Class BaseDirectory

Namespace

Xdg.Directories

Assembly

Xdg.Directories.dll

The XDG Base Directory specification is a standard created by freedesktop.org that standardizes the location of storing application files.

public static class BaseDirectory

Inheritance

object

BaseDirectory

Inherited Members

object.Equals(object)

object.Equals(object, object)

object.GetHashCode()

object.GetType()

object.MemberwiseClone()

object.ReferenceEquals(object, object)

object.ToString()

Remarks

This allows users to have less clutter in their home directories, and allows programmers to not have to hard-code directories.

For all base directories, the directories are resolved as follows:

1. The respective XDG_* enivronment variable will always be used if specified

2. Windows	Use Known Folders.
   macOS	Follow the Apple documentation on application-specific files.
   Linux/FreeBSD	Follow the XDG Base Directory specification.

Properties

BinHome

Base directory for executable files.

public static string BinHome { get; }

Property Value

string

A single base directory relative to which user-specifc executable files should be written.

Remarks

If XDG_BIN_HOME is set, the directory specified.

Windows	"" Windows does not support this by default.
macOS	"" macOS does not support this by default.
Linux/FreeBSD	$HOME/.local/bin

NOTE: This is not an XDG standard but a de facto standard.

CacheHome

Base directory for non-essential data.

public static string CacheHome { get; }

Property Value

string

A single base directory relative to which user-specifc non-essential data should be written.

Remarks

If XDG_CACHE_HOME is set, the directory specified.

Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\cache
macOS	$HOME/Library/Caches
Linux/FreeBSD	$HOME/.cache

ConfigDirs

A list of directories to look for configuration files.

public static IList<string> ConfigDirs { get; }

Property Value

IList<string>

A set of preference-ordered base directories to which configuration files should be searched.

Remarks

If XDG_CONFIG_DIRS is set, a list of the directories specified.

Windows	%ProgramData%, %APPADATA%
macOS	~/Library/Preferences, /Library/Application Support, /Library/Preferences
Linux/FreeBSD	/etc/xdg

This is typically not used, for most use cases ConfigHome should be used instead.

ConfigHome

Base directory for configuration files.

public static string ConfigHome { get; }

Property Value

string

A single base directory relative to which user-specifc configuration files should be written.

Remarks

If XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set, the directory specified.

Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%
macOS	$HOME/Library/Application Support
Linux/FreeBSD	$HOME/.config

DataDirs

A list of directories to search for data files.

public static IList<string> DataDirs { get; }

Property Value

IList<string>

A set of preference-ordered base directories to which data files should be searched.

Remarks

If XDG_DATA_DIRS is set, a list of the directories specified.

Windows	%APPADATA%, %ProgramData%
macOS	/Library/Application Support
Linux/FreeBSD	/usr/local/share/, /usr/share/

DataHome

Base directory for data files.

public static string DataHome { get; }

Property Value

string

A single base directory relative to which user-specifc data files should be written.

Remarks

If XDG_DATA_HOME is set, the directory specified.

Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%
macOS	$HOME/Library/Application Support
Linux/FreeBSD	$HOME/.local/share

RuntimeDir

Base directory for runtime-specific files.

public static string RuntimeDir { get; }

Property Value

string

A single base directory relative to which user-specifc runtime files should be written.

Remarks

If XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is set, the directory specified.

Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%
macOS	$HOME/Library/Application Support
Linux/FreeBSD	/run/user/$UID

StateHome

Base directory for state data.

public static string StateHome { get; }

Property Value

string

A single base directory relative to which user-specifc state data should be written.

Remarks

If XDG_STATE_HOME is set, the directory specified.

Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%
macOS	$HOME/Library/Application Support
Linux/FreeBSD	$HOME/.local/state

Methods

BinFile(string)

Location for a binary file, following XDG best practices.

If the directory specified does not exist, it will be created. If the directory cannot be created, the exception will be passed up in a stacktrace perserving way.

public static string BinFile(string relPath)

Parameters

relPath string

The name of the binary file, and (optionally) the parent directories.

