basedirs

Get base directory paths appropriate to your OS.

Specs

• XDG Base Directory Specification, version 0.7 and $XDG_BIN_HOME proposal
• macOS File System Programming Guide, macOS Standard Directories
• KNOWNFOLDERID definitions

Precedent

• io.github.soc:directories
• QStandardPaths for QT

Usage

cachedir

cachedir(): string | null
cachedir(appName: string): string | null

Returns the path for user-specific non-essential (cached) data. Examples include servers with cached response data or applications using ephemeral data retrieved from the internet.

If appName is given, a path specifically for that app is returned.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { cachedir } from 'basedirs'

console.log(cachedir()) // `$HOME/.cache`, `$HOME/Library/Caches`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%`
console.log(cachedir('App Name')) // `$HOME/.cache/app-name`, `$HOME/Library/Caches/App Name`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\App Name\Cache`

configdir

configdir(): string | null
configdir(appName: string): string | null

Returns the path for user-specific configuration files. Examples include application preferences or settings for CLI apps.

If appName is given, a path specifically for that app is returned.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { configdir } from 'basedirs'

console.log(configdir()) // `$HOME/.config`, `$HOME/Library/Preferences`, or `%APPDATA%`
console.log(configdir('App Name')) // `$HOME/.config/app-name`, `$HOME/Library/Preferences/App Name`, or `%APPDATA%\App Name\Config`

configdirs

configdirs(): string[] | null

Returns the paths for non-user-specific configuration files.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { configdirs } from 'basedirs'

console.log(configdirs()) // `['/etc/xdg']`, `['/Library/Preferences']`, or `['%ALLUSERSPROFILE%']`

datadir

datadir(): string | null
datadir(appName: string): string | null

Returns the path for user-specific data files. Examples include saved game files, mail client databases, or chat client log storage.

If appName is given, a path specifically for that app is returned.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { datadir } from 'basedirs'

console.log(datadir()) // `$HOME/.local/share`, `$HOME/Library/Application Support`, or `%APPDATA%`
console.log(datadir('App Name')) // `$HOME/.local/share/app-name`, `$HOME/Library/Application Support/App Name`, or `%APPDATA%\App Name\Data`

datadirs

datadirs(): string | null

Returns the paths for non-user-specific data files.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { datadirs } from 'basedirs'

console.log(datadirs()) // `['/usr/local/share', '/usr/share']`, `['/Library/Application Support']`, or `['%ALLUSERSPROFILE%']`

datalocaldir

datalocaldir(): string | null
datalocaldir(appName: string): string | null

Returns the path for user-specific data files that will preferably not be transferred to other machines with the same user account.

If appName is given, a path specifically for that app is returned.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { datalocaldir } from 'basedirs'

console.log(datalocaldir()) // `$HOME/.local/share`, `$HOME/Library/Application Support`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%`
console.log(datalocaldir('App Name')) // `$HOME/.local/share/app-name`, `$HOME/Library/Application Support/App Name`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\App Name\Data`

executabledir

executabledir(): string | null

Returns the path for user-specific executable files.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { executabledir } from 'basedirs'

console.log(executabledir()) // `$HOME/.local/bin`, `$HOME/Applications`, or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs`

homedir

homedir(): string | null

Returns the path for user files in general.

If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned.

import { homedir } from 'basedirs'

console.log(homedir()) // `$HOME` or `%USERPROFILE%`

runtimedir

runtimedir(): string | null

Returns the path for user-specific runtime files and file objects. This includes sockets and named pipes, but not other temporary files.

Only supported on Linux. If called on an unsupported platform, null is returned. May sometimes return null even on Linux.

import { runtimedir } from 'basedirs'

console.log(runtimedir()) // depends on the specifics of the Linux system