---
name: "talkd"
section: "8"
platform: "macos"
package: "remote_cmds"
version: "308"
release: "macOS 26.5"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd", "openbsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/talkd"
---

# talkd(8)

remote user communication server

## NAME

**talkd** – remote user communication server

## SYNOPSIS

**talkd**

## DESCRIPTION

The **talkd** utility is the server that notifies a user that someone else wants to initiate a conversation. It acts as a repository of invitations, responding to requests by clients wishing to rendezvous to hold a conversation. In normal operation, a client, the caller, initiates a rendezvous by sending a CTL\_MSG to the server of type LOOK\_UP (see ⟨protocols/talkd.h⟩). This causes the server to search its invitation tables to check if an invitation currently exists for the caller (to speak to the callee specified in the message).

If the lookup fails, the caller then sends an ANNOUNCE message causing the server to broadcast an announcement on the callee's login ports requesting contact.

When the callee responds, the local server uses the recorded invitation to respond with the appropriate rendezvous address and the caller and callee client programs establish a stream connection through which the conversation takes place.

## CONFIGURATION

The **talkd** utility is managed by launchd(8) as specified in the *ntalk.plist* property list. By default the property list contains the *Disabled* key set to true, so **talkd** is never invoked.

Execute the following command as root to enable **talkd**:

```
launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ntalk.plist
```

## SEE ALSO

[talk(1)](/talk/1.md), [write(1)](/write/1.md)

## HISTORY

The **talkd** utility appeared in 4.3BSD.