fprintd
D-Bus fingerprint authentication service
TLDR
View documentation for listing enrolled fingerprints
SYNOPSIS
fprintd is a D-Bus daemon, not a standalone command. Use the related client commands.
DESCRIPTION
fprintd is the fingerprint daemon that provides fingerprint scanning functionality through D-Bus. It acts as a system service managing fingerprint readers and enrolled fingerprint data, allowing applications to authenticate users via fingerprints.
The daemon itself runs in the background and is typically started by systemd. Users interact with it through client utilities:
fprintd-enroll - Register new fingerprints
fprintd-list - List enrolled fingerprints
fprintd-verify - Verify a fingerprint
fprintd-delete - Remove enrolled fingerprints
Integration with PAM allows fingerprint authentication for login, sudo, and other system authentication points.
CAVEATS
Requires a compatible fingerprint reader supported by libfprint. Not all readers work reliably. Fingerprint data is stored in /var/lib/fprint and should be protected. PAM configuration is required for system authentication integration.
HISTORY
fprintd is part of the fprint project, which provides fingerprint reader support for Linux. The project was started to bring standardized fingerprint authentication to Linux systems, leveraging the libfprint library for hardware abstraction.
SEE ALSO
fprintd-enroll(1), fprintd-list(1), fprintd-verify(1), fprintd-delete(1)
