Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Requests made via portal interfaces generally involve user interaction, and dialogs that can stay open for a long time. Therefore portal APIs don't just use async method calls (which time out after at most 25 seconds), but instead return results via a Response signal on Request objects.
Portal APIs don't use properties very much. This is partially because we need to be careful about the flow of information, and partially because it would be unexpected to have a dialog appear when you just set a property.
The general flow of the portal API is that the application makes a portal request, the portal replies to that method call with a handle (i.e. object path) to Request object that corresponds to the request. The object is exported on the bus and stays alive as long as the user interaction lasts. When the user interaction is over, the portal sends a Response signal back to the application with the results from the interaction, if any.
To avoid a race condition between the caller subscribing to the signal after receiving the reply for the method call and the signal getting emitted, a convention for Request object paths has been established that allows the caller to subscribe to the signal before making the method call.
Some portal requests are connected to each other and need to be used in sequence. The pattern we use in such cases is a Session object. Just like Requests, Sessions are represented by an object path, that is returned by the initial CreateSession call. Subsequent calls take the object path of the session they operate on as an argument.
Sessions can be ended from the application side by calling the Close() method. They can also be closed from the service side, in which case the ::Closed signal is emitted to inform the application.
Most portals interact with the user by showing dialogs. These dialogs should generally be placed on top of the application window that triggered them. To arrange this, the compositor needs to know about the application window. Many portal requests expect a "parent_window" string argument for this reason.
Under X11, the "parent_window" argument should have the form
"x11:XID", where XID
is the XID of the application window.
Under Wayland, it should have the form "wayland:HANDLE",
where HANDLE is a surface handle obtained with the
xdg_foreign protocol.
For other windowing systems, or if you don't have a suitable handle, just pass an empty string for "parent_window".
Portal interfaces are available to sandboxed applications with the default filtered session bus access of Flatpak. Unless otherwise specified, they appear under the bus name org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop and the object path /org/freedesktop/portal/desktop on the session bus.
Table of Contents
org.freedesktop.portal.Request — Shared request interface
Close ();
The Request interface is shared by all portal interfaces. When a portal method is called, the reply includes a handle (i.e. object path) for a Request object, which will stay alive for the duration of the user interaction related to the method call.
The portal indicates that a portal request interaction is over by emitting the "Response" signal on the Request object.
The application can abort the interaction calling Close() on the Request object.
Since version 0.9 of xdg-desktop-portal, the handle will be of the form /org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/request/SENDER/TOKEN, where SENDER is the callers unique name, with the initial ':' removed and all '.' replaced by '_', and TOKEN is a unique token that the caller provided with the handle_token key in the options vardict.
This change was made to let applications subscribe to the Response signal before making the initial portal call, thereby avoiding a race condition. It is recommended that the caller should verify that the returned handle is what it expected, and update its signal subscription if it isn't. This ensures that applications will work with both old and new versions of xdg-desktop-portal.
The token that the caller provides should be unique and not guessable. To avoid clashes with calls made from unrelated libraries, it is a good idea to use a per-library prefix combined with a random number.
Response (u response,
a{sv} results);
Emitted when the user interaction for a portal request is over.
The response indicates how the user interaction ended:
| 0: Success, the request is carried out |
| 1: The user cancelled the interaction |
| 2: The user interaction was ended in some other way |
u response:Numeric response
a{sv} results:Vardict with results. The keys and values in the vardict depend on the request.
org.freedesktop.portal.Session — Shared session interface
Close ();
The Session interface is shared by all portal interfaces that involve long lived sessions. When a method that creates a session is called, if successful, the reply will include a session handle (i.e. object path) for a Session object, which will stay alive for the duration of the session.
The duration of the session is defined by the interface that creates it. For convenience, the interface contains a method Close(), and a signal org.freedesktop.portal.Session::Closed. Whether it is allowed to directly call Close() depends on the interface.
The handle of a session will be of the form /org/freedesktop/portal/desktop/session/SENDER/TOKEN, where SENDER is the callers unique name, with the initial ':' removed and all '.' replaced by '_', and TOKEN is a unique token that the caller provided with the session_handle_token key in the options vardict of the method creating the session.
The token that the caller provides should be unique and not guessable. To avoid clashes with calls made from unrelated libraries, it is a good idea to use a per-library prefix combined with a random number.
A client who started a session vanishing from the D-Bus is equivalent to closing all active sessions made by said client.
org.freedesktop.portal.FileChooser — File chooser portal
OpenFile (IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); SaveFile (IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle);
The FileChooser portal allows sandboxed applications to ask the user for access to files outside the sandbox. The portal backend will present the user with a file chooser dialog.
The selected files will be made accessible to the application via the document portal, and the returned URI will point into the document portal fuse filesystem in /run/user/$UID/doc/.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
OpenFile (IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Asks to open one or more files.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Label for the accept button. Mnemonic underlines are allowed.
Whether the dialog should be modal. Default is yes.
Whether multiple files can be selected or not. Default is single-selection.
List of serialized file filters.
Each item in the array specifies a single filter to offer to the user. The first string is a user-visible name for the filter. The a(us) specifies a list of filter strings, which can be either a glob pattern (indicated by 0) or a mimetype (indicated by 1).
Example: [('Images', [(0, '*.ico'), (1, 'image/png')]), ('Text', [(0, '*.txt')])]
List of serialized combo boxes to add to the file chooser.
For each element, the first string is an ID that will be returned with the response, te second string is a user-visible label. The a(ss) is the list of choices, each being a is an ID and a user-visible label. The final string is the initial selection, or "", to let the portal decide which choice will be initially selected. None of the strings, except for the initial selection, should be empty.
As a special case, passing an empty array for the list of choices indicates a boolean choice that is typically displayed as a check button, using "true" and "false" as the choices.
Example: [('encoding', 'Encoding', [('utf8', 'Unicode (UTF-8)'), ('latin15', 'Western')], 'latin15'), ('reencode', 'Reencode', [], 'false')]
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
An array of strings containing the uris of the selected files.
An array of pairs of strings, the first string being the ID of a combobox that was passed into this call, the second string being the selected option.
Example: [('encoding', 'utf8'), ('reencode', 'true')]
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the file chooser dialog
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
SaveFile (IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Asks for a location to save a file.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Label for the accept button. Mnemonic underlines are allowed.
Whether the dialog should be modal. Default is yes.
List of serialized file filters. See OpenFile() for details.
List of serialized combo boxes. See OpenFile() for details.
Suggested filename.
Suggested folder to save the file in.
The current file (when saving an existing file).
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
An array of strings containing the uri of the selected file.
