--- name: "malcontent-client" section: "8" platform: "linux" package: "malcontent" version: "0.14.0-4" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/malcontent-client" --- # malcontent-client(8) Parental Controls Access Utility ## NAME malcontent-client - Parental Controls Access Utility ## SYNOPSIS **malcontent-client get-app-filter \[-q\] \[-n\] \[**USER**\]** **malcontent-client check-app-filter \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\] ARG** **malcontent-client set-app-filter \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\] ARG** **malcontent-client oars-section \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\] SECTION** **malcontent-client get-session-limits \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\]** **malcontent-client set-session-limits \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\] LIMIT-TYPE** **malcontent-client monitor \[-q\] \[USER\]** **malcontent-client record-usage \[-q\] USAGE-ENTRIES** **malcontent-client query-usage \[-q\] USER RECORD-TYPE IDENTIFIER** **malcontent-client get-estimated-times \[-q\] RECORD-TYPE** **malcontent-client request-extension \[-q\] RECORD-TYPE IDENTIFIER \[DURATION\]** **malcontent-client get-web-filter \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\]** **malcontent-client set-web-filter \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\] ARG** **malcontent-client update-web-filters \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\]** **malcontent-client dump-web-filters \[-q\] \[-n\] \[USER\]** ## DESCRIPTION **malcontent-client is a utility for querying and updating the** **parental controls settings for users on the system. It will typically require** **administrator access to do anything more than query the current user’s parental** **controls.** **It communicates with accounts-service, which stores parental controls data.** **Its first argument is a command to run. The supported commands are documented** **below.** **The command line API and output format are unstable and likely to change in** **future versions of malcontent-client.** ## get-app-filter OPTIONS **Get the app filter for a user. For example:** **# malcontent-client get-app-filter timmy** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to get the app filter for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## check-app-filter OPTIONS **Check if a given program, content type or flatpak ref is permitted to be used by** **a user, according to their current app filter. For example:** **# malcontent-client check-app-filter timmy $(which gnome-calculator)** **# malcontent-client check-app-filter timmy x-scheme-handler/http** **# malcontent-client check-app-filter timmy app/com.realm667.WolfenDoom\_Blade\_of\_Agony/x86\_64/stable** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to get the app filter for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **ARG** **Path to a program, content type or flatpak ref to check against the app filter,** **to see if it is allowed for the specified user.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## set-app-filter OPTIONS **Set the app filter for a user, replacing all previous values in it. For example:** **# malcontent-client set-app-filter timmy \\**\ **--disallow-user-installation \\**\ **$(which gnome-calculator) \\**\ **x-scheme-handler/http \\**\ **app/com.realm667.WolfenDoom\_Blade\_of\_Agony/x86\_64/stable** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to set the app filter for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **ARG** **Item to filter in the user’s app filter. This could either be an absolute path** **or flatpak ref of a program to block; a content type to block all programs** **handling that type; or an OARS section=value pair to block installation of** **apps with a more extreme rating for that OARS section. Multiple items may be** **specified, and they will replace the user’s current app filter in entirety. If** **zero items are specified, the app filter is cleared.** - **--allow-user-installation** **Allow the user to install flatpaks to their user repository.** - **--disallow-user-installation** **Disallow the user from installing flatpaks to their user repository.** - **--allow-system-installation** **Allow the user to install flatpaks to the system repository.** - **--disallow-system-installation** **Disallow the user from installing flatpaks to the system repository.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## oars-section OPTIONS **Get the value set for a specific OARS section from the app filter of the given** **user. For example:** **# malcontent-client oars-section timmy language-profanity** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to get the OARS filter for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **SECTION** **OARS section to get the restriction level of the given user for.** **For example, language-profanity.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## get-session-limits OPTIONS **Get the session limits set for a user. For example:** **# malcontent-client get-session-limits timmy** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to get the session limits for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** - **--now yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssZ** **Check session limits (in particular, session expiry time) against the given** **date/time, provided in ISO 8601 format. (Default: Current date/time.)** ## set-session-limits OPTIONS **Set the session limits for a user, replacing its previous value completely. For example:** **# malcontent-client set-session-limits timmy \\**\ **daily-schedule \\**\ **--start-time 16:00 --end-time 18:00** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to set the app filter for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **LIMIT-TYPE** **The type of session limit to use for this user. Possible values are:** - **none** **- No session limits.** - **daily-schedule --start-time HH\[:MM\[:SS\]\] --end-time HH\[:MM\[:SS\]\]** **- Daily schedule with fixed start and end times. These must be provided as two** **arguments giving the time of day when the schedule starts and ends.** - **daily-limit --daily-limit SECONDS** **- Daily limit on the overall active time using the computer for the day. This** **must be provided as a limit length in seconds.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## monitor OPTIONS **Monitor changes to any of the parental controls settings for a specific user.** **For example:** **# malcontent-client monitor timmy** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to monitor the parental controls for. If not** **specified, the current user will be used by default.