update-gconf-defaults

update-gconf-defaults [options]

--help
    Displays a help message and exits.

--version
    Displays version information and exits.

update-gconf-defaults is a utility designed to update and apply system-wide default settings for the GConf configuration system.

GConf was the primary configuration backend for the GNOME 2 desktop environment and other applications storing user and system preferences. This command ensures that default values, often defined by packages or system administrators, are correctly loaded into the GConf database.

It's typically executed during system startup, package installation, or when specific default settings need to be refreshed. While fundamental to GNOME 2's operation, GConf has largely been superseded by DConf in modern GNOME versions (GNOME 3 and later). Therefore, update-gconf-defaults is primarily relevant in older systems still utilizing GConf.

Deprecation: GConf is deprecated in modern GNOME versions (GNOME 3 and later), having been replaced by DConf.
Relevance: This command is primarily relevant on older Linux distributions or systems still running GNOME 2 or applications that explicitly rely on GConf.
Functionality: On current systems, update-gconf-defaults may not exist, or if it does, it might have no functional effect if GConf is not actively used.
System Impact: It's an internal system utility, usually invoked automatically; manual execution is rarely necessary for typical users.

While update-gconf-defaults processes system defaults, these defaults are typically defined in XML files located under /etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults. These files specify keys, values, and schemas for various applications and system components using GConf.

The purpose of these defaults is to provide a baseline configuration for users and applications. When a user first logs in or an application runs, if no user-specific setting exists for a GConf key, the system default is used. This command ensures those system defaults are properly registered.

update-gconf-defaults is intrinsically linked to the history of the GConf configuration system. GConf was developed as part of the GNOME project, becoming the standard configuration database for GNOME 2.x desktop environments, released in the early 2000s.

This utility played a crucial role in ensuring that system-wide default settings, distributed by packages or defined by administrators, were correctly applied to user profiles or as system defaults within the GConf registry.

With the advent of GNOME 3 (circa 2011), GConf began to be phased out in favor of DConf (and its user-facing API, GSettings), which offered improved performance, simpler design, and better support for atomic writes. Consequently, update-gconf-defaults's utility has significantly diminished over time, becoming largely obsolete on modern Linux distributions that ship with GNOME 3 or newer. Its presence on contemporary systems is often for backward compatibility or in minimal installations that might still pull in GConf dependencies.

gconftool(1), gconfd(1), dconf(1), gsettings(1)