Federico Mena Quintero
federico@gnome.org 2013
Configuration storage for application preferences

# GSettings

GSettings is the part of GLib that allows applications to save their configuration settings and user's preferences in a standard way.

An application that uses GSettings defines a schema of configuration keys. The schema for each key contains the key's name, a human-readable description of what the key is for, a type for the key (string, integer, etc.), and a default value.

GSettings uses the operating system's storage for configuration data. On GNU systems this is DConf; on Windows it is the Registry, and on Mac OS it is the NextStep property list mechanism.

GSettings lets you monitor changes in keys' values, so your application can respond dynamically to global changes in configuration. For example, all applications that display clocks can respond to a global setting for 12-hour/24-hour display immediately, without having to restart.

GSettings Reference Manual