Install xdpyinfo with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• xdpyinfo

Project history

The X11R7.0 manual page credits Jim Fulton of the MIT X Consortium as author, with later extension support added by Joe Moss. That places xdpyinfo in the classic X client-tool tradition that predates modern X.Org packaging, then carried forward into the modular X.Org source tree.

X.Org's 2005 modularization split the old monolithic X Window System source into individual modules for applications, libraries, drivers, fonts, protocol descriptions, and related pieces. xdpyinfo became one of those independently releasable app modules, with its freedesktop.org GitLab project now describing it simply as a display information utility for X.

Adoption history

xdpyinfo's adoption is tied to X11 itself. Administrators, distribution maintainers, build scripts, and users reach for it when they need to confirm that an X server exists, that DISPLAY points to the intended server, what screens and visuals are exposed, and which protocol extensions are present.

The tool is packaged as part of the wider X.Org application set across Unix-like systems. That packaging role matters because many higher-level desktop or graphics issues reduce to 'what does this X server actually advertise?', and xdpyinfo answers without requiring a full desktop environment.

How it is used

Typical use is direct inspection: run xdpyinfo against the default DISPLAY, pass -display for another server, use -queryExtensions to include numeric extension opcode/event/error details, or use -ext to dump information for a supported extension. It is often paired mentally with xwininfo, xprop, xrdb, xrandr, and other small X11 inspection commands.

Because it reports server capabilities rather than editing configuration, xdpyinfo is safe to run in diagnostics, bug reports, CI environments using Xvfb, remote X sessions, and package test scripts that need to verify extension availability.

Why package nerds care

xdpyinfo is a tiny but durable example of why X.Org is packaged as many small commands. Most users do not install it for daily interaction, but when a build, remote display, visual depth, or extension check fails, it becomes the quickest source of truth.

It also preserves the X11 client/server worldview in command form: a local program asks a display server what it can do, and the answer can be piped, pasted into bug reports, or used to explain why another graphical package behaves differently on two machines.

Timeline

• MIT X Consortium era: Jim Fulton authors xdpyinfo.
• 2005: X11R7.0 ships as the first complete modularized X.Org source release.
• 2010: xdpyinfo 1.2.0 is announced on xorg-announce.
• 2013: xdpyinfo 1.3.1 adds a -version option in a maintenance release.
• 2018: The freedesktop.org GitLab project for the app module is created during repository migration.
• 2025: The GitLab tag list records xdpyinfo 1.4.0.

Related projects

• xwininfo inspects individual X windows rather than server-wide capabilities.
• xprop prints X window and root-window properties.
• xrandr focuses on RandR output configuration and display modes.
• Xvfb is often used with xdpyinfo in headless test environments.

Sources

• https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/xdpyinfo
• https://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-announce/2013-May/002217.html
• https://www.x.org/ModuleDescriptions/
• https://www.x.org/Other/Press/X11R6970Released/
• https://www.x.org/archive/X11R7.0/doc/html/xdpyinfo.1.html