Mdthbs

Is there any proof that high saturation and contrast makes a picture more appealing in social media?

Justifying Affordable Bespoke Spaceships

What triggered jesuits' ban on infinitesimals in 1632?

How many people are necessary to maintain modern civilisation?

What is "industrial ethernet"?

Why isn't my calculation that we should be able to see the sun well beyond the observable universe valid?

In the US, can a former president run again?

Draw a symmetric alien head

When Bnei Yisroel travelled in the midbar, what happened on Shabbos?

Is there a name for the trope when there is a moments dialogue when someone pauses just before they leave the room?

Extending prime numbers digit by digit while retaining primality

What is the oldest commercial MS-DOS program that can run on modern versions of Windows without third-party software?

Did the CIA blow up a Siberian pipeline in 1982?

How does DC work with natural 20?

How do I professionally let my manager know I'll quit over an issue?

Greeting with "Ho"

How to work with PETG? Settings, caveats, etc

Counterfeit checks were created for my account. How does this type of fraud work?

Rejecting an offer after accepting it just 10 days from date of joining

Can I enter the UK for 24 hours from a Schengen area, holding an Indian passport?

Is there a term for the belief that "if it's legal, it's moral"?

"What is the maximum that Player 1 can win?"

Non-misogynistic way to say “asshole”?

How do internally carried IR missiles acquire a lock?

Is there official documentation on directories like ~/.config and ~/.cache?

What does the period (.) mean at the start of a filename in a terminal command?Files in /home deletedCache Memory and fglrx driver slows computerIs there a difference between SWAP and Cache memory?Moving Configuration Directories and Files to a Sub-directory of Home DirectoryPurpose of '~/.cache' directory and when is it safe to delete?Downloading and playing audio from cacheMerge Chromium and Chrome cache dirsIs there a config file that controls the microphone?Copy firefox/thunderbird config directories from Ubuntu 12.04 to Xubuntu 16.04Are there special functionalities to Ubuntu default directories in home?

.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}

4

I've see these directories being used by many applications and am now considering using them for my app. How do I know this is an officially supported folder and not just a flavor of the month location for a per-user cache/config?

I've been Googling and searching for something official from Ubuntu but to no avail, maybe someone else knows the proper search terms or location of this documentation. Is this something I should just accept as an un-stated standard practice location?

configuration home-directory cache

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Danny ADanny A

234

New contributor

Danny A is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  "maybe someone else knows the proper search terms": I'm not sure of official documentation for their use but these are considered dotfiles, more specifically dotfolders in those examples. They are hidden by default and are commonly used for saving user preferences (~/.config) and other "support" files like cache (~/.cache).
  
  – Nmath
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Nmath They're not "hidden" really. It's just a "traditional" Unix design ( or oopsie ) where ls would ignore dot files and other applications sort of adopted it, but they're in no way hidden, and shouldn't be used as security feature in any way. Rob Pike, one of the Unix wizzards, has also clarified that originally the purpose was to hide . and .. directories from the output, but that was implemented in a wrong fashion. Read about it here: askubuntu.com/a/1073810/295286
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  "official from Ubuntu" wrong place. It is defined by the freedesktop organization so -desktop- dependent. Not just Ubuntu. Oh and these are GUIDELINES.
  
  – Rinzwind
  9 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @SergiyKolodyazhnyy it is interesting to discuss the history of how dotfiles came to be, but in practice dotfiles/dotfolders are hidden (not visible) by default by file managers and bash commands like dir. In that way, yes they are absolutely "hidden". Hiding files this way serves a good purpose to prevent them from being accidentally altered/deleted by end user -- that's why they are still used so ubiquitously. I agree that dotfiles should not be used for security, in the sense that they are not impossible to find/read/alter.
  
  – Nmath
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Nmath Well, even accidental deletion can happen with these. Consider the find command or Python for example - these don't ignore dotfiles by default. I agree that it may be convenient to remove them from listing to the end-user, but that's about it.
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

4

I've see these directories being used by many applications and am now considering using them for my app. How do I know this is an officially supported folder and not just a flavor of the month location for a per-user cache/config?

I've been Googling and searching for something official from Ubuntu but to no avail, maybe someone else knows the proper search terms or location of this documentation. Is this something I should just accept as an un-stated standard practice location?

configuration home-directory cache

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Danny ADanny A

234

New contributor

Danny A is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  "maybe someone else knows the proper search terms": I'm not sure of official documentation for their use but these are considered dotfiles, more specifically dotfolders in those examples. They are hidden by default and are commonly used for saving user preferences (~/.config) and other "support" files like cache (~/.cache).
  
  – Nmath
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Nmath They're not "hidden" really. It's just a "traditional" Unix design ( or oopsie ) where ls would ignore dot files and other applications sort of adopted it, but they're in no way hidden, and shouldn't be used as security feature in any way. Rob Pike, one of the Unix wizzards, has also clarified that originally the purpose was to hide . and .. directories from the output, but that was implemented in a wrong fashion. Read about it here: askubuntu.com/a/1073810/295286
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  "official from Ubuntu" wrong place. It is defined by the freedesktop organization so -desktop- dependent. Not just Ubuntu. Oh and these are GUIDELINES.
  