An array of pairs of strings, corresponding to the passed-in choices. See OpenFile() for details.
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the file chooser dialog
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
org.freedesktop.portal.Trash — Portal for trashing files
TrashFile (IN h fd, OUT u result);
This simple interface lets sandboxed applications send files to the trashcan.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
TrashFile (IN h fd,
OUT u result);
Sends a file to the trashcan. Applications are allowed to trash a file if they can open it in r/w mode.
IN h fd:file descriptor for the file to trash
OUT u result:the result. 0 if trashing failed, 1 if trashing succeeded, other values may be returned in the future
org.freedesktop.portal.OpenURI — Portal for opening URIs
OpenURI (IN s parent_window, IN s uri, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); OpenFile (IN s parent_window, IN h fd, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle);
The OpenURI portal allows sandboxed applications to open URIs (e.g. a http: link to the applications homepage) under the control of the user.
This documentation describes version 2 of this interface.
OpenURI (IN s parent_window,
IN s uri,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Asks to open a uri.
Note that file:// uris are explicitly not supported by this method. To request opening local files, use OpenFile().
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Whether to allow the chosen application to write to the file.
This key only takes effect the uri points to a local file that is exported in the document portal, and the chosen application is sandboxed itself.
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s uri:The uri to open
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further onformation
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
OpenFile (IN s parent_window,
IN h fd,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Asks to open a local file.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Whether to allow the chosen application to write to the file.
This key only takes effect the uri points to a local file that is exported in the document portal, and the chosen application is sandboxed itself.
The OpenFile method was introduced in version 2 of the OpenURI portal API.
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN h fd:File descriptor for the file to open
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further onformation
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
org.freedesktop.portal.Print — Portal for printing
Print (IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN h fd, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); PreparePrint (IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN a{sv} settings, IN a{sv} page_setup, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle);
The Print portal allows sandboxed applications to print.
Due to the way in which printing requires bi-directional communication using this portal will often require applications to make multiple requests: First use PreparePrint() to obtain print settings, use them to format your output, then use Print() to print the formatted document. It is expected that high-level toolkit APIS such as GtkPrintOperation will hide most of this complexity.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
Print (IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN h fd,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Asks to print a file.
The file must be passed in the form of a file descriptor open for reading. This ensures that sandboxed applications only print files that they have access to.
If a valid token is present in the options, then this call will print
with the settings from the Print call that the token refers to. If
no token is present, then a print dialog will be presented to the user.
Note that it is up to the portal implementation to determine how long it considers tokens valid.
Supported keys in the options vardict:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Whether to make the dialog modal. Defaults to yes.
Token that was returned by a previous PreparePrint() call.
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the print dialog
IN h fd:File descriptor for reading the content to print
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
PreparePrint (IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN a{sv} settings,
IN a{sv} page_setup,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Presents a print dialog to the user and returns print settings and page setup.
Supported keys in the options vardict:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Whether to make the dialog modal. Defaults to yes.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
Print settings as set up by the user in the print dialog.
Page setup as set up by the user in the print dialog.
Token that can be passed to a subsequent Print() call to bypass the print dialog.
The following keys are supported in the print settings vardict:
One of landscape, portrait, reverse_landscape or reverse_portrait.
A paper name according to PWG 5101.1-2002.
Paper width, in millimeters.
Paper height, in millimeters.
The number of copies to print.
The default paper source.
Print quality, one of normal, high, low or draft.
The resolution, sets both resolution-x and resolution-y.
Whether to use color, one of true or false.
Duplex printing mode, one of simplex, horizontal or vertical.
Whether to collate copies, one of true or false.
Whether to reverse the order of printed pages, one of true or false.
A media type according to PWG 5101.1-2002.
The dithering to use, one of fine, none, coarse, lineart, grayscale or error-diffusion.
The scale in percent.
What pages to print, one of all, selection, current or ranges.
A list of page ranges, formatted like this: 1-3,5,9-11.
What pages to print, one of all, even or odd.
The number of pages per sheet.
One of lrtb, lrbt, rltb, rlbt, tblr, tbrl, btlr, btrl.
The horizontal resolution in dpi.
The vertical resolution in dpi.
The resolution in lpi (lines per inch).
Basename to use for print-to-file.
Format to use for print-to-file, one of PDF, PS, SVG.
The uri used for print-to-file.
The following keys are supported in the page setup vardict:
The PPD name.
The name of the page setup.
User-visible name for the page setup.
Paper width in millimeters.
Paper height in millimeters.
Top margin in millimeters.
Bottom margin in millimeters.
Left margin in millimeters.
Right margin in millimeters.
Orientation, one of portrait, landscape, reverse-portrait or reverse-landscape.
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the print dialog
IN a{sv} settings:Serialized print settings
IN a{sv} page_setup:Serialized page setup
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
org.freedesktop.portal.Email — Portal for sending email
ComposeEmail (IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle);
This simple portal lets sandboxed applications request to send an email, optionally providing an address, subject, body and attachments.
This documentation describes version 2 of this interface.
ComposeEmail (IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Presents a window that lets the user compose an email.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
The email address to send to.
The subject for the email.
The body for the email.
File descriptors for files to attach.
All the keys in the options are are optional.
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
org.freedesktop.portal.Device — Portal for device access
AccessDevice (IN u pid, IN as devices, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle);
This interface lets services ask if an application should get access to devices such as microphones, speakers or cameras. Not a portal in the strict sense, since the API is not directly accessible to applications inside the sandbox.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
AccessDevice (IN u pid,
IN as devices,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Asks for access to a device.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
IN u pid:the pid of the application on whose behalf the request is made
IN as devices:a list of devices to request access to. Supported values are 'microphone', 'speakers', 'camera'. Asking for multiple devices at the same time may or may not be supported
IN a{sv} options:vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
org.freedesktop.portal.Screenshot — Portal for taking screenshots
Screenshot (IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); PickColor (IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle);
This simple portal lets sandboxed applications request a screenshot.
The screenshot will be made accessible to the application via the document portal, and the returned URI will point into the document portal fuse filesystem in /run/user/$UID/doc/.
This documentation describes version 2 of this interface.
Screenshot (IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
parent_window: Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
options: Vardict with optional further information
handle: Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
Takes a screenshot.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Whether the dialog should be modal. Default is yes.
Hint shether the dialog should offer customization before taking a screenshot. Default is no. Since version 2.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
String containing the uri of the screenshot.
IN s parent_window:IN a{sv} options:OUT o handle:
PickColor (IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Obtains the color of a single pixel.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
The color, rgb values in the range [0,1].
