cinnamon-settings-daemon

cinnamon-settings-daemon [OPTIONS...]

--help
    Shows a help message and exits.

--version
    Shows version information and exits.

--debug
    Enables verbose debug output to the console.

--replace
    Replaces a currently running instance of the daemon. Useful for restarting the daemon without logging out.

cinnamon-settings-daemon is a crucial backend process for the Cinnamon desktop environment. It operates as a collection of plugins, each responsible for managing a specific aspect of the desktop's settings and functionality.

These include services like power management, keyboard and mouse input handling, display configuration, sound output, media key interpretation, and color management. It acts as the central hub for many user-configurable options, ensuring that changes made through the Cinnamon Settings application are applied system-wide and persist across sessions. The daemon typically starts automatically when a Cinnamon session begins and communicates with other desktop components via D-Bus, providing a robust and integrated settings management system for the user experience. Without cinnamon-settings-daemon, many core desktop features and settings would not function correctly.

If cinnamon-settings-daemon is not running or crashes, core desktop functionalities like power management, display settings, and keyboard layouts may cease to function correctly or be controllable. It's typically managed by the session manager and not intended for direct user invocation in normal operation.

cinnamon-settings-daemon is built on a modular plugin architecture. Each plugin (e.g., responsible for power, keyboard, or media keys) runs within the daemon, allowing for extensible and manageable development of desktop functionalities. This design contributes to its stability and maintainability.

The daemon heavily relies on the D-Bus message bus system for inter-process communication. It exposes various D-Bus interfaces that other Cinnamon components and applications use to query and modify desktop settings, enabling a seamless and integrated user experience.

The Cinnamon Desktop Environment, including cinnamon-settings-daemon, was created by Linux Mint in 2011 as a fork of GNOME 3. Consequently, cinnamon-settings-daemon is a direct descendant and fork of gnome-settings-daemon, inheriting much of its architecture and core functionality. Its development has since been tailored specifically for the Cinnamon environment, adapting to its unique features and requirements while maintaining compatibility with underlying system technologies.

cinnamon(1), cinnamon-settings(1), dbus-daemon(1), gnome-settings-daemon(1)