Default Locations
If any of the respective XDG environment are specified, the variable will always be returned. Otherwise, the value depends on the operating system.
Inspiration is taken from the Go implementation for Windows and MacOS directories.
Base Directory
| Environment Variable | Windows | macOS | Linux/FreeBSD |
|---|---|---|---|
XDG_DATA_HOME |
%LOCALAPPDATA% |
$HOME/Library/Application Support |
$HOME/.local/share |
XDG_CONFIG_HOME |
%LOCALAPPDATA% |
$HOME/Library/Application Support |
$HOME/.config |
XDG_STATE_HOME |
%LOCALAPPDATA% |
$HOME/Library/Application Support |
$HOME/.local/state |
XDG_BIN_HOME |
null |
null |
$HOME/.local/bin |
XDG_DATA_DIRS |
%APPDATA%:%PROGRAMDATA% |
/Library/Application Support |
/usr/local/share:/usr/share |
XDG_CONFIG_DIRS |
%LOCALAPPDATA% |
$HOME/Library/Preferences:/Library/Application Support:/Library/Preferences |
/etc/xdg |
XDG_CACHE_HOME |
%LOCALAPPDATA% |
$HOME/Library/Application Support |
$HOME/.config |
XDG_RUNTIME_HOME |
%LOCALAPPDATA% |
$HOME/Library/Application Support |
/run/user/$UID |
User Directory
User directories on Windows use Known Folders.
| Environment Variable | Windows | macOS | Linux/FreeBSD |
|---|---|---|---|
XDG_DESKTOP_DIR |
Desktop |
$HOME/Desktop |
$HOME/Desktop |
XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR |
null |
$HOME/Downloads |
$HOME/Downloads |
XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR |
My Documents |
$HOME/Documents |
$HOME/Documents |
XDG_MUSIC_DIR |
My Music |
$HOME/Music |
$HOME/Music |
XDG_PICTURES_DIRS |
My Pictures |
$HOME/Pictures |
$HOME/Pictures |
XDG_VIDEOS_DIR |
My Videos |
$HOME/Movies |
$HOME/Videos |
XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR |
Templates |
$HOME/Templates |
$HOME/Templates |
XDG_PUBLICSHARE_DIR |
%PUBLIC% |
$HOME/Public |
$HOME/Public |
Extra Directories
| Windows | macOS | Linux/FreeBSD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | %USERPROFILE% |
$HOME |
$HOME |
| Applications | Programs, Common Programs |
/Applications |
$XDG_DATA_HOME/applications, $HOME/.local/share/applications, /usr/local/share/applications, /usr/share/applications |
| Fonts | %SYSTEMROOT%\Fonts, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts |
$HOME/Library/Fonts, /Library/Fonts, /System/Library/Fonts, /Network/Library/Fonts |
$XDG_DATA_HOME/fonts, $HOME/.fonts, $HOME/.local/share/fonts, /usr/local/share/fonts, /usr/share/fonts |