NetworkManager D-Bus bridge for netlink-based network stacks.
nmlinkd exposes the NetworkManager D-Bus API by reading network state directly from the Linux kernel via netlink. This allows desktop environments to display network status without requiring NetworkManager itself. Works with any network configuration (systemd-networkd, dhcpcd, iwd, manual, etc).
Many desktop environments rely on NetworkManager's D-Bus API to display network status. If you prefer a different network manager (systemd-networkd, dhcpcd, iwd) or manual configuration, you lose UI integration.
nmlinkd solves this by acting as a read-only NetworkManager API server, reading state from the kernel and presenting it in a format desktop environments expect.
Should work with desktop environments that use the NetworkManager D-Bus API (GNOME, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, Budgie, MATE, COSMIC).
- Network status indicator icon in GNOME Shell / KDE
- Enable/disable interfaces
- Connection details
- WireGuard interfaces (toggle on/off)
- Hotplug interfaces support
- D-Bus activated (starts automatically when needed)
yay -S nmlinkdSee Releases for pre-built tarballs.
- Linux kernel with netlink support (any modern kernel)
- D-Bus system bus
- Root privileges (required for netlink socket and D-Bus system bus)
Conflicts with:
- NetworkManager (cannot run simultaneously)
Linux Kernel → netlink → D-Bus → Desktop Environment
nmlinkd subscribes to kernel netlink events:
RTMGRP_LINK- interface up/down, flagsRTMGRP_IPV4_IFADDR/RTMGRP_IPV6_IFADDR- IP address changesRTMGRP_IPV4_ROUTE/RTMGRP_IPV6_ROUTE- routing table changes
It translates these into NetworkManager D-Bus API signals and properties that desktop environments expect.
- Read-only: Cannot create or edit connections from Settings (network config lives in files/tools)
- Wi-Fi shown as wired: Wi-Fi interfaces (e.g. managed by iwd) are visible but appear as ethernet devices. Wi-Fi-specific features (SSID, signal strength, access point scanning) are not implemented.
Copyright (C) 2026 subz69
Licensed under MIT