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast — Screen cast portal
CreateSession (IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); SelectSources (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); Start (IN o session_handle, IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); OpenPipeWireRemote (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, OUT h fd);
The Screen cast portal allows to create screen cast sessions.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
CreateSession (IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Create a screen cast session. A successfully created session can at any time be closed using org.freedesktop.portal.Session::Close, or may at any time be closed by the portal implementation, which will be signalled via org.freedesktop.portal.Session::Closed.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
A string that will be used as the last element of the session handle. Must be a valid object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Session documentation for more information about the session handle.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
The session handle. An object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object representing the created session.
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
SelectSources (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Configure what the screen cast session should record. This method must be called before starting the session.
Passing invalid input to this method will cause the session to be closed. An application may only attempt to select sources once per session.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Bitmask of what types of content to record. Default is MONITOR.
Whether to allow selecting multiple sources. Default is no.
For available source types, see the AvailableSourceTypes property.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
Start (IN o session_handle,
IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Start the screen cast session. This will typically result the portal presenting a dialog letting the user do the selection set up by SelectSources. An application can only attempt start a session once.
A screen cast session may only be started after having selected sources using org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast::SelectSources.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
An array of PipeWire streams. Each stream consists of a PipeWire node ID (the first element in the tuple, and a Vardict of properties.
The array will contain a single stream if 'multiple' (see SelectSources) was set to 'false', or at least one stream if 'multiple' was set to 'true' as part of the SelectSources method.
Stream properties include:
A tuple consisting of the position (x, y) in the compositor coordinate space. Note that the position may not be equivalent to a position in a pixel coordinate space. Only available for monitor streams.
A tuple consisting of (width, height). The size represents the size of the stream as it is displayed in the compositor coordinate space. Note that this size may not be equivalent to a size in a pixel coordinate space. The size may differ from the size of the stream.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
OpenPipeWireRemote (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT h fd);
Open a file descriptor to the PipeWire remote where the screen cast
streams are available. The file descriptor should be used to create a
pw_remote object, by using
pw_remote_connect_fd. Only the screen cast stream
nodes will be available from this PipeWire node.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT h fd:File descriptor of an open PipeWire remote.
org.freedesktop.portal.RemoteDesktop — Remote desktop portal
CreateSession (IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); SelectDevices (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); Start (IN o session_handle, IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); NotifyPointerMotion (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN d dx, IN d dy); NotifyPointerMotionAbsolute (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u stream, IN d x, IN d y); NotifyPointerButton (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN i button, IN u state); NotifyPointerAxis (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN d dx, IN d dy); NotifyPointerAxisDiscrete (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u axis, IN i steps); NotifyKeyboardKeycode (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN i keycode, IN u state); NotifyKeyboardKeysym (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN i keysym, IN u state); NotifyTouchDown (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u stream, IN u slot, IN d x, IN d y); NotifyTouchMotion (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u stream, IN u slot, IN d x, IN d y); NotifyTouchUp (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u slot);
The Remote desktop portal allows to create remote desktop sessions.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
CreateSession (IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Create a remote desktop session.
A remote desktop session is used to allow remote controlling a desktop session. It can also be used together with a screen cast session (see org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast), but may only be started and stopped with this interface.
To also get a screen content, call the #org.freedesktop.ScreenCast.SelectSources with the #org.freedesktop.Session object created with this method.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
A string that will be used as the last element of the session handle. Must be a valid object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Session documentation for more information about the session handle.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
The session handle. An object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object representing the created session.
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
SelectDevices (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Select input devices to remote control.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
Bitmask of what device types to request remote controlling of. Default is all.
For available source types, see the AvailableDeviceTypes property.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
Start (IN o session_handle,
IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Start the remote desktop session. This will typically result in the portal presenting a dialog letting the user select what to share, including devices and optionally screen content if screen cast sources was selected.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
A bitmask of the devices selected by the user.
If a screen cast source was selected, the results of the org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast.Start response signal may be included.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
NotifyPointerMotion (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN d dx,
IN d dy);
Notify about a new relative pointer motion event. The (dx, dy) vector represents the new pointer position in the streams logical coordinate space.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN d dx:Relative movement on the x axis
IN d dy:Relative movement on the y axis
NotifyPointerMotionAbsolute (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u stream,
IN d x,
IN d y);
Notify about a new absolute pointer motion event. The (x, y) position represents the new pointer position in the streams logical coordinate space (see the logical_size stream property in org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast).
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u stream:The PipeWire stream node the coordinate is relative to
IN d x:Pointer motion x coordinate
IN d y:Pointer motion y coordinate
NotifyPointerButton (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN i button,
IN u state);
The pointer button is encoded according to Linux Evdev button codes.
May only be called if POINTER access was provided after starting the session.
Available button states:
| 0: Released |
| 1: Pressed |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN i button:The pointer button was pressed or released
IN u state:The new state of the button
NotifyPointerAxis (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN d dx,
IN d dy);
The axis movement from a 'smooth scroll' device, such as a touchpad. When applicable, the size of the motion delta should be equivalent to the motion vector of a pointer motion done using the same advice.
May only be called if POINTER access was provided after starting the session.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
If set to true, this is the last axis event in a series, for example as a result of the fingers being lifted from a touchpad after a two-finger scroll. Default is false.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN d dx:Relative axis movement on the x axis
IN d dy:Relative axis movement on the y axis
NotifyPointerAxisDiscrete (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u axis,
IN i steps);
May only be called if POINTER access was provided after starting the session.
Available axes:
| 0: Vertical scroll |
| 1: Horizontal scroll |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u axis:The axis that was scrolled
IN i steps:The number of steps scrolled
NotifyKeyboardKeycode (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN i keycode,
IN u state);
May only be called if KEYBOARD access was provided after starting the session.
Available keyboard keysym states:
| 0: Released |
| 1: Pressed |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN i keycode:Keyboard code that was pressed or released
IN u state:New state of keyboard keysym
NotifyKeyboardKeysym (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN i keysym,
IN u state);
May only be called if KEYBOARD access was provided after starting the session.
Available keyboard keysym states:
| 0: Released |
| 1: Pressed |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN i keysym:Keyboard symbol that was pressed or released
IN u state:New state of keyboard keysym
NotifyTouchDown (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u stream,
IN u slot,
IN d x,
IN d y);
May only be called if TOUCHSCREEN access was provided after starting the session.
Notify about a new touch down event. The (x, y) position represents the new touch point position in the streams logical coordinate space (see the logical_size stream property in org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast).
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u stream:The PipeWire stream node the coordinate is relative to
IN u slot:Touch slot where touch point appeared
IN d x:Touch down x coordinate
IN d y:Touch down y coordinate
NotifyTouchMotion (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u stream,
IN u slot,
IN d x,
IN d y);
May only be called if TOUCHSCREEN access was provided after starting the session.