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** ## record-usage OPTIONS **Record session or app usage times for the current user. For** **example:** **# malcontent-client record-usage 2025-04-22T08:00:00Z 2025-04-22T16:00:00Z login-session** **# malcontent-client record-usage 2025-04-22T08:00:00Z 2025-04-22T16:00:00Z app "org.gnome.gedit"** - **USAGE-ENTRIES** **One or more usage entries to add. Each entry is a set of four arguments:** - • **the start date and time of the usage period (in ISO 8601 format),** - • **the end date and time of the usage period (also in ISO 8601 format),** - • **the record type (login-session or app) and** - • **the record identifier (this must be the empty string for login-session** **records, and the app ID for app records).** **The final record identifier in the arguments list can be omitted if it’s empty.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** ## query-usage OPTIONS **Query session or app usage times for a given user. For example:** **# malcontent-client query-usage bob login-session ""** **# malcontent-client query-usage bob app "org.gnome.gedit"** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to get the usage information for.** - **RECORD-TYPE IDENTIFIER** **The record type and identifier to query for records of. See the documentation** **for the record-usage command for valid values.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## get-estimated-times OPTIONS **Query the usage and session limits for the current user, to work out how much** **time is remaining in their session or for using apps. For example:** **# malcontent-client get-estimated-times login-session** - **RECORD-TYPE** **Type of usage record to query for. This can be login-session or** **app.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** ## request-extension OPTIONS **Request an extension to the screen time limit for the current user, for their** **session or the specified app. For example:** **# malcontent-client request-extension login-session ""** - **RECORD-TYPE IDENTIFIER** **The record type and identifier to request an extension for. See the** **documentation for the record-usage command for valid values.** - **DURATION** **The duration of the extension to request (in seconds), or zero to allow the** **parent to choose the duration (typically this means until the end of today).** **(Default: Zero.)** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** ## get-web-filter OPTIONS **Get the web filter for a user. For example:** **# malcontent-client get-web-filter timmy** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to get the web filter for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## set-web-filter OPTIONS **Set the web filter for a user, replacing all previous values in it. For example:** **# malcontent-client set-web-filter timmy \\**\ **--force-safe-search \\**\ **--filter-type block-list \\**\ **adult=https://v.firebog.net/hosts/Prigent-Adult.txt \\**\ **advertising=https://v.firebog.net/hosts/Prigent-Ads.txt \\**\ **reddit.com \\**\ **~mastodon.social** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to set the web filter for. If not specified, the** **current user will be used by default.** - **ARG** **Item to filter in the user’s web filter. This could either be an** **id=filter-URI pair, or an individual hostname to block. Either type of** **item may be prefixed with ~ (a tilde) to allow it rather than blocking it.** **A filter URI must point to a text file in the same format as /etc/hosts** **listing websites to filter. The associated ID is an arbitrary alphanumeric** **string used to track the filter over time, even if its canonical URI changes.** **Multiple items may be specified, and they will replace the user’s current web** **filter in entirety. If zero items are specified, the web filter is cleared.** - **--force-safe-search** **Force ‘safe search’ mode to be enabled for known search engines and popular** **websites.** - **--filter-type** **The type of web filter to use for this user. Possible values are:** - **none** **- No web filtering.** - **block-list** **- Websites are allowed by default unless listed in one of the block lists. The** **websites in the allow lists are always allowed.** - **allow-list** **- Websites are blocked by default unless listed in one of the allow lists. The** **block lists are ignored.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## update-web-filters OPTIONS **Download and update the compiled web filters for a specific user, or for all** **users. This will read the current web filter configuration for the user and** **update the compiled filter database using that configuration. For example:** **# malcontent-client update-web-filters timmy** **To update the web filter configuration for a user, use** **malcontent-client set-web-filter.** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to update the web filters for. If not specified, the** **web filters will be updated for all users who have them set.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## dump-web-filters OPTIONS **Dump the compiled web filters for a specific user, or for all users. These are** **the filter rules which are currently being used. For example:** **# malcontent-client dump-web-filters timmy** - **USER** **Username or ID of the user to dump the web filters for. If not specified, the** **web filters will be dumped for all users who have them set.** - **-q**, **--quiet** **Only output error messages, and no informational messages, as the operation** **progresses. (Default: Output informational messages.)** - **-n**, **--no-interactive** **Do not allow interactive authorization with polkit. If this is needed to** **complete the operation, the operation will fail. (Default: Allow interactive** **authorization.)** ## ENVIRONMENT **malcontent-client supports the standard GLib environment** **variables for debugging. These variables are not intended to be used in** **production:** - *$G\_MESSAGES\_DEBUG* **This variable can contain one or more debug domain names to display debug output** **for. The value** *all* **will enable all debug output. The default is for no** **debug output to be enabled.** ## EXIT STATUS **malcontent-client may return one of several error codes if it** **encounters problems.** - 0 **No problems occurred. The utility ran and successfully queried the app filter.** **If running the check-app-filter command, the given path, content type or** **flatpak ref was allowed for the given user.** - 1 **An invalid option was passed to malcontent-client on** **startup.** - 2 **The current user was not authorized to query the app filter for the given user.** - 3 **If running the check-app-filter command, the given path, content type or** **flatpak ref was** *not* **allowed for the given user.** - 4 **Malcontent is disabled at the system level, and hence parental controls are** **not enabled or enforced.** - 5 **An operation failed and no more specific error information is available.** - 6 **The service was busy; try again shortly.** ## BUGS **Any bugs which are found should be reported on the project website:**\ *https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pwithnall/malcontent/-/issues* ## AUTHOR **Endless Mobile, Inc.** **Philip Withnall** ## COPYRIGHT **Copyright © 2018 Endless Mobile, Inc.** **Copyright © 2025 GNOME Foundation, Inc.**