BROKER(1)

✨ BROKER(1) — the SBW Broker, bestie 🦋

💖 NAME

Okay so the manual name is Broker, and it's giving "manual page for Broker 2.12.2" 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS

C++Broker [options]

✨ DESCRIPTION

Hiii bestie 🫶 so this is the SBW Broker, version 2.12.2 (C++ Release, Linux running on port: -1). 💅

The SBW Broker is a background process that runs on a computer and coordinates all the SBW modules. It's literally the friend who finds and starts modules for you on demand 👑 The Broker isn't supposed to need a manual start, because the SBW libraries will start it for you if it isn't already running. ngl, though, some stuff like the --shutdown command has to be invoked directly, so you do need to know about it 🙈

Here are the options, obsessed with these 💜

🦋 OPTIONS

• -a, --accept-address ADDRESS — This is for host-based (non-SSH) authentication, when modules from other hosts are allowed to connect to the Broker. It adds the given ADDRESS to the list of host addresses allowed to connect to this SBW Broker. The address has to be IPv4 dotted quad notation, like "123.123.123.123". Any of the four fields can be swapped for the wildcard '*' to mean any value is fine, so "132.215.42.*" means any host on the subnet "132.215.42.*" may connect. This option works with --deny-address like this: addresses that are allowed, and not explicitly denied, are permitted. (This option does nothing unless --remote-modules or --no-ssh are also given. 🙃)
• -b, --broker-ports LOW-HIGH — By default, the Broker opens a port for inter-Broker communications by searching for the first free port in the range 10102 through 10202, inclusive. This lets you pick a different range, from port number LOW through port number HIGH, inclusive. For example, "--broker-ports 11000-12000" would tell the Broker to look for a free port in the range 10001 through 10010. You can force the Broker to use one specific port by using the same number for LOW and HIGH. 🎯
• -d, --deny-address ADDRESS — This is for host-based (non-SSH) authentication, when modules from other hosts are allowed to connect to the Broker. This option adds the given ADDRESS to the list of host addresses prevented from connecting to this SBW Broker. The address must be IPv4 dotted quad notation: "123.123.123.123". Any of the four fields can be replaced with the wildcard '*' to mean any value is acceptable. So "132.215.42.*" means any host on the subnet "132.215.42.*" is denied from connecting. This option works with --accept-address like this: addresses that are allowed, and not explicitly denied, are permitted. (This option does nothing unless --remote-modules or --no-ssh are also given. 🙃)
• -e, --remote-modules — By default, only connections from the local host can connect to the Broker. This flag lets modules on hosts other than the local host connect to this Broker. You don't need it in normal SBW use, because a module on a remote host should normally connect to a Broker running on that host. Also, this flag only affects whether network connections from non-local hosts are allowed. A remote module will still get denied if it doesn't have the same session key the Broker is using. 🔐
• -g, --registry PATHNAME — This tells the Broker to use the file at PATHNAME as its module registry file, instead of the built-in default. 📂
• -h, --help — This tells the Broker to print the help text and exit. 🙋‍♀️
• -i, --info — This gives you a description of the running state of the Broker (if there is one running on this computer), then exits without doing anything else or processing any other flags. ℹ️
• -k, --key-file PATHNAME — Use the file at PATHNAME as the session key file instead of the default pathname. The default session authentication key is stored in a private file inside the ".sbw" directory/folder in the user's home directory. 🗝️
• -l, --reload-key — Normally, if no Broker is running on the local host when a new Broker starts, the Broker generates a new session authentication key and stores it in a private file inside the ".sbw" directory/folder in the user's home directory. The --reload-key flag tells the Broker not to generate a new key, and instead reuse the one in the key file. This flag shouldn't normally be used; it's mainly for remote Brokers. 🙅‍♀️
• -m, --module-ports LOW-HIGH — By default, the Broker opens a port for module connections by searching for the first free port in the range 10002 through 10102, inclusive. This lets you pick a different range, from port number LOW through port number HIGH, inclusive. For example, "--module-ports 11000-12000" would tell the Broker to look for a free port in the range 10001 through 10010. You can force the Broker to use one specific port by using the same number for LOW and HIGH. 🎀
• -o, --module-options "OPTIONS STRING" — Use the given options as command-line options for modules when they start up. THIS OPTION CURRENTLY DOES NOT WORK. 💀
• -R, --no-remote — By default, the Broker is always listening for connections from other Brokers. This flag tells the Broker to disallow remote Broker connections by not starting up the listener thread. 🚫
• -r, --remote-from HOSTNAME — This flag is handed to a Broker when another Broker starts it remotely. The HOSTNAME is the host that started this Broker. 🛰️
• -S, --no-ssh — Disables the use of SSH for remote Broker communications. It will still be possible to connect Brokers manually, but there will be no security on the communications channel, and it will require manually copying session key files between hosts and starting the individual Brokers. Using this option is not recommended. 😬
• -s, --sbw-home PATHNAME — Changes what is assumed to be the root directory of the SBW installation to PATHNAME. By default, SBW uses various approaches to figure out the root of its installation. This flag lets you override them and explicitly set the path to the installation directory. 🏠
• -t, --trace — This flag can only be used with the debugging copy of the Broker (i.e., file SBWBroker-debug.jar). It turns on tracing of activities in the Broker and leads to copious debugging output. 🔍
• -U, --shutdown — This shuts down a running Broker (if any) on the local host. A new Broker is not started. This is the preferred method for shutting down Brokers. 👋
• -u, --user-dir PATHNAME — By default, SBW stores information in a user-specific subdirectory/folder called ".sbw" in the user's home directory. This flag lets you override the default and set the user directory to an explicit PATHNAME. This might be useful in distributed computing environments where home directories aren't where they're expected. 🗂️
• -w, --module-wait INTEGER — The amount of time, in tenths of a second, that the Broker should wait for a module to start up. The default is 600 (1 minute). ⏰

The SBW home page is http://www.sys-bio.org. For bug reports and questions, please send them to sysbio-team@caltech.edu 📬

🧚 SEE ALSO

The full documentation for Broker is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and Broker programs are properly installed at your site, run this command:

info Broker

and it should give you access to the complete manual. 📚

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Broker 2.12.2 · July 2025 · BROKER(1) 🌈 Love you, bestie, go read the manual! 💜