DBUS-TEST-TOOL(1) User Commands DBUS-TEST-TOOL(1)

NAME

dbus-test-tool - D-Bus traffic generator and test tool

SYNOPSIS

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]

DESCRIPTION

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.

BUGS

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

SEE ALSO

dbus-send(1)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2015 Collabora Ltd.

This man page is distributed under the same terms as dbus-test-tool
(GPL-2+). There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.


D-Bus 1.12.28 01/10/2025 DBUS-TEST-TOOL(1)