  – Rinzwind
  9 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @SergiyKolodyazhnyy it is interesting to discuss the history of how dotfiles came to be, but in practice dotfiles/dotfolders are hidden (not visible) by default by file managers and bash commands like dir. In that way, yes they are absolutely "hidden". Hiding files this way serves a good purpose to prevent them from being accidentally altered/deleted by end user -- that's why they are still used so ubiquitously. I agree that dotfiles should not be used for security, in the sense that they are not impossible to find/read/alter.
  
  – Nmath
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Nmath Well, even accidental deletion can happen with these. Consider the find command or Python for example - these don't ignore dotfiles by default. I agree that it may be convenient to remove them from listing to the end-user, but that's about it.
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

I've see these directories being used by many applications and am now considering using them for my app. How do I know this is an officially supported folder and not just a flavor of the month location for a per-user cache/config?

I've been Googling and searching for something official from Ubuntu but to no avail, maybe someone else knows the proper search terms or location of this documentation. Is this something I should just accept as an un-stated standard practice location?

configuration home-directory cache

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Danny ADanny A

234

New contributor

Danny A is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Danny ADanny A

234

New contributor

Danny A is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Danny ADanny A

234

New contributor

Danny A is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 9 hours ago

Danny ADanny A

234

New contributor

Danny A is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 9 hours ago

Danny ADanny A

234

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

3

Yes, there is a standard: these are specified by freedesktop.org and are part of XDG Base Directory Specifications.

config-spec outlines just basic requirements, but the details are in the Base Directory Specifications. The ~/.config and ~/.cache directories are default unless configured otherwise:

There is a set of preference ordered base directories relative to which configuration files should be searched. This set of directories is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS.

There is a single base directory relative to which user-specific non-essential (cached) data should be written. This directory is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CACHE_HOME.

...

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific configuration files should be stored. If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.config should be used.

...

$XDG_CACHE_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific non-essential data files should be stored. If $XDG_CACHE_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.cache should be used.

You may notice these specifications mostly state where data should be stored, which environment variables used, and in what manner ( desktop-neutral, efficient, etc ), but most desktops are free in implementing the "how" part of it. The GNOME-based desktops will use gsettings where as KDE users can use the same via kwriteconfig, but they both will rely on ~/.config directory in the process

---

Question key points

How do I know this is an officially supported folder and not just a flavor of the month location for a per-user cache/config?

These directories appear in official documentation and Filesystem Hierarchy Standard also mentions them. This is official documentation, hence the folders are officially supported.

Is this something I should just accept as an un-stated standard practice location?

Depends on the app you're creating. Is the app supposed to be configurable on per-user basis or work consistently through out the system ? POSIX standard and FHS tell us for system-wide stuff we should use /etc or /usr/local, but XDG directories should be used for user-specific configurations - ~/.cache and ~/.config. Of course, if application isn't dependent on user-specific settings, /var/cache can be used instead of per-user directory

share|improve this answer

edited 8 hours ago

answered 9 hours ago

Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

76.7k10161338

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  ehm did you post this before me? or during? >:)
  
  – Rinzwind
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Rinzwind Right before your answer :) Look at the time line askubuntu.com/posts/1151791/timeline
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Ill let you have this one :=)
  
  – Rinzwind
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Ah awesome, I should have dug deeper, thanks for the information.
  
  – Danny A
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Which part of POSIX talks about directory usage?
  
  – chepner
  46 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Your Answer

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "89"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});

Danny A is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2faskubuntu.com%2fquestions%2f1151791%2fis-there-official-documentation-on-directories-like-config-and-cache%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest

Name

Email

Required, but never shown

3

Yes, there is a standard: these are specified by freedesktop.org and are part of XDG Base Directory Specifications.

config-spec outlines just basic requirements, but the details are in the Base Directory Specifications. The ~/.config and ~/.cache directories are default unless configured otherwise:

There is a set of preference ordered base directories relative to which configuration files should be searched. This set of directories is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS.

There is a single base directory relative to which user-specific non-essential (cached) data should be written. This directory is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CACHE_HOME.

...

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific configuration files should be stored. If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.config should be used.

...

$XDG_CACHE_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific non-essential data files should be stored. If $XDG_CACHE_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.cache should be used.

You may notice these specifications mostly state where data should be stored, which environment variables used, and in what manner ( desktop-neutral, efficient, etc ), but most desktops are free in implementing the "how" part of it. The GNOME-based desktops will use gsettings where as KDE users can use the same via kwriteconfig, but they both will rely on ~/.config directory in the process

---

Question key points

How do I know this is an officially supported folder and not just a flavor of the month location for a per-user cache/config?

These directories appear in official documentation and Filesystem Hierarchy Standard also mentions them. This is official documentation, hence the folders are officially supported.

