dbus-test-tool(1)

dbus-test-tool1

D-bus traffic generator and test tool

Usage

dbus-test-tool black-hole [{--session | --system}] [--name=NAME] [--no-read]

dbus-test-tool echo [{--session | --system}] [--name=NAME] [--sleep-ms=MS]

dbus-test-tool spam [{--session | --system}] [--dest=NAME] [--count=N] [--flood] [--ignore-errors] [--messages-per-conn=N] [--no-reply] [--queue=N] [--seed=SEED] [{--string | --bytes | --empty}] [{--payload=S | --stdin | --message-stdin | --random-size}]

Overview

dbus-test-tool is a multi-purpose tool for debugging and profiling D-Bus.

dbus-test-tool black-hole connects to D-Bus, optionally requests a name, then does not reply to messages. It normally reads and discards messages from its D-Bus socket, but can be configured to sleep forever without reading.

dbus-test-tool echo connects to D-Bus, optionally requests a name, then sends back an empty reply to every method call, after an optional delay.

dbus-test-tool spam connects to D-Bus and makes repeated method calls, normally named com.example.Spam.

Options

Common options

--session

Connect to the session bus. This is the default.

--system

Connect to the system bus.

black-hole mode

--name=NAME

Before proceeding, request ownership of the well-known bus name NAME, for example com.example.NoReply. By default, no name is requested, and the tool can only be addressed by a unique bus name such as :1.23.

--no-read

Do not read from the D-Bus socket.

echo mode

--name=NAME

Before proceeding, request ownership of the well-known bus name NAME, for example com.example.Echo. By default, no name is requested, and the tool can only be addressed by a unique bus name such as :1.23.

--sleep-ms=MS

Block for MS milliseconds before replying to a method call.

spam mode

--dest=NAME

Send method calls to the well-known or unique bus name NAME. The default is the dbus-daemon, org.freedesktop.DBus.

--count=N

Send N method calls in total. The default is 1.

--queue=N

Send N method calls before waiting for any replies, then send one new call per reply received, keeping N method calls "in flight" at all times until the number of messages specified with the --count option have been sent. The default is 1, unless --flood is used.

--flood

Send all messages without waiting for a reply, equivalent to --queue with an arbitrarily large N.

--no-reply

Set the "no reply desired" flag on the messages. This implies --flood, since it disables the replies that would be used for a finite --queue length.

--messages-per-conn=N

If given, send N method calls on the same connection, then disconnect and reconnect. The default is to use the same connection for all method calls.

--string

The payload of each message is a UTF-8 string. This is the default. The actual string used is given by the --payload or --stdin option, defaulting to "hello, world!".

--bytes

The payload of each message is a byte-array. The actual bytes used are given by the --payload or --stdin option, defaulting to the ASCII encoding of "hello, world!".

--empty

The messages have no payload.

--payload=S

Use S as the --string or --bytes in the messages. The default is "hello, world!".

--stdin

Read from standard input until end-of-file is reached, and use that as the --string or --bytes in the messages.

--message-stdin

Read a complete binary D-Bus method call message from standard input, and use that for each method call.

--random-size

Read whitespace-separated ASCII decimal numbers from standard input, choose one at random for each message, and send a message whose payload is a string of that length.

--seed=SEED

Use SEED as the seed for the pseudorandom number generator, to have somewhat repeatable sequences of random messages.

Releases

6 releases since Debian 9 (Stretch); the text changed 5 times.

  1. 9
  2. 10
  3. 11
  4. 12
  5. 13
  6. Arch

Bugs

Please send bug reports to the D-Bus bug tracker or mailing list. See https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/dbus/.

Author

See https://dbus.freedesktop.org/doc/AUTHORS

From dbus 1.16.2-2 in Arch Linux 2026-11-01. Parsed by carta from the page's man source.