,
   locker,
   modulesRight,
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@
       # commands.battery = "";  #< optional action to perform when battery icon is clicked in the drop-down menu
       components = controlsSettingsComponents;
       click-closes = false;
-      custom-items = [];
+      custom-items = controlsSettingsCustomItems;
       css-name = "controls-window";
       hover-opens = false;
       icon-size = 16;
diff --git a/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/default.nix b/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/default.nix
index 6d0b567c7..18d974afc 100644
--- a/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/default.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/default.nix
@@ -13,6 +13,19 @@ let
   };
 in
 {
+  sane.programs.torch-toggle = {
+    packageUnwrapped = pkgs.static-nix-shell.mkBash {
+      pname = "torch-toggle";
+      pkgs = [ "brightnessctl" ];
+      srcRoot = ./.;
+    };
+
+    suggestedPrograms = [
+      "brightnessctl"
+    ];
+    sandbox.enable = false;  # trivial, and all deps are sandboxed
+  };
+
   sane.programs.nwg-panel = {
     configOption = with lib; mkOption {
       default = {};
@@ -44,6 +57,15 @@ in
               s6 service to start which can lock the screen
             '';
           };
+          torch = mkOption {
+            type = types.nullOr types.str;
+            default = null;
+            description = ''
+              device name for the torch (flashlight), if any.
+              find with `brightnessctl -l`
+            '';
+            example = "white:flash";
+          };
           battery = mkEnableOption' true "display battery status";
           brightness = mkEnableOption' true "display backlight level and slider";
           mediaTitle = mkEnableOption' true "display title of current song/media";
@@ -117,7 +139,10 @@ in
     });
 
     suggestedPrograms = [
+      "brightnessctl"
       "pactl"  # pactl required by `per-app-volume` component.
+    ] ++ lib.optionals (cfg.config.torch != null) [
+      "torch-toggle"
     ];
 
     fs.".config/nwg-panel/style.css".symlink.target = pkgs.substituteAll {
@@ -139,6 +164,15 @@ in
           "battery"
         ]
       ;
+      controlsSettingsCustomItems = lib.optionals (cfg.config.torch != null) [
+        {
+          name = "Torch";
+          # icons: find them in /etc/profiles/per-user/colin/share/icons
+          # display-brightness-symbolic, keyboard-brightness-symbolic, night-light-symbolic
+          icon = "display-brightness-symbolic";
+          cmd = "torch-toggle ${cfg.config.torch}";
+        }
+      ];
       modulesRight = [
         "playerctl"
       ] ++ lib.optionals cfg.config.sysload [
@@ -157,6 +191,7 @@ in
     ];
     sandbox.extraPaths = [
       "/sys/class/backlight"
+      "/sys/class/leds"  #< for torch/flashlight on moby
       "/sys/class/power_supply"  #< for the battery indicator
       "/sys/devices"
     ];
diff --git a/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/torch-toggle b/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/torch-toggle
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..c2495f660
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hosts/common/programs/nwg-panel/torch-toggle
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env nix-shell
+#!nix-shell -i bash -p bash -p brightnessctl
+dev="$1"
+if [ -z "$dev" ]; then
+  dev="white:flash"
+fi
+
+if [ "$(brightnessctl -d "$dev" get)" -gt 0 ]; then
+  brightnessctl -q -d "$dev" set "0%"
+else
+  brightnessctl -q -d "$dev" set "100%"
+fi
diff --git a/hosts/modules/hal/pine64.nix b/hosts/modules/hal/pine64.nix
index 1a6dd826b..8b8f98a42 100644
--- a/hosts/modules/hal/pine64.nix
+++ b/hosts/modules/hal/pine64.nix
@@ -283,6 +283,7 @@ in
     #   dd if=${pkgs.tow-boot-pinephone}/Tow-Boot.noenv.bin of=$out bs=1024 seek=8 conv=notrunc
     # '';
 
+    sane.programs.nwg-panel.config.torch = "white:flash";
     sane.programs.gps-share.config = {
       device = "/dev/ttyUSB1";
     };