Notify about a new touch motion event. The (x, y) position represents where the touch point position in the streams logical coordinate space moved (see the logical_size stream property in org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast).
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u stream:The PipeWire stream node the coordinate is relative to
IN u slot:Touch slot where touch point appeared
IN d x:Touch motion x coordinate
IN d y:Touch motion y coordinate
NotifyTouchUp (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u slot);
May only be called if TOUCHSCREEN access was provided after starting the session.
Notify about a new touch up event.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u slot:Touch slot where touch point appeared
org.freedesktop.portal.Notification — Portal for sending notifications
AddNotification (IN s id, IN a{sv} notification); RemoveNotification (IN s id);
This simple interface lets sandboxed applications send and withdraw notifications. It is not possible for the application to learn if the notification was actually presented to the user. Not a portal in the strict sense, since there is no user interaction.
Note that in contrast to most other portal requests, notifications are expected to outlast the running application. If a user clicks on a notification after the application has exited, it will get activated again.
Notifications can specify actions that can be activated by the user. Actions whose name starts with 'app.' are assumed to be exported and will be activated via the ActivateAction() method in the org.freedesktop.Application interface. Other actions are activated by sending the #org.freedeskop.portal.Notification::ActionInvoked signal to the application.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
AddNotification (IN s id,
IN a{sv} notification);
Sends a notification.
The ID can be used to later withdraw the notification. If the application reuses the same ID without withdrawing, the notification is replaced by the new one.
The format of the serialized notification is a vardict, with the following supported keys, all of which are optional:
User-visible string to display as the title.
User-visible string to display as the body.
Serialized icon (see g_icon_serialize()).
The priority for the notification. Supported values: low, normal, high, urgent.
Name of an action that is exported by the application. This action will be activated when the user clicks on the notification.
Target parameter to send along when activating the default action.
Array of serialized buttons to add to the notification.
The format for serialized buttons is a vardict with the following supported keys:
User-visible label for the button. Mandatory.
Name of an action that is exported by the application. The action will be activated when the user clicks on the button. Mandatory.
Target parameter to send along when activating the action.
IN s id:Application-provided ID for this notification
IN a{sv} notification:Vardict with the serialized notification
ActionInvoked (s id,
s action,
av parameter);
for the action, if one was specified
Send to the application when a non-exported action is activated.
s id:the application-provided ID for the notification
s action:the name of the action
av parameter:array which will contain the target parameter
org.freedesktop.portal.Inhibit — Portal for inhibiting session transitions
Inhibit (IN s window, IN u flags, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle); CreateMonitor (IN s window, IN a{sv} options, OUT o handle);
This simple interface lets sandboxed applications inhibit the user session from ending, suspending, idling or getting switched away.
This documentation describes version 2 of this interface.
Inhibit (IN s window,
IN u flags,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Inhibits a session status changes. To remove the inhibition, call Close() on the returned handle.
The flags determine what changes are inhibited:
| 1: Logout |
| 2: User Switch |
| 4: Suspend |
| 8: Idle |
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
User-visible reason for the inhibition.
IN s window:Identifier for the window
IN u flags:Flags identifying what is inhibited
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
CreateMonitor (IN s window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT o handle);
Creates a monitoring session. While this session is active, the caller will receive StateChanged signals with updates on the session state.
A successfully created session can at any time be closed using org.freedesktop.portal.Session::Close, or may at any time be closed by the portal implementation, which will be signalled via org.freedesktop.portal.Session::Closed.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
A string that will be used as the last element of the handle. Must be a valid
object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Request documentation for
more information about the handle.
A string that will be used as the last element of the session handle. Must be a valid object path element. See the org.freedesktop.portal.Session documentation for more information about the session handle.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
The session handle. An object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object representing the created session.
This method was added in version 2 of this interface.
IN s window:the parent window
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Request object representing this call
StateChanged (o session_handle,
a{sv} state);
The StateChanged signal is sent to active monitoring sessions when the session state changes.
The following information may get returned in the state vardict:
Whether the screensaver is active.
o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
a{sv} state:Vardict with information about the session state
org.freedesktop.portal.NetworkMonitor — Network monitoring portal
GetAvailable (OUT b available); GetMetered (OUT b metered); GetConnectivity (OUT u connectivity); GetStatus (OUT a{sv} status); CanReach (IN s hostname, IN u port, OUT b reachable);
The NetworkMonitor interface provides network status information to sandboxed applications. It is not a portal in the strict sense, since it does not involve user interaction. Applications are expected to use this interface indirectly, via a library API such as the GLib GNetworkMonitor interface.
This documentation describes version 3 of this interface.
GetAvailable (OUT b available);
Returns whether the network is considered available. That is, whether the system as a default route for at least one of IPv4 or IPv6.
This method was added in version 2 to replace the available property.
OUT b available:whether the network is available
GetMetered (OUT b metered);
Returns whether the network is considered metered. That is, whether the system as traffic flowing through the default connection that is subject ot limitations by service providers.
This method was added in version 2 to replace the metered property.
OUT b metered:whether the network is metered
GetConnectivity (OUT u connectivity);
Returns more detailed information about the host's network connectivity. The meaning of the value is:
| 1: Local only. The host is not configured with a route to the internet. |
| 2: Limited connectivity. The host is connected to a network, but can't reach the full internet. |
| 3: Captive portal. The host is behind a captive portal and cannot reach the full internet. |
| 4: Full network. The host connected to a network, and can reach the full internet. |
This method was added in version 2 to replace the connectivity property.
OUT u connectivity:the level of connectivity
GetStatus (OUT a{sv} status);
Returns the three values all at once.
The following results get returned via status:
Whether the network is available.
Whether the network is metered.
The level of connectivity.
This method was added in version 3 to avoid multiple round-trips.
OUT a{sv} status:a dictionary with the current values
org.freedesktop.portal.ProxyResolver — Proxy information
Lookup (IN s uri, OUT as proxies);
The ProxyResolver interface provides network proxy information to sandboxed applications. It is not a portal in the strict sense, since it does not involve user interaction. Applications are expected to use this interface indirectly, via a library API such as the GLib GProxyResolver interface.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
Lookup (IN s uri,
OUT as proxies);
Looks up which proxy to use to connect to uri. The returned
proxy uri are of the form 'protocol://[user[:password]host:port'.
The protocol can be http, rtsp, socks or another proxying protocol.
'direct://' is used when no proxy is needed.
