install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install dbus

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install dbus

MacPorts ports tree · devel/dbus/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add dbus

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dbus · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install dbus

Debian stable package indexes · dbus · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install dbus

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dbus · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#dbus

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/db/dbus/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S dbus

Arch Linux sync databases · dbus · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install dbus-1-daemon

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · dbus-1-daemon · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Message bus system, providing inter-application communication

Project links

Commands and aliases

dbus-cleanup-sockets
dbus-daemon
dbus-launch
dbus-monitor
dbus-run-session
dbus-send
dbus-test-tool
dbus-update-activation-environment
dbus-uuidgen

history

Project history and usage

D-Bus is the freedesktop.org message bus system and reference implementation for low-overhead local IPC, providing both a protocol and the dbus-daemon used by Unix desktop and system services.

Project history

The D-Bus specification credits authors from Red Hat, CodeFactory, Imendio, Collabora, and others, and its first released document was revision 0.8 in September 2003. The protocol was declared frozen for compatible extension in November 2006, making later changes conservative and versioned.

Adoption history

freedesktop.org describes dbus as the reference implementation and says released versions are available in all major Linux distributions. The project page also notes that D-Bus was heavily tested in real-world use over several years before being treated as set in stone.

How it is used

D-Bus supplies a system bus for events such as hardware or printer changes and a per-login-session bus for desktop IPC. The package also ships tools such as dbus-daemon, dbus-send, dbus-monitor, dbus-run-session, and dbus-uuidgen for debugging and service integration.

Why package nerds care

As a package, dbus sits near the base of the modern Linux desktop graph: many GUI, service, policy, and session components do not expose D-Bus directly to users, but they rely on its daemon, activation files, bus names, and language bindings.

Timeline

2003: D-Bus specification revision 0.8 is the first released document.
2006: D-Bus protocol is frozen for compatible extensions.
2024: Specification revision 0.43 documents more modern interfaces and service-loading guidance.
2026: freedesktop.org lists dbus 1.16.x as the stable branch and 1.14.x as a legacy branch supported for security fixes until mid-2026.

Related projects

Related projects include libdbus, dbus-daemon, dbus-glib, GDBus, QtDBus, sd-bus, and language bindings for Python, Ruby, Go, Rust, and other ecosystems.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: orange

formula declares a Homebrew service.

Risk classifier

orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure

Why

formula declares a Homebrew service

Signals

metadata:service

Install behavior

Homebrew declares a post-install hook for this formula.
Formula metadata declares a service or daemon block.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 8 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 6 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: /usr/share/dbus-1/system.conf/usr/share/dbus-1/session.conf/etc/dbus-1/system.d/etc/dbus-1/session.d

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure
`dbus-cleanup-sockets`	cli	global executable
`dbus-daemon`	cli	global executable
`dbus-launch`	cli	global executable
`dbus-monitor`	cli	global executable
`dbus-run-session`	cli	global executable
`dbus-send`	cli	global executable
`dbus-test-tool`	cli	global executable
`dbus-update-activation-environment`	cli	global executable
`dbus-uuidgen`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version1.16.2

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://wiki.freedesktop.org/www/Software/dbus

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://wiki.freedesktop.org/www/Software/dbusnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:dbus
Version	1.16.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/dbus
Homepage	https://wiki.freedesktop.org/www/Software/dbus
Repository	https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/dbus/dbus
Upstream docs	https://dbus.freedesktop.org/doc/api/html
License	AFL-2.1 OR GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://dbus.freedesktop.org/releases/dbus/dbus-1.16.2.tar.xz
Build dependencies	docbook, docbook-xsl, meson, ninja, pkgconf, xmlto
Uses from macOS	expat
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	defined
Service	declared
Caveats	To start the session bus now and at login: brew services start dbus To start the system bus now and on boot, install and activate the included daemon: sudo cp -f $(brew --prefix dbus)/org.freedesktop.dbus-system.plist /Library/LaunchDaemons sudo launchctl bootstrap system /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.freedesktop.dbus-system.plist If the daemon is already installed and running, restart it: sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/org.freedesktop.dbus-system

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	dbus
Version Scheme	0
Revision	1
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

dbus 1.16.2-2

simple interprocess messaging system (system message bus)

Install dbus with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper