DEPRECATION NOTICE

The code in this repository is deprecated. emacs-directories should be used instead.

xdg-directories.el: locate files in Emacs under the XDG Base Directory Specification.

Introduction and purpose

The XDG Base Directory Specification is located at https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html and defines where application generated files should be looked for by defining one or more base directories relative to which files should be located.

xdg-directories.el allows the package writers to locate a file in Emacs user directories for different domains: data, configuration, cache and runtime. It locates files in the defined domains using the utility xdg-user-dir, when it is found, or applying sensible defaults.

Using this package, an emacs-lisp package writer can put different files under different directories, according to the domain thereof. A cache file, which is normally not wanted in backups, can be named under ~/.cache/emacs/, whereas a configuration file would be under a different directory, in ~/.config/emacs/. Passwords and security sensible files can also made to be in a directory where, as the user logs out, is normally erased.

Usage

In Linux (or where the executable xdg-user-dir can be found), the operating system will be inquired on where the different directories are to be located. On other operating systems, sensible defaults are used.

The variables that store the directory paths are available in Customize, under the group XDG Directories.

Files from several domains can be located. Located means here, at the lack of a better term, named, since the file name will be returned, regardless of the file existence.

• User documents:

(locate-user-document-file "org/agenda.txt")
"/home/francisco.colaco/Documentos/org/agenda.txt"

• Configuration files:

(locate-user-emacs-config-file "init.el")
"/home/francisco.colaco/.config/emacs/init.el"

• Data files:

(locate-user-emacs-data-file "recentf")
"/home/francisco.colaco/.local/share/emacs/recentf"

• Cache files:

(locate-user-emacs-cache-file "elfeed/index")
"/home/francisco.colaco/.cache/emacs/elfeed/index"

• Runtime files:

(locate-user-emacs-runtime-file "credentials.txt")
"/run/user/1000/emacs/credentials.txt"

• Useful examples

Put custom.el in a config domain (normally ~/.config/emacs/custom.el):

(setq custom-file (locate-user-emacs-config-file "custom.el"))

recentf can be a data file (normally ~/.local/share/emacs/recentf):

(setq custom-file (locate-user-emacs-data-file "recentf"))

Add a user lisp directory in the data domain:

(add-to-list 'load-path (locate-user-emacs-data-file "lisp"))