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[[http://lists.freedesktop.org/pipermail/xdg/2012-December/012598.html|It has been proposed]] on the xdg-freedesktop mailing list to introduce another directory for state information that does not belong in any of the existing categories. Examples for this information are: This is a recurring request/complaint (see [[http://lists.freedesktop.org/pipermail/xdg/2009-February/010191.html|this]] or [[http://lists.freedesktop.org/pipermail/xdg/2012-December/012598.html|this]]) on the xdg-freedesktop mailing list to introduce another directory for state information that does not belong in any of the existing categories (see also [[http://www.hadrons.org/~guillem/docs/home-dir.proposal|home-dir.proposal]]. Examples for this information are:

The XDG Base Directory Specification (XDGBDS) defines four directories in a users $HOME dir that should be used for so called DotFiles.

These directories (with their default locations) are:

  • $XDG_DATA_HOME ($HOME/.local/share): data files
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME ($HOME/.config): configuration files
  • $XDG_CACHE_HOME ($HOME/.cache): non-essential data files
  • $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR (no default?): non-essential runtime files, other file objects (such as sockets, named pipes, ...)

Please refer to the specification for additional directory definitions and further details.

Tools

Status of Packages

TODO: Which packages do not conform to the XDGBDS and has a bug been filled upstream?

* mplayer: upstream bug * xmonad: upstream bug

e.g.: ZSH, gimp, ssh, gnupg, mplayer, dbus, libpurple/pidgin,

Proposal: STATE directory

This is a recurring request/complaint (see this or this) on the xdg-freedesktop mailing list to introduce another directory for state information that does not belong in any of the existing categories (see also home-dir.proposal. Examples for this information are:

  • history files of shells, repls, anything that uses libreadline
  • logfiles
  • state of application windows on exit
  • recently opened file
  • last time application was run

The above example information is not essential data. However it should still persist on reboots of the system unlike cache data that a user might consider putting in a TMPFS. On the other hand the data is rather volatile and does not make sense to be checked into a VCS. The files are also not the data files that an application works on.