IN s uri:Destination to connect to
OUT as proxies:List of proxy uris
org.freedesktop.portal.Documents — Document portal
GetMountPoint (OUT ay path); Add (IN h o_path_fd, IN b reuse_existing, IN b persistent, OUT s doc_id); AddNamed (IN h o_path_parent_fd, IN ay filename, IN b reuse_existing, IN b persistent, OUT s doc_id); AddFull (IN ah o_path_fds, IN u flags, IN s app_id, IN as permissions, OUT as doc_ids, OUT a{sv} extra_out); AddNamedFull (IN h o_path_fd, IN ay filename, IN u flags, IN s app_id, IN as permissions, OUT s doc_id, OUT a{sv} extra_out); GrantPermissions (IN s doc_id, IN s app_id, IN as permissions); RevokePermissions (IN s doc_id, IN s app_id, IN as permissions); Delete (IN s doc_id); Lookup (IN ay filename, OUT s doc_id); Info (IN s doc_id, OUT ay path, OUT a{sas} apps); List (IN s app_id, OUT a{say} docs);
The document portal allows to make files from the outside world available to sandboxed applications in a controlled way.
Exported files will be made accessible to the application via a fuse filesystem that gets mounted at /run/user/$UID/doc/. The filesystem gets mounted both outside and inside the sandbox, but the view inside the sandbox is restricted to just those files that the application is allowed to access.
Individual files will appear at /run/user/$UID/doc/$DOC_ID/filename, where $DOC_ID is the ID of the file in the document store. It is returned by the Add() and AddNamed() calls.
The permissions that the application has for a document store entry (see GrantPermissions()) are reflected in the POSIX mode bits in the fuse filesystem.
The D-Bus interface for the document portal is available under the bus name org.freedesktop.portal.Documents and the object path /org/freedesktop/portal/documents.
This documentation describes version 3 of this interface.
GetMountPoint (OUT ay path);
Returns the path at which the document store fuse filesystem is mounted. This will typically be /run/user/$UID/doc/.
OUT ay path:the path at which the fuse filesystem is mounted
Add (IN h o_path_fd,
IN b reuse_existing,
IN b persistent,
OUT s doc_id);
Adds a file to the document store. The file is passed in the form of an open file descriptor to prove that the caller has access to the file.
IN h o_path_fd:open file descriptor for the file to add
IN b reuse_existing:whether to reuse an existing document store entry for the file
IN b persistent:whether to add the file only for this session or permanently
OUT s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store
AddNamed (IN h o_path_parent_fd,
IN ay filename,
IN b reuse_existing,
IN b persistent,
OUT s doc_id);
Creates an entry in the document store for writing a new file.
IN h o_path_parent_fd:open file descriptor for the parent directory
IN ay filename:the basename for the file
IN b reuse_existing:whether to reuse an existing document store entry for the file
IN b persistent:whether to add the file only for this session or permanently
OUT s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store
AddFull (IN ah o_path_fds,
IN u flags,
IN s app_id,
IN as permissions,
OUT as doc_ids,
OUT a{sv} extra_out);
Adds multiple files to the document store. The file is passed in the form of an open file descriptor to prove that the caller has access to the file.
If the as-needed-by-app flag is given, files will only be added to the document store if the application does not already have access to them. For files that are not added to the document store, the doc_ids array will contain an empty string.
Additionally, if app_id is specified, it will be given the permissions listed in GrantPermission.
The method also returns some extra info that can be used to avoid multiple roundtrips. For now it only contains as "mountpoint", the fuse mountpoint of the document portal.
This method was added in version 2 of the org.freedesktop.portal.Documents interface.
IN ah o_path_fds:open file descriptors for the files to export
IN u flags:flags, 1 == reuse_existing, 2 == persistent, 4 == as-needed-by-app
IN s app_id:an application ID, or empty string
IN as permissions:the permissions to grant, possible values are 'read', 'write', 'grant-permissions' and 'delete'
OUT as doc_ids:the IDs of the files in the document store
OUT a{sv} extra_out:
AddNamedFull (IN h o_path_fd,
IN ay filename,
IN u flags,
IN s app_id,
IN as permissions,
OUT s doc_id,
OUT a{sv} extra_out);
Creates an entry in the document store for writing a new file.
If the as-needed-by-app flag is given, file will only be added to the document store if the application does not already have access to it. For file that is not added to the document store, the doc_id will contain an empty string.
Additionally, if app_id is specified, it will be given the permissions listed in GrantPermission.
The method also returns some extra info that can be used to avoid multiple roundtrips. For now it only contains as "mountpoint", the fuse mountpoint of the document portal.
This method was added in version 3 of the org.freedesktop.portal.Documents interface.
IN h o_path_fd:IN ay filename:the basename for the file
IN u flags:flags, 1 == reuse_existing, 2 == persistent, 4 == as-needed-by-app
IN s app_id:an application ID, or empty string
IN as permissions:the permissions to grant, possible values are 'read', 'write', 'grant-permissions' and 'delete'
OUT s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store
OUT a{sv} extra_out:
GrantPermissions (IN s doc_id,
IN s app_id,
IN as permissions);
Grants access permissions for a file in the document store to an application.
This call is available inside the sandbox if the application has the 'grant-permissions' permission for the document.
IN s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store
IN s app_id:the ID of the application to which permissions are granted
IN as permissions:the permissions to grant, possible values are 'read', 'write', 'grant-permissions' and 'delete'
RevokePermissions (IN s doc_id,
IN s app_id,
IN as permissions);
Revokes access permissions for a file in the document store from an application.
This call is available inside the sandbox if the application has the 'grant-permissions' permission for the document.
IN s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store
IN s app_id:the ID of the application from which permissions are revoked
IN as permissions:the permissions to revoke, possible values are 'read', 'write', 'grant-permissions' and 'delete'
Delete (IN s doc_id);
Removes an entry from the document store. The file itself is not deleted.
This call is available inside the sandbox if the application has the 'delete' permission for the document.
IN s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store
Lookup (IN ay filename,
OUT s doc_id);
Looks up the document ID for a file.
This call is not available inside the sandbox.
IN ay filename:a path in the host filesystem
OUT s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store, or '' if the file is not in the document store
Info (IN s doc_id,
OUT ay path,
OUT a{sas} apps);
Gets the filesystem path and application permissions for a document store entry.
This call is not available inside the sandbox.
IN s doc_id:the ID of the file in the document store
OUT ay path:the path for the file in the host filesystem
OUT a{sas} apps:a dictionary mapping application IDs to the permissions for that application
List (IN s app_id,
OUT a{say} docs);
Lists documents in the document store for an application (or for all applications).
