GNU bug report logs - #583
Use XDG basedir spec for configuration files?

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From: help-debbugs <at> gnu.org (GNU bug Tracking System)
To: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
Cc: tracker <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#583: closed (Use XDG basedir spec for configuration files?)
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 21:59:02 +0000

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Your message dated Tue, 27 Aug 2019 14:57:55 -0700
with message-id <c7977cfb-0fd2-8567-69d2-552cdb7dce41 <at> cs.ucla.edu>
and subject line Re: Use XDG basedir spec for configuration files?
has caused the debbugs.gnu.org bug report #583,
regarding Use XDG basedir spec for configuration files?
to be marked as done.

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From: Fernando <ferkiwi <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Use XDG basedir spec for configuration files?
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:59:30 +0200

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The XDG Base Directory
Specification<http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/>provides
some common paths in user's home to store personal application
configurations, or, using their own words "*defines where these files should
be looked for by defining one or more base directories relative to which
files should be located*".

XDG Base Directory Specification allows efficient backup, in which you can
easily choose to backup your data and/or your configuration files for
instance. An application could easily propose such backup for the whole
system if all applications were matching these specification.

Therefore, although I think that this bug/enhancement is not vital, it would
be great for Emacs to be "FreeDesktop XDG Base Directory Specification"
compliant.

Currently Emacs is using "$HOME/.emacs.d/". This is what XDG basedir spec
defines:

   - $XDG_DATA_HOME (usually $HOME/.local/share/) as "*the base directory
   relative to which user specific data files should be stored*"
   - $XDG_CONFIG_HOME (usually $HOME/.config/) as "*the base directory
   relative to which user specific configuration files should be stored*"
   - $XDG_CACHE_HOME (usually $HOME/.cache/) as "*the base directory
   relative to which user specific non-essential data files should be stored
   *"

(http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html)

In order to make Emacs XDG basedir compliant, I think that it would be nice
to use:

   - $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/emacs  ;;for "init.el" and storing customize
   configuration


   - $XDG_DATA_HOME/emacs  ;;for sessions and backups


   - $XDG_CACHE_HOME/emacs  ;;for cache files

Or maybe some other distribution. What do you think about it?

There's a small C library that may be useful check it out, written for the
sole purpose of xdg basedir spec compliance:
https://n.ethz.ch/student/nevillm/download/libxdg-basedir/

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From: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
To: ferkiwi+a <at> gmail.com
Cc: 583-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>,
 Jan Djärv <jan.h.d <at> swipnet.se>,
 Eric Heintzmann <Heintzmann.Eric <at> free.fr>
Subject: Re: Use XDG basedir spec for configuration files?
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 14:57:55 -0700

After discussion we added something along the suggested lines to Emacs master here:

https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/emacs.git/commit/?id=4118297ae2fab4886b20d193ba511a229637aea3

so I am closing bug report number 583.

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