Returns

string

A suitable location for the specified binary file.

Exceptions

IOException

The directory specified by path is a file.

-or-

The network name is not known.

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

ArgumentException

.NET Framework and .NET Core versions older than 2.1: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters. You can query for invalid characters by using the GetInvalidPathChars() method.

-or-

path is prefixed with, or contains, only a colon character (:).

ArgumentNullException

path is null.

PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.

DirectoryNotFoundException

The specified path is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

NotSupportedException

path contains a colon character (:) that is not part of a drive label ("C:").

CacheFile(string)

Location for a cache file, following XDG best practices.

If the directory specified does not exist, it will be created. If the directory cannot be created, the exception will be passed up in a stacktrace perserving way.

public static string CacheFile(string relPath)

Parameters

relPath string

The name of the cache file, and (optionally) the parent directories.

Returns

string

A suitable location for the specified cache file.

Exceptions

IOException

The directory specified by path is a file.

-or-

The network name is not known.

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

ArgumentException

.NET Framework and .NET Core versions older than 2.1: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters. You can query for invalid characters by using the GetInvalidPathChars() method.

-or-

path is prefixed with, or contains, only a colon character (:).

ArgumentNullException

path is null.

PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.

DirectoryNotFoundException

The specified path is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

NotSupportedException

path contains a colon character (:) that is not part of a drive label ("C:").

ConfigFile(string)

Location for a configuration file, following XDG best practices.

If the directory specified does not exist, it will be created. If the directory cannot be created, the exception will be passed up in a stacktrace perserving way.

public static string ConfigFile(string relPath)

Parameters

relPath string

The name of the config file, and (optionally) the parent directories.

Returns

string

A suitable location for the specified config file.

Exceptions

IOException

The directory specified by path is a file.

-or-

The network name is not known.

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

ArgumentException

.NET Framework and .NET Core versions older than 2.1: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters. You can query for invalid characters by using the GetInvalidPathChars() method.

-or-

path is prefixed with, or contains, only a colon character (:).

ArgumentNullException

path is null.

PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.

DirectoryNotFoundException

The specified path is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

NotSupportedException

path contains a colon character (:) that is not part of a drive label ("C:").

DataFile(string)

Location for a data file, following XDG best practices.

If the directory specified does not exist, it will be created. If the directory cannot be created, the exception will be passed up in a stacktrace perserving way.

public static string DataFile(string relPath)

Parameters

relPath string

The name of the data file, and (optionally) the parent directories.

Returns

string

A suitable location for the specified data file.

Exceptions

IOException

The directory specified by path is a file.

-or-

The network name is not known.

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

ArgumentException

.NET Framework and .NET Core versions older than 2.1: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters. You can query for invalid characters by using the GetInvalidPathChars() method.

-or-

path is prefixed with, or contains, only a colon character (:).

ArgumentNullException

path is null.

PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.

DirectoryNotFoundException

The specified path is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

NotSupportedException

path contains a colon character (:) that is not part of a drive label ("C:").

StateFile(string)

Location for a state file, following XDG best practices.

If the directory specified does not exist, it will be created. If the directory cannot be created, the exception will be passed up in a stacktrace perserving way.

public static string StateFile(string relPath)

Parameters

relPath string

The name of the state file, and (optionally) the parent directories.

Returns

string

A suitable location for the specified state file.

Exceptions

IOException

The directory specified by path is a file.

-or-

The network name is not known.

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

ArgumentException

.NET Framework and .NET Core versions older than 2.1: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters. You can query for invalid characters by using the GetInvalidPathChars() method.

-or-

path is prefixed with, or contains, only a colon character (:).

ArgumentNullException

path is null.

PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.

DirectoryNotFoundException

The specified path is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

NotSupportedException

path contains a colon character (:) that is not part of a drive label ("C:").