DotFilesList

List of "dot files" that may appear in a user's home directory on Debian systems, what they are, and what to do with them. Also see XDG Base Directory Specification

File name	Program (Package)	Type	Confidential	Documentation	Notes	Location overriding
`.abbrev_defs`	(emacs*)	config		info emacs
`.addressbook/`	evolution	data		?
`.adobe/Flash_Player/`	(flashplugin-nonfree)	cache
`.aptitude/cache`	aptitude	cache
`.aptitude/config`	aptitude	config
`.autom4te.cfg`	autom4te (autoconf)	config		info Autoconf	also used by automake, libtool
`.bash_history`	bash	history		bash(1)		export HISTFILE=file (DANGEROUS, this environment variable also affects most other shells; at least `pdksh` and `mksh` have a different format (binary; `bash`, `ksh93`, `zsh` have plaintext)
`.bash_logout`	bash	config		bash(1)	optional
`.bash_profile`	bash	config		bash(1)
`.bashrc`	bash	config		bash(1)		bash --rcfile file
`.bazaar/bazaar.conf`	bzr	config		bzr(1)		BZR_HOME
`.bzr.log`	bzr	log		bzr(1)		BZR_HOME
`.cache/`	(various)	cache			XDG Base Directory Specification	export XDG_CACHE_HOME=dir
`.ccache/`	ccache	cache		ccache(1)		export CCACHE_DISABLE CCACHE_DIR=dir CCACHE_TEMPDIR=dir CCACHE_LOGFILE=file
`.camel_certs/`	evolution	data		Evolution FAQ
`.config/`	(various)	config			XDG Base Directory Specification	XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_CONFIG_DIRS
`.cvspass`	cvs	data	yes	cvs(1)	contains passwords if you use non-anonymous pserver
`.cvsrc`	cvs	config		cvs(1)	almost mandatory for sensible use of cvs
`.dbus/`	dbus-launch (dbus)	data		dbus-launch(1)
`.devscripts`	(devscripts)	config		various man pages via devscripts(1)
`.devscripts_cache`	devscripts	cache		various man pages via devscripts(1)
`.d-feet/config`	d-feet	config	no		automatically written
`.dia/`	dia	config		dia(1)
`.dmrc`	gdm, kdm	config		GDM GNOME help	saves selected display manager session type as default for next login
`.dosboxrc`	dosbox	config
`.dput.cf`	dput	config		dput.cf(5)
`.dsh/`	dsh	config		dsh(1)
`.dupload.conf`	dupload	config		dupload.conf(5)
`.emacs`	(emacs*)	config		info emacs	can also be modified from within Emacs
`.emacs.d/`	(emacs*)	config, data		info emacs
`.emacs-desktop`	(emacs*)	data		info emacs
`.emacs-places`	(emacs-el)	history	yes	? (/usr/share/emacs/23.1/lisp/saveplace.el.gz)
`.esd_auth`	(libesd0, esound-common)	data	?	? (/usr/share/doc/esound-common/html/x302.html)
`.evolution/`	evolution	data	yes	Evolution FAQ	contains mail, addressbook, etc.
`.farsight/*.cache`	libfarsight	cache	no		no longer used in squeeze
`.fetchmailrc`	fetchmail	config	yes	fetchmail(1)		FETCHMAILHOME
`.fontconfig/`	(fontconfig)	cache		fc-cache(1)		FONTCONFIG_PATH
`.fonts.conf`	(fontconfig-config)	config		fonts.conf(5)		FONTCONFIG_PATH
`.forward`	exim, postfix, ...	config			mail forwarding
`.gbp.conf`	git-buildpackage	config		gbp.conf(5)
`.gconf/`	(gconf2)	config		http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/		/etc/gconf/2/path
`.gconfd/`	(gconf2)	data		http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/
`.gentoo-history`	gentoo	history			history of directories visited
`.gimp-2.*`	gimp	config, cache		gimp(1)		GIMP2_DIRECTORY
`.gitconfig`	git (git-core)	config		git-config(1)
`.gitk`	gitk	config		gitk(1)	written automatically by the program
`.gksu.lock`	gksu	lock?		gksu(1)	see also bug 559632
`.gnome2/`	(GNOME)	config, data		http://library.gnome.org/devel/libgnome/stable/libgnome-gnome-config.html
`.gnome2_private/`	(GNOME)	config, data	yes	http://library.gnome.org/devel/libgnome/stable/libgnome-gnome-config.html
`.gnupg/`	gpg (gnupg), gpgsm, dirmngr	config, data	yes	gpg(1), gpgsm(1), dirmngr(1)	man pages contain details on all the files	GNUPGHOME
`.gstreamer-0.10/registry.*.bin`	gstreamer	cache			cached plugin registry
`.gtk-bookmarks`	(GTK?)	data		?
`.gvfs/`	(gvfs-*)	mounts		(http://grumbel.blogspot.com/2008/05/playing-around-with-gvfs.html)
`.hgrc`	mercurial	config		hgrc(5)		HGRCPATH
`.hushlogin`	login	config		login(1), sshd(8)	should have length zero
`.ICEauthority`	(X)	config		iceauth(1)
`.inputrc`	(libreadline*)	config		readline(3) and info page
`.java/`	(openjdk*)	cache,config,data		?
`.jnewsrc`	slrn	data		slrn(1)		SLRNHOME
`.jnewsrc.dsc`	slrn	data		slrn(1)		SLRNHOME
`.k5login`	ksu	config		ksu(1), pam_krb5(5)
`.kde/`	(KDE)	config,data	(yes)	http://techbase.kde.org/KDE_System_Administration/KDE_Filesystem_Hierarchy		KDEHOME, KDEROOTHOME, KDEDIRS
`.kernel-pkg.conf`	make-kpkg (kernel-package)	config		kernel-pkg.conf(5)
`.keychain`	keychain	data		keychain(1)	ssh, gpg agent socket addresses	keychain --dir dir
`.lessfilter`	lesspipe (less)	config		lesspipe(1)	should be executable
`.lesshst`	less	history	yes	less(1)	history of searches in less	export LESSHISTFILE=file
`.lftp/`	lftp	config, log, history		lftp(1)		LFTP_HOME
`.local/`	(various)	data			XDG Base Directory Specification	XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_DATA_DIRS
`.m2/`	maven	cache,config
