# Install xlsclients with Homebrew, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper List client applications running on a display. Version 1.1.6 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-04. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:xlsclients ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install xlsclients ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install xlsclients ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: x11/xlsclients/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install xlsclients ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: xlsclients from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#xlsclients ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/xl/xlsclients/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install xlsclients ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: xlsclients from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:xlsclients - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.1.6 - **Source summary:** List client applications running on a display - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-04T13:13:44+09:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - xlsclients (cli) - xlsclients (alias) ## Dependencies - libxcb ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.1.6 - Package-manager updated: 2026-07-04 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/xlsclients - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage xlsclients is a small X.Org command-line utility that asks an X server which client applications are connected to a display. It belongs to the old, practical layer of X11 tooling: commands such as xprop, xwininfo, and xlsclients that expose the live window-system state instead of managing it through a desktop shell. ### Project history The utility predates the modern modular X.Org repository layout. Its man page carries Open Group copyright years from 1991, 1994, and 1998 and credits Jim Fulton of the MIT X Consortium, placing it in the classic X11 client-tool lineage before X.Org moved individual applications into separate app modules. In the modular X.Org era, xlsclients became its own app module. The current README describes it as a utility for listing client applications running on an X11 server, and notes that version 1.1 and later switched from libX11 to libxcb for more efficient X server communication. The freedesktop.org GitLab project is the current upstream development repository. ### Adoption history xlsclients remained useful because X11's network-transparent client/server model makes connected clients an observable part of the desktop session. X.Org manual sets from older releases and current X.Org documentation both include xlsclients among the standard section-1 X commands. The X11R7.7 consolidated changelog records xlsclients as an app module moving from 1.1.1 to 1.1.2, showing the tool's survival through the split from monolithic X distributions into separately released X.Org components. ### How it is used Typical use is diagnostic: run xlsclients against the default display or an explicit DISPLAY to see host and command information for clients, use the long format for window name, icon name, and class hints, or snapshot a session for rough reconstruction scripts. For package users, xlsclients is a compact example of an X11 introspection command: it is not a desktop environment feature, but a low-level probe that still works wherever X11 client properties are present. ### Why package nerds care xlsclients is package-nerd interesting because it is the kind of tiny X.Org app that explains why X11 packaging is so granular: a single binary, a man page, and one narrow protocol job, released independently from the server and desktop stack. It also marks the libX11-to-XCB modernization pattern seen across X.Org tools, where old utilities kept their command-line behavior while swapping lower-level client-library plumbing. ### Timeline - 1991-1998: Man page copyright years place xlsclients in the classic Open Group / MIT X Consortium X11 utility lineage. - 2005: The app module's autotools metadata includes Red Hat copyright, matching the modular X.Org packaging era. - X11R7.7: X.Org changelog records app/xlsclients moving from 1.1.1 to 1.1.2. - 2018-07-29: freedesktop.org GitLab project record created for xorg/app/xlsclients. - 2025-04-05: Current upstream man page date for xlsclients. ### Related projects - Related X.Org inspection tools include xprop, xwininfo, xlsatoms, xlsfonts, xkill, and the X.Org app-module family. At the library layer it sits on XCB in current releases, after earlier Xlib-based implementations. ### Sources - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** xlsclients - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - xlsclients: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/xl/xlsclients/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - dnf - xlsclients - 1.1.5-4.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: xlsclients from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | X client list utility | https://www.x.org - zypper - xlsclients - 1.1.6-1.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: xlsclients from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | Utility to list client applications running on a X11 server | https://xorg.freedesktop.org/ - MacPorts - xlsclients: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: x11/xlsclients/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [libxcvt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libxcvt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, display, system, x11, xorg. - [libxpm](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libxpm/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [mkfontscale](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mkfontscale/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xauth](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xauth/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xcursorgen](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xcursorgen/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xdpyinfo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xdpyinfo/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xeyes](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xeyes/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xinit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xinit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xwininfo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xwininfo/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, libxcb, system, x11, xorg. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/xlsclients.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/xlsclients.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph