seatd
TLDR
Start seatd with default settings
SYNOPSIS
seatd [-h] [-v] [-n fd] [-u user] [-g group] [-s path] [-l loglevel]
DESCRIPTION
seatd is a minimal seat management daemon that mediates access to shared resources such as displays and input devices in a multi-session, multi-seat environment. It provides an alternative to elogind for Wayland compositors, particularly those based on wlroots.
The daemon operates over a UNIX domain socket, with libseat providing the client-side protocol. Unlike elogind, seatd focuses solely on seat management without additional session management features, making it lightweight and suitable for minimal setups.
Seat management allows applications like Wayland compositors to access privileged devices (graphics cards, input devices) without requiring root privileges, improving security while maintaining functionality.
PARAMETERS
-h
Display help information and exit.-v
Display version number and exit.-n fd
File descriptor to notify readiness on. A single newline will be written and the fd closed when seatd is ready to serve requests. Compatible with s6's notification protocol.-u user
User to own the seatd socket.-g group
Group to own the seatd socket.-s path
Where to create the seatd socket. Defaults to `/run/seatd.sock`.-l loglevel
Set logging verbosity. Valid levels are debug, info, error, or silent. Defaults to error.
ENVIRONMENT
SEATD_VTBOUND
When set to "0", the seat will not be bound to a virtual terminal.
CAVEATS
seatd requires appropriate permissions to access device nodes. The socket path must be accessible to clients that need seat management. Only one seat management daemon should run at a time. Some compositors may require additional configuration to use libseat with seatd instead of elogind.
HISTORY
seatd was created by Kenny Levinsen as a minimal alternative to the seat management functionality provided by logind/elogind. It was designed specifically to support Wayland compositors, particularly wlroots-based ones like Sway, without requiring the full systemd or elogind stack. The project gained traction as more users sought lightweight alternatives for running Wayland on systems without systemd.