This call is not available inside the sandbox.
IN s app_id:an application ID, or '' to list all documents
OUT a{say} docs:a dictonary mapping document IDs to their filesystem path
org.freedesktop.portal.Flatpak — Flatpak portal
Spawn (IN ay cwd_path, IN aay argv, IN a{uh} fds, IN a{ss} envs, IN u flags, IN a{sv} options, OUT u pid); SpawnSignal (IN u pid, IN u signal, IN b to_process_group);
The flatpak portal exposes some interactions with flatpak on the host to the sandbox. For example, it allows you to restart the applications or start a more sandboxed instance.
This documentation describes version 1 of this interface.
Spawn (IN ay cwd_path,
IN aay argv,
IN a{uh} fds,
IN a{ss} envs,
IN u flags,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u pid);
This methods let you start a new instance of your application, optionally enabling a tighter sandbox.
The following flags values are supported:
Clear the environment.
Spawn the latest version of the app.
Spawn in a sandbox (equivalent of the sandbox option of flatpak run).
Spawn without network (equivalent of the unshare=network option of flatpak run).
The following options are supported:
A list of filenames for files inside the sandbox that will be exposed to the new sandbox, for reading and writing.
A list of filenames for files inside the sandbox that will be exposed to the new sandbox, readonly.
IN ay cwd_path:the working directory for the new process
IN aay argv:the argv for the new process, starting with the executable to launch
IN a{uh} fds:an array of file descriptors to pass to the new process
IN a{ss} envs:an array of variable/value pairs for the environment of the new process
IN u flags:flags
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u pid:the PID of the new process
SpawnSignal (IN u pid,
IN u signal,
IN b to_process_group);
This methods let you send a Unix signal to a process
that was started with Spawn().
The pid argument here should be the PID that is returned
by the Spawn() call.
IN u pid:the PID of the process to send the signal to
IN u signal:the signal to send (see signal(7))
IN b to_process_group:whether to send the signal to the process group
SpawnExited (u pid,
u exit_status);
Emitted when a process started by Spawn() exits.
u pid:the PID of the process that has ended
u exit_status:the exit status (see waitpid(2))
The backend interfaces are used by the portal frontend to carry out portal requests. They are provided by a separate process (or processes), and are not accessible to sandboxed applications.
The separation or the portal infrastructure into frontend and backend is a clean way to provide suitable user interfaces that fit into different desktop environments, while sharing the portal frontend.
The portal backends are focused on providing user interfaces and accessing session- or host-specific APIs and resources. Details of interacting with the containment infrastructure such as checking access, registering files in the document portal, etc., are handled by the portal frontend.
Table of Contents
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request — Shared request interface
Close ();
The Request interface is shared by all portal backend interfaces. When a backend method is called, the backend exports a Request object on the object path that was sent with the method call. The Request will stay alive for the duration of the user interaction related to the method call.
The portal can abort the interaction calling Close() on the Request object.
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Session — Shared session interface
Close ();
The Session interface is shared by all portal interfaces that involve long lived sessions. When a method that creates a session is called, the reply will include a session handle (i.e. object path) for a Session object, which will stay alive for the duration of the session.
The portal can abort the interaction by calling Close() on the Session object.
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.FileChooser — File chooser portal backend interface
OpenFile (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); SaveFile (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results);
The FileChooser portal allows sandboxed applications to ask the user for access to files outside the sandbox. The portal backend will present the user with a file chooser dialog.
OpenFile (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Presents a file chooser dialog to the user to open one or more files.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
The label for the accept button. Mnemonic underlines are allowed.
Whether to make the dialog modal. Default is yes.
Whether to allow selection of multiple files. Default is no.
A list of serialized file filters. See OpenFile() for details.
A list of serialized combo boxes. See OpenFile() for details.
The following results get returned via the results vardict:
An array of strings containing the uris of the selected files.
An array of pairs of strings, corresponding to the passed-in choices. See OpenFile() for details.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the file chooser dialog
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
SaveFile (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Presents a file chooser dialog to the user to save a file.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
The label for the accept button. Mnemonic underlines are allowed.
Whether to make the dialog modal. Default is yes.
Whether to allow selection of multiple files. Default is no.
A list of serialized file filters. See OpenFile() for details.
A list of serialized combo boxes. See OpenFile() for details.
A suggested filename.
A suggested folder to save the file in.
The current file (when saving an existing file).
The following results get returned via the results vardict:
An array of strings containing the uri of the selected file.
An array of pairs of strings, corresponding to the passed-in choices. See OpenFile() for details.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the file chooser dialog
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.AppChooser — Interface for choosing an application
ChooseApplication (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN as choices, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results);
This backend can be used by portal implementations that need to choose an application from a list of applications.
ChooseApplication (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN as choices,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Presents a list of applications to the user to choose one.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
The app id that was selected the last time.
Whether to make the dialog modal. Defaults to yes.
The content type to choose an application for.
The uri to choose an application for.
The filename to choose an application for. Note that this is just a basename, without a path.
The following results get returned via the results vardict:
The app id that was selected.
IN o handle:Object path to export the Request object at
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN as choices:App ids of applications to let the user choose from
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Print — Print portal backend interface
Print (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN h fd, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); PreparePrint (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN a{sv} settings, IN a{sv} page_setup, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results);
Print (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN h fd,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Prints a file.
The file is given in the form of a file descriptor open for reading.
If a valid token is present in the options, then this call will print
with the settings from the Print call that the token refers to. If
no token is present, then a print dialog will be presented to the user.
Note that it is up to the portal implementation to determine how long it considers tokens valid.
Supported keys in the options vardict:
Whether to make the dialog modal. Defaults to yes.
Token that was returned by a previous PreparePrint() call.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the print dialog
IN h fd:File descriptor from which to read the content to print
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
PreparePrint (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN a{sv} settings,
IN a{sv} page_setup,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Presents a print dialog to the user and returns print settings and page setup.
Supported keys in the options vardict:
Whether to make the dialog modal. Defaults to yes.
The following results get returned via the results vardict:
Print settings as set up by the user in the print dialog.
Page setup as set up by the user in the print dialog.
Token that can be passed to a subsequent Print() call to bypass the print dialog.
The Print() documentation has details about the supported keys in settings and page-setup.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the print dialog
IN a{sv} settings:Serialized print settings
IN a{sv} page_setup:Serialized page setup
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:OUT a{sv} results:org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Email — Email portal backend interface
ComposeEmail (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results);
ComposeEmail (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Lets the user compose an email.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
The email address to send to.
The subject for the email.
The body for the email.
