gnome-settings-daemon

gnome-settings-daemon [OPTION…]

--help
    Print help and exit

--help-all
    Show all help options

--help-gtk
    Show GTK options

--help-settings
    Show GNOME Settings help options

--version
    Print version and exit

--display=DISPLAY
    X display to use

--session=SESSION_NAME
    Session name (for debugging)

--user-data-dir=DIR
    User data directory (for debugging)

--exec-path=PATH
    Executable search path (for debugging)

--replace
    Replace a running instance

--sm-client-id=CLIENT-ID
    Specify session manager client ID

The gnome-settings-daemon is a core component of the GNOME desktop environment, responsible for managing and applying user settings across various subsystems. It runs as a per-user daemon, activated via D-Bus, and handles configuration changes from tools like GSettings or dconf.

This daemon loads multiple plugins to enforce settings dynamically. Key areas include power management (e.g., screen brightness, sleep timeouts), input devices (keyboard layouts, mouse acceleration), audio volume controls, display configurations (via XRandR), accessibility features, media keys, clipboard management, and session housekeeping tasks like inhibiting logout during critical operations.

When a setting changes, the daemon listens for signals and immediately applies updates without requiring a desktop restart. It integrates tightly with GNOME Shell and Mutter compositor, ensuring a consistent user experience. For developers, it provides D-Bus interfaces for querying or overriding settings.

Typically started automatically by gnome-session, manual invocation is useful for testing or debugging specific plugins. It supports session management and can replace existing instances.

Daemon is D-Bus activated in modern GNOME; manual runs may conflict with session-managed instance. Requires running X11/Wayland session with GNOME components. Plugins can be debugged via G_MESSAGES_DEBUG=all.

a11y-keyboard, color, datetime, keyboard, media-keys, mouse, power, printing, sound, xrandr, xsettings, ws, clipboard, housekeeping.
Enabled via org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins schema.

Run with G_MESSAGES_DEBUG=GNOME_SETTINGS_DAEMON gnome-settings-daemon --replace --session=test for verbose logs.

Originated in GNOME 2.x (circa 2002) using GConf for storage. Migrated to GSettings/dconf in GNOME 3 (2011). Evolved with Wayland support in GNOME 40+ (2021), consolidating plugins and improving power management.

gnome-session(1), gsettings(1), dconf(1), mutter(1)