env-paths

What is env-paths?

The env-paths npm package is used to generate paths for storing things like data, config, cache, etc., in a way that complies with the operating system's conventions. It is useful for developers who want to ensure their applications follow the best practices for file storage locations on different platforms.

What are env-paths's main functionalities?

Config Paths

Generates paths for storing configuration files. The 'config' property will provide a path that is suitable for the user's operating system.

{"config": require('env-paths')('MyApp').config}

Data Paths

Generates paths for storing data files. The 'data' property will give a path that is appropriate for the user's operating system.

{"data": require('env-paths')('MyApp').data}

Cache Paths

Generates paths for storing cache files. The 'cache' property will provide a path that is suitable for the user's operating system.

{"cache": require('env-paths')('MyApp').cache}

Log Paths

Generates paths for storing log files. The 'log' property will give a path that is appropriate for the user's operating system.

{"log": require('env-paths')('MyApp').log}

Temporary Paths

Generates paths for storing temporary files. The 'temp' property will provide a path that is suitable for the user's operating system.

{"temp": require('env-paths')('MyApp').temp}

Other packages similar to env-paths

appdata-path

Similar to env-paths, appdata-path is used to find the path to the user's app data directory. It is more focused on this single use case and does not provide the variety of paths that env-paths does.

osenv

osenv is another package that provides a way to get environment settings like paths for temporary files and user's home directory. It is similar to env-paths but has a broader scope, including network settings and shell paths.

userhome

userhome is a simple package to get the path to the user's home directory. It is much more limited in scope compared to env-paths, which provides paths for various types of application files.

README

env-paths

Get paths for storing things like data, config, cache, etc

Uses the correct OS-specific paths. Most developers get this wrong.

Install

$ npm install env-paths

Usage

import envPaths from 'env-paths';

const paths = envPaths('MyApp');

paths.data;
//=> '/home/sindresorhus/.local/share/MyApp-nodejs'

paths.config
//=> '/home/sindresorhus/.config/MyApp-nodejs'

API

paths = envPaths(name, options?)

Note: It only generates the path strings. It doesn't create the directories for you. You could use make-dir to create the directories.

name

Type: string

The name of your project. Used to generate the paths.

options

Type: object

suffix

Type: string
Default: 'nodejs'

Don't use this option unless you really have to!

Suffix appended to the project name to avoid name conflicts with native apps. Pass an empty string to disable it.

paths.data

Directory for data files.

Example locations (with the default nodejs suffix):

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/MyApp-nodejs
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\MyApp-nodejs\Data (for example, C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\MyApp-nodejs\Data)
• Linux: ~/.local/share/MyApp-nodejs (or $XDG_DATA_HOME/MyApp-nodejs)

paths.config

Directory for config files.

Example locations (with the default nodejs suffix):

• macOS: ~/Library/Preferences/MyApp-nodejs
• Windows: %APPDATA%\MyApp-nodejs\Config (for example, C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\MyApp-nodejs\Config)
• Linux: ~/.config/MyApp-nodejs (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/MyApp-nodejs)

paths.cache

Directory for non-essential data files.

Example locations (with the default nodejs suffix):

• macOS: ~/Library/Caches/MyApp-nodejs
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\MyApp-nodejs\Cache (for example, C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\MyApp-nodejs\Cache)
• Linux: ~/.cache/MyApp-nodejs (or $XDG_CACHE_HOME/MyApp-nodejs)

paths.log

Directory for log files.

Example locations (with the default nodejs suffix):

• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/MyApp-nodejs
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\MyApp-nodejs\Log (for example, C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\MyApp-nodejs\Log)
• Linux: ~/.local/state/MyApp-nodejs (or $XDG_STATE_HOME/MyApp-nodejs)

paths.temp

Directory for temporary files.

Example locations (with the default nodejs suffix):

• macOS: /var/folders/jf/f2twvvvs5jl_m49tf034ffpw0000gn/T/MyApp-nodejs
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\MyApp-nodejs (for example, C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Temp\MyApp-nodejs)
• Linux: /tmp/USERNAME/MyApp-nodejs

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