The uris for files to attach.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Screenshot — Screenshot portal backend interface
Screenshot (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); PickColor (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results);
Screenshot (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Takes a screenshot.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
Whether the dialog should be modal. Defaults to yes.
Hint whether the dialog should offer customization before taking a screenshot. Defaults to no.
The following results get returned via the results vardict:
A string containing the uri of the screenshot.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
PickColor (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Obtains the value of a pixel.
The following results get returned via the results vardict:
The color, rgb values in the range [0,1].
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.ScreenCast — Screen cast portal backend interface
CreateSession (IN o handle, IN o session_handle, IN s app_id, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); SelectSources (IN o handle, IN o session_handle, IN s app_id, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); Start (IN o handle, IN o session_handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results);
CreateSession (IN o handle,
IN o session_handle,
IN s app_id,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Create a screen cast session.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
The session id. A string representing the created screen cast session.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Session object representing the session being created
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
SelectSources (IN o handle,
IN o session_handle,
IN s app_id,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Configure what the screen cast session should record.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
Bitmask of what type of content to record. Default is MONITOR.
Whether to allow selecting multiple sources. Default is no.
For available source types, see the AvailableSourceTypes property.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Session object representing the session
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
Start (IN o handle,
IN o session_handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Start the screen cast session. This will typically result the portal presenting a dialog letting the user do the selection set up by SelectSources.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
An array of PipeWire streams. Each stream consists of a PipeWire node ID (the first element in the tuple, and a Vardict of properties.
The array will contain a single stream if 'multiple' (see SelectSources) was set to 'false', or at least one stream if 'multiple' was set to 'true' as part of the SelectSources method.
Stream properties include:
A tuple consisting of the position (x, y) in the compositor coordinate space. Note that the position may not be equivalent to a position in a pixel coordinate space. Only available for monitor streams.
A tuple consisting of (width, height). The size represents the size of the stream as it is displayed in the compositor coordinate space. Note that this size may not be equivalent to a size in a pixel coordinate space. The size may differ from the size of the stream.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Session object representing the session
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.RemoteDesktop — Remote desktop portal backend interface
CreateSession (IN o handle, IN o session_handle, IN s app_id, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); SelectDevices (IN o handle, IN o session_handle, IN s app_id, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); Start (IN o handle, IN o session_handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results); NotifyPointerMotion (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN d dx, IN d dy); NotifyPointerMotionAbsolute (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u stream, IN d x, IN d y); NotifyPointerButton (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN i button, IN u state); NotifyPointerAxis (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN d dx, IN d dy); NotifyPointerAxisDiscrete (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u axis, IN i steps); NotifyKeyboardKeycode (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN i keycode, IN u state); NotifyKeyboardKeysym (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN i keysym, IN u state); NotifyTouchDown (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u stream, IN u slot, IN d x, IN d y); NotifyTouchMotion (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u stream, IN u slot, IN d x, IN d y); NotifyTouchUp (IN o session_handle, IN a{sv} options, IN u slot);
CreateSession (IN o handle,
IN o session_handle,
IN s app_id,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Create a remote desktop session.
A remote desktop session is used to allow remote controlling a desktop session. It can also be used together with a screen cast session (see org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast), but may only be started and stopped with this interface.
The following results get returned via the "Response" signal:
The session id. A string representing the created screen cast session.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN o session_handle:IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
SelectDevices (IN o handle,
IN o session_handle,
IN s app_id,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
IN o handle:IN o session_handle:IN s app_id:IN a{sv} options:OUT u response:OUT a{sv} results:
Start (IN o handle,
IN o session_handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Start the remote desktop session.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN o session_handle:IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
NotifyPointerMotion (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN d dx,
IN d dy);
Notify about a new relative pointer motion event. The (dx, dy) vector represents the new pointer position in the streams logical coordinate space.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN d dx:Relative movement on the x axis
IN d dy:Relative movement on the y axis
NotifyPointerMotionAbsolute (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u stream,
IN d x,
IN d y);
Notify about a new absolute pointer motion event. The (x, y) position represents the new pointer position in the streams logical coordinate space (see the logical_size stream property in org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast).
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u stream:The PipeWire stream node the coordinate is relative to
IN d x:Pointer motion x coordinate
IN d y:Pointer motion y coordinate
NotifyPointerButton (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN i button,
IN u state);
The pointer button is encoded according to Linux Evdev button codes.
May only be called if POINTER access was provided after starting the session.
Available button states:
| 0: Released |
| 1: Pressed |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN i button:The pointer button was pressed or released
IN u state:The new state of the button
NotifyPointerAxis (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN d dx,
IN d dy);
The axis movement from a 'smooth scroll' device, such as a touchpad. When applicable, the size of the motion delta should be equivalent to the motion vector of a pointer motion done using the same advice.
May only be called if POINTER access was provided after starting the session.
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
If set to true, this is the last axis event in a series, for example as a result of the fingers being lifted from a touchpad after a two-finger scroll. Default is false.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN d dx:Relative axis movement on the x axis
IN d dy:Relative axis movement on the y axis
NotifyPointerAxisDiscrete (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u axis,
IN i steps);
May only be called if POINTER access was provided after starting the session.
Available axes:
| 0: Vertical scroll |
| 1: Horizontal scroll |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u axis:The axis that was scrolled
IN i steps:The number of steps scrolled
NotifyKeyboardKeycode (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN i keycode,
IN u state);
May only be called if KEYBOARD access was provided after starting the session.
Available keyboard keysym states:
| 0: Released |
| 1: Pressed |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN i keycode:Keyboard code that was pressed or released
IN u state:New state of keyboard keysym
NotifyKeyboardKeysym (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN i keysym,
IN u state);
May only be called if KEYBOARD access was provided after starting the session.
Available keyboard keysym states:
| 0: Released |
| 1: Pressed |
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN i keysym:Keyboard symbol that was pressed or released
IN u state:New state of keyboard keysym
NotifyTouchDown (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u stream,
IN u slot,
IN d x,
IN d y);
May only be called if TOUCHSCREEN access was provided after starting the session.
Notify about a new touch down event. The (x, y) position represents the new touch point position in the streams logical coordinate space (see the logical_size stream property in org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast).
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u stream:The PipeWire stream node the coordinate is relative to
IN u slot:Touch slot where touch point appeared
IN d x:Touch down x coordinate
IN d y:Touch down y coordinate
NotifyTouchMotion (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u stream,
IN u slot,
IN d x,
IN d y);
May only be called if TOUCHSCREEN access was provided after starting the session.
Notify about a new touch motion event. The (x, y) position represents where the touch point position in the streams logical coordinate space moved (see the logical_size stream property in org.freedesktop.portal.ScreenCast).
