busctl - Linux

Overview

busctl is a versatile tool for interacting with systemd’s D-Bus interface. It enables users to manage and inspect services, units, and other D-Bus objects.

Syntax

busctl [--quiet|--no-pager|--match-prefix|--match-end|--match-regex|--match-init-stats] COMMAND [OBJECT-PATH...] [METHOD-NAME...] [METHOD-ARGUMENTS...]

Options/Flags

  • –quiet: Suppress general status output
  • –no-pager: Disable pagination of output
  • –match-prefix: Only show objects with matching prefixes
  • –match-end: Only show objects with matching ends
  • –match-regex: Filter objects based on a regular expression
  • –match-init-stats: Filter objects based on initialization statistics

Examples

Inspect Service Status

busctl status org.freedesktop.systemd1

Start a Service

busctl start example.service

Introspection

busctl introspect org.freedesktop.systemd1 /org/freedesktop/systemd1

Common Issues

Permission Denied

Ensure you have sufficient privileges to access the D-Bus object or method.

Object Not Found

Verify that the object path or method name is correct.

Integration

busctl can be combined with other commands for advanced tasks:

# Monitor service changes
watch -d -n 5 'busctl status org.freedesktop.systemd1'

Related Commands