`.macromedia/`	(flashplugin-nonfree)	cache, config, history	yes	?	effectively tracks visited web sites (with Flash content), can be controlled using Adobe's Flash Player Settings Manager
`.mc/`	mc	config, data		mc(1), mcedit(1), mcview(1)
`.mpdconf`	mpd	config		mpd.conf(5)		mpd file
`.mplayer/`	mplayer	config		mplayer(1)		MPLAYER_HOME
`.minirc.dfl`	minicom	config			automatically saved
`.mission-control/`	telepathy-mission-control-5	data	yes		Empathy/Telepathy accounts: contains passwords if you don't have gnome-keyring
`.mkshrc`	mksh	config		mksh(1)	via /etc/skel, never created	export ENV=file (nonexistent filename to disable) – this environment variable also affects other shells
`.mrconfig`	mr	config		mr(1)		mr -c file
`.mrtrust`	mr	config		mr(1)
`.muttrc`	mutt	config		[1/mutt\|mutt(1)]]
`.mutt/`	mutt	config		[1/mutt\|mutt(1)]]
`.mozilla/`	iceweasel	cache, config, data, history	yes	?	evidently used by various Mozilla products -- documentation?
`.nano_history`	nano	history	yes	nano(1)	history of searches in nano
`.nanorc`	nano	config		nanorc(5)
`.netrc`	ftp, mc, lftp, python...	config	yes	netrc(5)
`.nexuiz`	nexuiz	config,data,cache?
`.nofinger`	finger	config		finger(1)
`.octave_hist`	octave*	history
`.offlineimaprc`	offlineimap	config	yes	offlineimap(1)	may contain passwords
`.openarena`	openarena	config,data,cache
`.openoffice.org/`	(openoffice.org*)	config,data,cache	yes	?
`.opera/`	opera	config,data,cache	yes	?
`.pbuilderrc`	pbuilder, cowbuilder	config		pbuilderrc(5)
`.plan`	finger	config		finger(1)
`.pgpkey`	finger	config		finger(1)
`.profile`	ash, bash, dash, ksh93, mksh, pdksh, posh, zsh	config		sh(1)	via /etc/skel, never created
`.project`	finger	config		finger(1)
`.psql_history`	psql (postgresql-client)	history		psql(1)
`.psqlrc`	psql (postgresql-client)	config		psql(1)
`.pulse/`	(pulseaudio)	config		pulse-daemon.conf(5)
`.pulse-cookie`	(pulseaudio)	data	yes	pulse-client.conf(5)
`.pylint.d/`	pylint	data		pylint(1)	results from previous runs, can usually be deleted	PYLINTHOME
`.pylintrc`	pylint	config		pylint(1)		--rcfile=, PYLINTRC
`.python-eggs/`	(python-setuptools)	cache		(http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2192323/what-is-the-python-egg-cache-python-egg-cache)		PYTHON_EGG_CACHE
`.qt/`	(libqt3-mt)	config			edit with qtconfig-qt3; Qt 4 config is in `.config/Trolltech.conf`
`.quiltrc`	quilt	config		quilt(1)		quilt --quiltrc file
`.recently-used`	(GTK+ <2.10?)	data	yes	?
`.recently-usex.xbel`	(GTK+ >=2.10?)	data	yes	?
`.reportbugrc`	reportbug	config		reportbug.conf(5)
`.rhosts`	sshd	config		sshd(8)
`.rnd`	openssl (openssl/libssl*)	cache	yes	rand(1)	confidential because it might be used in creating key material
`.sbuildrc`	sbuild	config		sbuild.conf(5)
`.screenlayout/`	arandr	config
`.shosts`	sshd	config		sshd(8)
`.Skype/`	skype	config,data
`.slocdata/`	sloccount	cache		sloccount(1)
`.slrnrc`	slrn	config		slrn(1)		SLRNHOME
`.sqliterc`	sqlite3	config
`.sqlite_history`	sqlite3	history			command history
`.ssh/authorized_keys`	sshd	config		sshd(8)
`.ssh/config`	ssh	config		ssh_config(5)
`.ssh/environment`	sshd	config		sshd(8)
`.ssh/id_*`	ssh	data	yes	ssh(1)	private keys
`.ssh/id_*.pub`	ssh	data		ssh(1)	public keys
`.ssh/known_hosts`	sshd	config		sshd(8)
`.ssh/rc`	sshd	config		sshd(8)
`.subversion/`	svn (subversion)	config		`~/.subversion/README.txt`, Subversion book
`.subversion/auth/`	svn (subversion)	cache	yes	Subversion book
`.svn-buildpackage.conf`	svn-buildpackage	config		svn-buildpackage(1)
`.synergy.conf`	synergy	config		synergys(1)
`.thumbnails/`	(various (GNOME, KDE, ...))	cache		Thumbnail Managing Standard
`.texmf-config/`	(texmf-*)	config		http://people.debian.org/~preining/TeX/TeX-on-Debian/ch2.html
`.texmf-var/`	(texmf-*)	cache		http://people.debian.org/~preining/TeX/TeX-on-Debian/ch2.html
`.twidgerc`	twidge	config	yes	twidge(1)
`.unison/*.prf`	unison	config		`/usr/share/doc/unison/unison-manual.txt.gz`
`.unison/*`	unison	data		`/usr/share/doc/unison/unison-manual.txt.gz`
`.update-notifier/`	update-notifier	data		?
`.vidalia/geoip-cache`	vidalia	cache		?
`.vidalia/vidalia.conf`	vidalia	config		?	written automatically by the program
`.vimrc`	VIM	config				VIMINIT
`.vim/`	VIM	config			User related extensions like plugins, syntax files, etc.
`.vlc`	vlc < 0.9.0	config,cache			versions >= 0.9.0 use XDG directories
`.wgetrc`	wget	config	maybe	wget(1)	might contain passwords
`.whohas`	whohas	cache		whohas(1)
`.wine/`	wine	data	?	wine(1)		WINEPREFIX
`.Xauthority`	(X)	config	yes	Xsecurity(7)		XAUTHORITY
`.Xcompose`	(X)	config		Compose(5)
`.xine/`	(libxine1)	cache, config		xine(5) (partially)
`.xscreensaver`	xscreensaver	config		xscreensaver(1)	typically edited using xscreensaver-demo program
`.xsession-errors`	(x11-common)	log		Xsession(5)	can be deleted, but will reappear with next X login
`.xsessionrc`	(x11-common)	config		Xsession(5)
`.zcompdump`	zsh	cache		zshcompsys(1)
`.zlogin`	zsh	config		zsh(1)
`.zlogout`	zsh	config		zsh(1)
`.zprofile`	zsh	config		zsh(1)
`.zshenv`	zsh	config		zsh(1)
`.zshrc`	zsh	config		zsh(1)