Is this something I should just accept as an un-stated standard practice location?

Depends on the app you're creating. Is the app supposed to be configurable on per-user basis or work consistently through out the system ? POSIX standard and FHS tell us for system-wide stuff we should use /etc or /usr/local, but XDG directories should be used for user-specific configurations - ~/.cache and ~/.config. Of course, if application isn't dependent on user-specific settings, /var/cache can be used instead of per-user directory

share|improve this answer

edited 8 hours ago

answered 9 hours ago

Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

76.7k10161338

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  ehm did you post this before me? or during? >:)
  
  – Rinzwind
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Rinzwind Right before your answer :) Look at the time line askubuntu.com/posts/1151791/timeline
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Ill let you have this one :=)
  
  – Rinzwind
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Ah awesome, I should have dug deeper, thanks for the information.
  
  – Danny A
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Which part of POSIX talks about directory usage?
  
  – chepner
  46 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

3

Yes, there is a standard: these are specified by freedesktop.org and are part of XDG Base Directory Specifications.

config-spec outlines just basic requirements, but the details are in the Base Directory Specifications. The ~/.config and ~/.cache directories are default unless configured otherwise:

There is a set of preference ordered base directories relative to which configuration files should be searched. This set of directories is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS.

There is a single base directory relative to which user-specific non-essential (cached) data should be written. This directory is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CACHE_HOME.

...

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific configuration files should be stored. If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.config should be used.

...

$XDG_CACHE_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific non-essential data files should be stored. If $XDG_CACHE_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.cache should be used.

You may notice these specifications mostly state where data should be stored, which environment variables used, and in what manner ( desktop-neutral, efficient, etc ), but most desktops are free in implementing the "how" part of it. The GNOME-based desktops will use gsettings where as KDE users can use the same via kwriteconfig, but they both will rely on ~/.config directory in the process

---

Question key points

How do I know this is an officially supported folder and not just a flavor of the month location for a per-user cache/config?

These directories appear in official documentation and Filesystem Hierarchy Standard also mentions them. This is official documentation, hence the folders are officially supported.

Is this something I should just accept as an un-stated standard practice location?

Depends on the app you're creating. Is the app supposed to be configurable on per-user basis or work consistently through out the system ? POSIX standard and FHS tell us for system-wide stuff we should use /etc or /usr/local, but XDG directories should be used for user-specific configurations - ~/.cache and ~/.config. Of course, if application isn't dependent on user-specific settings, /var/cache can be used instead of per-user directory

share|improve this answer

edited 8 hours ago

answered 9 hours ago

Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

76.7k10161338

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  ehm did you post this before me? or during? >:)
  
  – Rinzwind
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Rinzwind Right before your answer :) Look at the time line askubuntu.com/posts/1151791/timeline
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Ill let you have this one :=)
  
  – Rinzwind
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Ah awesome, I should have dug deeper, thanks for the information.
  
  – Danny A
  8 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Which part of POSIX talks about directory usage?
  
  – chepner
  46 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Yes, there is a standard: these are specified by freedesktop.org and are part of XDG Base Directory Specifications.

config-spec outlines just basic requirements, but the details are in the Base Directory Specifications. The ~/.config and ~/.cache directories are default unless configured otherwise:

There is a set of preference ordered base directories relative to which configuration files should be searched. This set of directories is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS.

There is a single base directory relative to which user-specific non-essential (cached) data should be written. This directory is defined by the environment variable $XDG_CACHE_HOME.

...

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific configuration files should be stored. If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.config should be used.

...

$XDG_CACHE_HOME defines the base directory relative to which user specific non-essential data files should be stored. If $XDG_CACHE_HOME is either not set or empty, a default equal to $HOME/.cache should be used.

You may notice these specifications mostly state where data should be stored, which environment variables used, and in what manner ( desktop-neutral, efficient, etc ), but most desktops are free in implementing the "how" part of it. The GNOME-based desktops will use gsettings where as KDE users can use the same via kwriteconfig, but they both will rely on ~/.config directory in the process

---

Question key points

How do I know this is an officially supported folder and not just a flavor of the month location for a per-user cache/config?

These directories appear in official documentation and Filesystem Hierarchy Standard also mentions them. This is official documentation, hence the folders are officially supported.

Is this something I should just accept as an un-stated standard practice location?

Depends on the app you're creating. Is the app supposed to be configurable on per-user basis or work consistently through out the system ? POSIX standard and FHS tell us for system-wide stuff we should use /etc or /usr/local, but XDG directories should be used for user-specific configurations - ~/.cache and ~/.config. Of course, if application isn't dependent on user-specific settings, /var/cache can be used instead of per-user directory

share|improve this answer

edited 8 hours ago

answered 9 hours ago

Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

76.7k10161338

share|improve this answer

edited 8 hours ago

answered 9 hours ago

Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

76.7k10161338

answered 9 hours ago

Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

76.7k10161338

answered 9 hours ago

Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

76.7k10161338