---
name: "ck-list-sessions"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "consolekit"
version: "1.2.6-4+b1"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/ck-list-sessions"
---

# ck-list-sessions(1)

Show ConsoleKit Session Information

## NAME

ck-list-sessions - Show ConsoleKit Session Information

## SYNOPSIS

**ck-list-sessions** \[-**-all**\] \[-**-format=***format*\] \[-**-help**\] \[-**-version**\]

## DESCRIPTION

**ck-list-sessions** is a utility that displays information from the ConsoleKit database.  By default, only open sessions are shown.  The -**-all** option can be used to display all existing sessions on the system.  **ck-list-sessions** returns information about each ConsoleKit session.  Users can specify which properties to display via the -**-format** option.

The following properties can be displayed for each session:

## OPTIONS

The following options are supported:

**-a**, -**-all** Show all ConsoleKit sessions.  If this option is not provided, only open sessions are shown.

**-f**, -**-format=***format* Display information using the specified *format*.  The *format* value is a list of properties to display separated by commas.

**-h**, -**-help** Display detailed usage message.

**-V**, -**-version** Display the version of the **ck-list-sessions** application.

## EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

### ConsoleKit session properties

For each session, the following session properties are displayed:

**unix-user** The user id value associated with the session.

**realname** The name of the user associated with the session.

**seat** The ID for the ConsoleKit Seat associated with the session.

**session-type** The ConsoleKit session type.  This value is set by the process that opens the session and will usually be set to the display protocol used, i.e. x11, wayland, tty, mir, or unspecified.

**session-class** The ConsoleKit session class.  This value is set by the process that opens the session and will usually be set to user for normal sessions or greeter, lock-screen, or background for special purpose sessions.

**session-state** The current state of the ConsoleKit session. It is managed by ConsoleKit and will either return online, active, or closing.

**display-type** The ConsoleKit display type.  This value is specified by the "DisplayTemplate" key in the ConsoleKit session configuration file associated with this session.

**open** The value is "TRUE" if the session is open, and "FALSE" otherwise.

**active** The value is "TRUE" if the session is active on the seat to which it is attached, and "FALSE" otherwise.

**x11-display** The value of the X11 DISPLAY environment variable for this session if one is present.

**x11-display-device** The value of the display device that the X11 display for the session is connected to.  If there is no x11-display set, then this value is undefined.

**display-device** The display device associated with the session.

**remote-host** If the session is not local, the value is the host name associated with the session.  If the session is local, the value is empty.

**VTNr** The virtual terminal the ConsoleKit session is on, if any.

**is-local** The value is "TRUE" if the session is local, and "FALSE" if remote.

**on-since** An ISO 8601 date-time string that corresponds to the time the session started.

**login-session-id** The value of the login session ID that the underlying system uses to enforce session boundaries. If there is no login session ID set then this value is an empty string.

**idle-since-hint** An ISO 8601 date-time string that corresponds to the time of the last change of the idle-hint.  This is a hint used to indicate that the session may be idle. For sessions with a x11-display set (ie. graphical sessions), it is up to each session to delegate the responsibility for updating this value. Typically, the screensaver will set this.

However, for non-graphical sessions with a display-device set the Session object itself will periodically update this value based on the activity detected on the display-device itself.

This should not be considered authoritative.

## EXAMPLES

**Example 1: Show running sessions.**

```
example% ck-list-sessions
```

This command would generate output like the following for each session:

```
SessionSeat1Local:
        unix-user = '50'
        realname = 'GDM Reserved UID'
        seat = 'Seat1'
        session-type = 'LoginWindow'
        display-type = 'Local'
        open = 'TRUE'
        active = 'TRUE'
        x11-display = ':0'
        x11-display-device = '/dev/console'
        display-device = '/dev/console'
        remote-host-name = ''
        is-local = 'TRUE'
        on-since = '2009-08-11T06:46:42.941134Z'
        login-session-id = ''
        idle-since-hint = ''
```

**Example 2: Show only the session-id, unix-user, and display-type properties.**

```
example% ck-list-sessions --format="session-id,unix-user,display-type"
```

This command would generate output like the following for each session:

```
SessionSeat1Local       50      Local
```

## SEE ALSO

[**ck-history**(1)](/ck-history/1.md), [**ck-launch-session**(1)](/ck-launch-session/1.md), [**console-kit-daemon**(1m)](/console-kit-daemon/1m.md)

## NOTES

Written by Brian Cameron, Sun Microsystems Inc., 2009. Copyright (c) 2009 by Sun Microsystems, Inc.