bird

Start BIRD daemon

$ bird -c [/etc/bird/bird.conf]

$ bird -p [/etc/bird/bird.conf]

$ bird -d

bird [options]

bird (BIRD Internet Routing Daemon) is a dynamic IP routing daemon supporting multiple routing protocols including BGP, OSPF, RIP, and Babel. It's designed for high-performance routing on Unix-like systems.
The daemon is widely used for internet routing, particularly by ISPs and in data centers.

-c file

Configuration file

Debug mode (foreground)

Debug output file

Parse config and exit

Control socket path

PID file

/etc/bird/bird.conf

Main configuration file defining routing protocols, filters, and network interfaces.

BGP - Border Gateway Protocol
OSPF - Open Shortest Path First (v2 and v3)
RIP - Routing Information Protocol
Babel - Babel routing protocol
BFD - Bidirectional Forwarding Detection
Static - Static routes
Kernel - Kernel routing table sync
Pipe - Route copying between tables

Use `birdc` (BIRD client) to interact with running daemon:

$ birdc show protocols
birdc show route
birdc configure

Complex configuration for advanced setups. Requires root/network admin privileges. Misconfiguration can disrupt routing. IPv4 and IPv6 use separate instances (bird/bird6 on some systems). Not suitable for beginners.

BIRD was developed at Charles University in Prague starting in 1998, becoming a popular open-source routing daemon for Unix systems.

birdc(8), bgpd(8), quagga(8)