Varlink
Ranked 5 of 5 RPC frameworks by recommenders
A JSON-based IPC protocol from the systemd world, a simpler D-Bus alternative without a broker. Critics note it lacks many-to-many communication.
A JSON-based IPC protocol from the systemd world, a simpler D-Bus alternative without a broker. Critics note it lacks many-to-many communication.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Simpler alternative to D-Bus
“Maybe you should look at Varlink. The systemd backed D-Bus alternative. It uses JSON.”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Problems with D-Bus on the Linux desktop” “Check varlink, an alternative to D-Bus defined in the SystemD world.”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Problems with D-Bus on the Linux desktop” JSON, no binary formats
“Maybe you should look at Varlink. The systemd backed D-Bus alternative. It uses JSON.”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Problems with D-Bus on the Linux desktop” “no binary formats, simpler mechanisms, based on stdout/stdin of processes”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Devuan – Debian Without Systemd”
Other RPC frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other RPC frameworks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gRPC | 25 | 24 | 51% | 8 | — | — |
| ConnectRPC | 15 | 1 | 94% | 5 | — | Approved |
| tRPC | 12 | 2 | 86% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Apache Thrift | 8 | 3 | 73% | 5 | — | — |
| VarlinkThis page | 7 | 2 | 78% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
11 of the 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“worth considering using varlink, for your agents sake”
“it doesn't even offer the same facilities, particularly many-to-many communication”
“It does not require a broker service, it works right at system startup”
“I mean if the whole thing wasn't an exercise in bad technological taste.”
“no binary formats, simpler mechanisms, based on stdout/stdin of processes”
“glad to see the varlink IPC expanded upon”
“Maybe you should look at Varlink. The systemd backed D-Bus alternative. It uses JSON.”
“Why not use JSON then, right? Right?!”
“Check varlink, an alternative to D-Bus defined in the SystemD world.”
“It already has one: Varlink”
“Instead, we are getting varlink it seems. yuk.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.