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u stream:The PipeWire stream node the coordinate is relative to
IN u slot:Touch slot where touch point appeared
IN d x:Touch motion x coordinate
IN d y:Touch motion y coordinate
NotifyTouchUp (IN o session_handle,
IN a{sv} options,
IN u slot);
May only be called if TOUCHSCREEN access was provided after starting the session.
Notify about a new touch up event.
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
IN u slot:Touch slot where touch point appeared
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Notification — Notification portal backend interface
AddNotification (IN s app_id, IN s id, IN a{sv} notification); RemoveNotification (IN s app_id, IN s id);
This notification interface lets sandboxed applications send and withdraw notifications.
AddNotification (IN s app_id,
IN s id,
IN a{sv} notification);
Sends a notification.
The ID can be used to later withdraw the notification. If the application reuses the same ID without withdrawing, the notification is replaced by the new one.
The format of the notification is the same as for
AddNotification().
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s id:Application-provided ID for this notification
IN a{sv} notification:Vardict with the serialized notification
ActionInvoked (s app_id,
s id,
s action,
av parameter);
for the action, if one was specified
Send to the application when a non-exported action is activated.
s app_id:App id of the application
s id:the application-provided ID for the notification
s action:the name of the action
av parameter:array which will contain the target parameter
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Inhibit — Inhibit portal backend interface
Inhibit (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s window, IN u flags, IN a{sv} options); CreateMonitor (IN o handle, IN o session_handle, IN s app_id, IN s window, OUT u response);
The inhibit portal lets sandboxed applications inhibit the user session from ending, suspending, idling or getting switched away.
Inhibit (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s window,
IN u flags,
IN a{sv} options);
Inhibits session status changes. As a side-effect of this call,
a org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object is exported on the
object path handle. To end the inhibition, call
Close() on that object.
The flags determine what changes are inhibited:
| 1: Logout |
| 2: User Switch |
| 4: Suspend |
| 8: Idle |
Supported keys in the options vardict include:
User-visible reason for the inhibition.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:Application id
IN s window:Identifier for the window
IN u flags:Flags identifying what is inhibited
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
CreateMonitor (IN o handle,
IN o session_handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s window,
OUT u response);
Creates a monitoring session. While this session is active, the caller will receive StateChanged signals with updates on the session state.
IN o handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Request object representing this call
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s window:the parent window
OUT u response:
StateChanged (o session_handle,
a{sv} state);
The StateChanged signal is sent to active monitoring sessions when the session state changes.
The following information may get returned in the state vardict:
Whether the screensaver is active.
o session_handle:Object path for the org.freedesktop.portal.Session object
a{sv} state:Vardict with information about the session state
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Access — Interface for presenting an access dialog
AccessDialog (IN o handle, IN s app_id, IN s parent_window, IN s title, IN s subtitle, IN s body, IN a{sv} options, OUT u response, OUT a{sv} results);
This backend can be used by portal implementations that need to ask a direct access question, such as "May xyz use the microphone?"
AccessDialog (IN o handle,
IN s app_id,
IN s parent_window,
IN s title,
IN s subtitle,
IN s body,
IN a{sv} options,
OUT u response,
OUT a{sv} results);
Presents a "deny/grant" question to the user.
Supported keys in the options include:
Whether to make the dialog modal. Defaults to true.
Label for the Deny button.
Label for the Grant button.
Icon name for an icon to show in the dialog. This should be a symbolic icon name.
List of serialized choices. See OpenFile() for details.
The following results get returned via the results vardict:
An array of pairs of strings, corresponding to the passed-in choices. See OpenFile() for details.
IN o handle:Object path to export the Request object at
IN s app_id:App id of the application
IN s parent_window:Identifier for the application window, see Common Conventions
IN s title:Title for the dialog
IN s subtitle:Subtitle for the dialog
IN s body:Body text, may be ""
IN a{sv} options:Vardict with optional further information
OUT u response:Numeric response
OUT a{sv} results:Vardict with the results of the call
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore — Database to store permissions
Lookup (IN s table, IN s id, OUT a{sas} permissions, OUT v data); Set (IN s table, IN b create, IN s id, IN a{sas} app_permissions, IN v data); Delete (IN s table, IN s id); SetValue (IN s table, IN b create, IN s id, IN v data); SetPermission (IN s table, IN b create, IN s id, IN s app, IN as permissions); List (IN s table, OUT as ids);
The permission store can be used by portals to store permissions that sandboxed applications have to various resources, such as files outside the sandbox.
Since the resources managed by portals can be varied, the permission store is fairly free-form: there can be multiple tables; resources are identified by an ID, as are applications, and permissions are stored as string arrays. None of these strings are interpreted by the permission store in any way.
In addition, the permission store allows to associate extra data (in the form of a GVariant) with each resource.
Lookup (IN s table,
IN s id,
OUT a{sas} permissions,
OUT v data);
Looks up the entry for a resource in one of the tables and returns all associated application permissions and data.
IN s table:the name of the table to use
IN s id:the resource ID to look up
OUT a{sas} permissions:map from application ID to permissions
OUT v data:data that is associated with the resource
Set (IN s table,
IN b create,
IN s id,
IN a{sas} app_permissions,
IN v data);
Writes the entry for a resource in the given table.
IN s table:the name of the table to use
IN b create:whether to create the table if it does not exist
IN s id:the resource ID to modify
IN a{sas} app_permissions:map from application ID to permissions
IN v data:data to associate with the resource
Delete (IN s table,
IN s id);
Removes the entry for a resource in the given table.
IN s table:the name of the table to use
IN s id:the resource ID to delete
SetValue (IN s table,
IN b create,
IN s id,
IN v data);
Sets just the data for a resource in the given table.
IN s table:the name of the table to use
IN b create:whether to create the table if it does not exist
IN s id:the resource ID to modify
IN v data:data to associate with the resource
SetPermission (IN s table,
IN b create,
IN s id,
IN s app,
IN as permissions);
Sets the permissions for an application and a resource in the given table.
IN s table:the name of the table to use
IN b create:whether to create the table if it does not exist
IN s id:the resource ID to modify
IN s app:the application ID to modify
IN as permissions:permissions to set
Changed (s table,
s id,
b deleted,
v data,
a{sas} permissions);
The Changed signal is emitted when the entry for a resource
is modified or deleted. If the entry was deleted, then data
and permissions contain the last values that were found in the
database. If the entry was modified, they contain the new values.
s table:the name of the table
s id:b deleted:whether the resource was deleted
v data:the data that is associated the resource
a{sas} permissions:the permissions that are associated with the resource