Legend

Type

The type of file can most easily be described by saying where the file would belong per FHS if this were not a user-specific file.

config: would belong under /etc/
cache: would belong under /var/cache/ -- The assumption is that you can delete cache files at any time without losing data.
data: would belong under /var/lib/
log: would belong under /var/log/
history: This is a special mixture of data and log files that records what a program did and lets users retrieve and re-execute previous actions. This usually doesn't exist as a global file.

Confidential

Confidential means that a file should normally not have group or world read access. Most data and history files ought to be confidential; most configuration files are not.

Documentation

The referenced documentation should explicitly mention the file and at least roughly describe what it is for.

dotfile sockets

Some GNOME applications use libunique (or similar) to do single-instance, which creates a socket called ~/.$APP.$USER. If you have D-Bus, libunique will use that instead, and these sockets can safely be deleted:

.Devhelp.$USER
.gnome-system-monitor.$USER

Shells

To override locations, shell-specific, test $BASH_VERSION (bash), $ZSH_VERSION (zsh), $KSH_VERSION (pdksh, mksh) and (in an eval, since it’s a syntax error in other shells) ${.sh.version} (ksh93). Something like this in ~/.profile will work (some special cases, things not in Debian, etc. omitted from the full shell version detection script, and dash has no case, but then, why’d you want to use it as login shell):

test -z "$ZSH_VERSION" || zsh-specific-command
test -z "$BASH_VERSION" || bash-specific-command
test -z "$POSH_VERSION" || posh-specific-command
case $KSH_VERSION in
*MIRBSD\ KSH*) mksh-specific-command ;;
*PD\ KSH*) pdksh-specific-command ;;
esac
x=.sh.version
(eval x=\$\{$x\}) 2>&- || x=fail
test x"$x" = x"fail" || ksh93-specific-command

You probably should set a shelltype variable and switch on that. Some shells offer “private” initialisation files like ~/.bash_profile (GNU bash), some don’t, some depend on whether it’s an interactive, login or non-interactive shell, some can have their locations changed by setting the ENV, BASH_ENV, etc. variables.