# platformdirs

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A Python package for determining platform-specific directories (e.g. user data, config, cache, logs). Handles the
differences between macOS, Windows, Linux/Unix, and Android so you don't have to.

## Quick start

```python
from platformdirs import PlatformDirs

dirs = PlatformDirs("MyApp", "MyCompany")
dirs.user_data_dir  # ~/.local/share/MyApp (Linux)
dirs.user_config_dir  # ~/.config/MyApp (Linux)
dirs.user_cache_dir  # ~/.cache/MyApp (Linux)
dirs.user_state_dir  # ~/.local/state/MyApp (Linux)
dirs.user_log_dir  # ~/.local/state/MyApp/log (Linux)
dirs.user_documents_dir  # ~/Documents
dirs.user_downloads_dir  # ~/Downloads
dirs.user_runtime_dir  # /run/user/<uid>/MyApp (Linux)
```

For Path objects instead of strings:

```python
from platformdirs import PlatformDirs

dirs = PlatformDirs("MyApp", "MyCompany")
dirs.user_data_path  # pathlib.Path('~/.local/share/MyApp')
dirs.user_config_path  # pathlib.Path('~/.config/MyApp')
```

Convenience functions for quick access:

```python
from platformdirs import user_data_dir, user_config_path

user_data_dir("MyApp", "MyCompany")  # returns str
user_config_path("MyApp", "MyCompany")  # returns pathlib.Path
```

## Directory types

**Application directories** — scoped to your app name and version:

- **Data**: Persistent application data (`user_data_dir`, `site_data_dir`)
- **Config**: Configuration files and settings (`user_config_dir`, `site_config_dir`)
- **Preference**: User preferences, distinct from config on macOS (`user_preference_dir`)
- **Cache**: Cached data that can be regenerated (`user_cache_dir`, `site_cache_dir`)
- **State**: Non-essential runtime state like window positions (`user_state_dir`, `site_state_dir`)
- **Logs**: Log files (`user_log_dir`, `site_log_dir`)
- **Runtime**: Runtime files like sockets and PIDs (`user_runtime_dir`, `site_runtime_dir`)

App dirs have both `user_*` (per-user, writable) and `site_*` (system-wide, read-only) variants where applicable.

**User media directories** — standard user-facing folders, not scoped to app name:

- **Documents** (`user_documents_dir`), **Downloads** (`user_downloads_dir`)
- **Pictures** (`user_pictures_dir`), **Videos** (`user_videos_dir`), **Music** (`user_music_dir`)
- **Desktop** (`user_desktop_dir`), **Projects** (`user_projects_dir`)
- **Public share** (`user_publicshare_dir`), **Templates** (`user_templates_dir`)
- **Fonts** (`user_fonts_dir`) — user-writable font installation directory
- **Executable** (`user_bin_dir`, `site_bin_dir`), **Applications** (`user_applications_dir`, `site_applications_dir`)

## Documentation

Full documentation is available at [platformdirs.readthedocs.io](https://platformdirs.readthedocs.io):

- **[Getting started tutorial](https://platformdirs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial.html)** -- learn core concepts
  through real-world examples
- **[How-to guides](https://platformdirs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/howto.html)** -- recipes for common tasks and
  platform-specific tips
- **[API reference](https://platformdirs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/api.html)** -- complete list of functions and classes
- **[Platform details](https://platformdirs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/platforms.html)** -- default paths for each
  operating system

Contributions are welcome! See [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/tox-dev/platformdirs/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) for
details.
