Introduction

pybonjour provides a pure-Python interface to Apple Bonjour and compatible DNS-SD libraries (such as Avahi). It allows Python scripts to take advantage of Zero Configuration Networking (Zeroconf) to register, discover, and resolve services on both local and wide-area networks. Since pybonjour is implemented in pure Python, scripts that use it can easily be ported to Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and other systems that run Bonjour.

Requirements

pybonjour requires Python 2.4 or later. It also depends on ctypes (version 1.0.1 or later), which is part of the standard library in Python 2.5 and later but must be downloaded and installed separately for Python 2.4.

No additional software is required to use pybonjour under Mac OS X. To use it under Windows, the Bonjour for Windows package must be installed on your system. Most Linux systems use Avahi rather than Bonjour for DNS-SD. If this is the case on your system, you'll need to install Avahi's Bonjour compatibility library. (Under Ubuntu, the package to install is libavahi-compat-libdnssd1.) Otherwise, or to use pybonjour under other POSIX systems, you must download, compile, and install Bonjour from source.

Examples

The following scripts are included in the examples directory of the pybonjour source distribution.

Registering a Service

``` import select import sys import pybonjour

name = sys.argv[1] regtype = sys.argv[2] port = int(sys.argv[3])

def register_callback(sdRef, flags, errorCode, name, regtype, domain): if errorCode == pybonjour.kDNSServiceErr_NoError: print 'Registered service:' print ' name =', name print ' regtype =', regtype print ' domain =', domain

sdRef = pybonjour.DNSServiceRegister(name = name, regtype = regtype, port = port, callBack = register_callback)

try: try: while True: ready = select.select([sdRef], [], []) if sdRef in ready[0]: pybonjour.DNSServiceProcessResult(sdRef) except KeyboardInterrupt: pass finally: sdRef.close() ```

$ python register.py TestService _test._tcp 1234 Registered service: name = TestService regtype = _test._tcp. domain = local.

Browsing for and Resolving Services

``` import select import sys import pybonjour

regtype = sys.argv[1] timeout = 5 resolved = []

def resolve_callback(sdRef, flags, interfaceIndex, errorCode, fullname, hosttarget, port, txtRecord): if errorCode == pybonjour.kDNSServiceErr_NoError: print 'Resolved service:' print ' fullname =', fullname print ' hosttarget =', hosttarget print ' port =', port resolved.append(True)

def browse_callback(sdRef, flags, interfaceIndex, errorCode, serviceName, regtype, replyDomain): if errorCode != pybonjour.kDNSServiceErr_NoError: return

if not (flags & pybonjour.kDNSServiceFlagsAdd):
    print 'Service removed'
    return

print 'Service added; resolving'

resolve_sdRef = pybonjour.DNSServiceResolve(0,
                                            interfaceIndex,
                                            serviceName,
                                            regtype,
                                            replyDomain,
                                            resolve_callback)

try:
    while not resolved:
        ready = select.select([resolve_sdRef], [], [], timeout)
        if resolve_sdRef not in ready[0]:
            print 'Resolve timed out'
            break
        pybonjour.DNSServiceProcessResult(resolve_sdRef)
    else:
        resolved.pop()
finally:
    resolve_sdRef.close()

browse_sdRef = pybonjour.DNSServiceBrowse(regtype = regtype, callBack = browse_callback)

try: try: while True: ready = select.select([browse_sdRef], [], []) if browse_sdRef in ready[0]: pybonjour.DNSServiceProcessResult(browse_sdRef) except KeyboardInterrupt: pass finally: browse_sdRef.close() ```

$ python browse_and_resolve.py _test._tcp Service added; resolving Resolved service: fullname = TestService._test._tcp.local. hosttarget = bumble.local. port = 1234 ...