Python + GTK creates .dbus-keyrings on Windows

Why Does a Python + GTK Application Create .dbus-keyrings on Windows?

I noticed that running a Python + GTK on Windows application created :

%USERPROFILE%\.dbus-keyrings\org_gtk_gdbus_general

This application does not obviously use D-Bus, so I wanted to find out what was actually causing the file to appear.

Finding the trigger

Importing GTK or GIO alone does not create the file. Neither does Gtk.init_check(), or constructing a Gtk.Application.

Initially, entering the Gtk.Application event loop appeared to be the trigger. However, further experiments showed that this was only because GApplication.run() calls register().

The actual minimal reproducer is:

from gi.repository import Gio

app = Gio.Application(flags=Gio.ApplicationFlags.NON_UNIQUE)
app.register(None)

This creates the same 78-byte org_gtk_gdbus_general file, without GTK, an application ID, or a main loop.

I also confirmed that a plain Gio.Application behaves the same way as Gtk.Application. Using Gio.ApplicationFlags.NON_UNIQUE and omitting the application ID does not prevent the file from being created.

Conclusion

The file is a GDBus authentication keyring created as a side effect of GApplication.register(). The relevant path is essentially:

GApplication.register()
    → session D-Bus connection
    → GDBus authentication
    → org_gtk_gdbus_general keyring

So the application does not need to explicitly use D-Bus for this file to appear. Registering a GApplication is sufficient.

Test environment

• PyGObject: 3.55.0
• GTK: 3.24.51
• Windows: 10.0.26220
• Python: 3.12.9, 32-bit (MSC v.1944)