Directories

Introduction

A tiny library with a minimal API (2 structs, 3 factory functions, getters)
that provides the platform-specific, user-accessible locations
for storing configuration, cache and other data
on Linux, Windows (≥ Vista) and macOS.

The library provides the location of these directories by leveraging the mechanisms defined by

the XDG base directory and the XDG user directory specifications on Linux,
the Known Folder system on Windows, and
the Standard Directories on macOS.

Usage

Dependency

Add the library as a dependency to your project by inserting

directories = "0.8.0"

into the [dependencies] section of your Cargo.toml file.

Example

Library run by user Alice:

extern crate directories;
use directories::{BaseDirs, UserDirs, ProjectDirs};

let proj_dirs = ProjectDirs::from("com", "Foo Corp",  "Bar App");
proj_dirs.config_dir();
// Linux:   /home/alice/.config/barapp
// Windows: C:\Users\Alice\AppData\Roaming\Foo Corp\Bar App\config
// macOS:   /Users/Alice/Library/Preferences/com.Foo-Corp.Bar-App

let base_dirs = BaseDirs::new();
base_dirs.executable_dir();
// Linux:   Some(/home/alice/.local/share/bin)
// Windows: None
// macOS:   None

let user_dirs = UserDirs::new();
user_dirs.audio_dir();
// Linux:   /home/alice/Music/
// Windows: /Users/Alice/Music/
// macOS:   C:\Users\Alice\Music\

Features

`BaseDirs`

The intended use-case for BaseDirs is to query the paths of user-invisible standard directories that have been defined according to the conventions of the operating system the library is running on.

If you want to compute the location of cache, config or data directories for your own application or project, use ProjectDirs instead.

Function name	Value on Linux	Value on Windows	Value on macOS
`home_dir`	`$HOME`	`{FOLDERID_Profile}`	`$HOME`
`cache_dir`	`$XDG_CACHE_HOME` or `$HOME/.cache`	`{FOLDERID_LocalAppData}`	`$HOME/Library/Caches`
`config_dir`	`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` or `$HOME/.config`	`{FOLDERID_RoamingAppData}`	`$HOME/Library/Preferences`
`data_dir`	`$XDG_DATA_HOME` or `$HOME/.local/share`	`{FOLDERID_RoamingAppData}`	`$HOME/Library/Application Support`
`data_local_dir`	`$XDG_DATA_HOME` or `$HOME/.local/share`	`{FOLDERID_LocalAppData}`	`$HOME/Library/Application Support`
`executable_dir`	`Some($XDG_BIN_HOME/../bin)` or `Some($XDG_DATA_HOME/../bin)` or `Some($HOME/.local/bin)`	`None`	`None`
`runtime_dir`	`Some($XDG_RUNTIME_DIR)` or `None`	`None`	`None`

`UserDirs`

The intended use-case for UserDirs is to query the paths of user-facing standard directories that have been defined according to the conventions of the operating system the library is running on.

Function name	Value on Linux	Value on Windows	Value on macOS
`home_dir`	`$HOME`	`{FOLDERID_Profile}`	`$HOME`
`audio_dir`	`Some(XDG_MUSIC_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Music})`	`Some($HOME/Music/)`
`desktop_dir`	`Some(XDG_DESKTOP_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Desktop})`	`Some($HOME/Desktop/)`
`document_dir`	`Some(XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Documents})`	`Some($HOME/Documents/)`
`download_dir`	`Some(XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Downloads})`	`Some($HOME/Downloads/)`
`font_dir`	`Some($XDG_DATA_HOME/fonts/)` or `Some($HOME/.local/share/fonts/)`	`None`	`Some($HOME/Library/Fonts/)`
`picture_dir`	`Some(XDG_PICTURES_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Pictures})`	`Some($HOME/Pictures/)`
`public_dir`	`Some(XDG_PUBLICSHARE_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Public})`	`Some($HOME/Public/)`
`template_dir`	`Some(XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Templates})`	`None`
`video_dir`	`Some(XDG_VIDEOS_DIR)` or `None`	`Some({FOLDERID_Videos})`	`Some($HOME/Movies/)`

`ProjectDirs`

The intended use-case for ProjectDirs is to compute the location of cache, config or data directories for your own application or project, which are derived from the standard directories.

Function name	Value on Linux	Value on Windows	Value on macOS
`cache_dir`	`$XDG_CACHE_HOME/_project_path_` or `$HOME/.cache/_project_path_`	`{FOLDERID_LocalAppData}/_project_path_/cache`	`$HOME/Library/Caches/_project_path_`
`config_dir`	`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/_project_path_` or `$HOME/.config/_project_path_`	`{FOLDERID_RoamingAppData}/_project_path_`	`$HOME/Library/Preferences/_project_path_`
`data_dir`	`$XDG_DATA_HOME/_project_path_` or `$HOME/.local/share/_project_path_`	`{FOLDERID_RoamingAppData}/_project_path_`	`$HOME/Library/Application Support/_project_path_`
`data_local_dir`	`$XDG_DATA_HOME/_project_path_` or `$HOME/.local/share/_project_path_`	`{FOLDERID_LocalAppData}/_project_path_`	`$HOME/Library/Application Support/_project_path_`
`runtime_dir`	`Some($XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/_project_path_)`	`None`	`None`

The specific value of _project_path_ is computed by the

ProjectDirs::from(qualifier: &str, organization: &str, project: &str)

function and varies across operating systems. As an example, calling

ProjectDirs::from("org" /*qualifier*/, "Baz Corp" /*organization*/, "Foo Bar-App" /*application*/)

results in the following values:

Value on Linux	Value on Windows	Value on macOS
`"foobar-app"`	`"Baz Corp/Foo Bar-App"`	`"org.Baz-Corp.Foo-Bar-App"`

The ProjectDirs::from_path function allows the creation of ProjectDirs structs directly from a PathBuf value. This argument is used verbatim and is not adapted to operating system standards. The use of ProjectDirs::from_path is heavily discouraged, as its results will not follow operating system standards on at least two of three platforms.

Versioning

After 1.0, the version number of this library consists of a whole number, which is incremented with each release. (Think semantic versioning without minor and patch versions.)

directories 0.8.0