File::BaseDir(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation File::BaseDir(3)

File::BaseDir - Use the Freedesktop.org base directory specification

version 0.09

use File::BaseDir qw/xdg_data_files/;
for ( xdg_data_files('mime/globs') ) {
  # do something
}

This module can be used to find directories and files as specified by the Freedesktop.org Base Directory Specification. This specifications gives a mechanism to locate directories for configuration, application data and cache data. It is suggested that desktop applications for e.g. the GNOME, KDE or Xfce platforms follow this layout. However, the same layout can just as well be used for non-GUI applications.

This module forked from File::MimeInfo.

This module follows version 0.6 of BaseDir specification.

my $bd = File::BaseDir->new;

Simple constructor to allow calling functions as object oriented methods.

None of these are exported by default, but all functions can be exported by request. Also the groups ":lookup" and ":vars" are defined. The ":vars" group contains all the routines with a "xdg_" prefix. The ":lookup" group contains the routines to locate files and directories.

my $path = data_home(@path);
my $path = $bd->data_home(@path);

Takes a list of file path elements and returns a new path by appending them to the data home directory. The new path does not need to exist. Use this when writing user specific application data.

Example:

# data_home is: /home/USER/.local/share
$path = $bd->data_home('Foo', 'Bar', 'Baz');
# returns: /home/USER/.local/share/Foo/Bar/Baz

# :lookup
my $dir = data_dirs(@path);
my $dir = $bd->data_dirs(@path);
my @dirs = data_dirs(@path);
my @dirs = $bd->data_dirs(@path);

Looks for directories specified by @path in the data home and other data directories. Returns (possibly empty) list of readable directories. In scalar context only the first directory found is returned. Use this to lookup application data.

# :lookup
my $file = data_files(@path);
my $file = $bd->data_files(@path);
my @files = data_files(@path);
my @files = $bd->data_files(@path);

Looks for files specified by @path in the data home and other data directories. Only returns files that are readable. In scalar context only the first file found is returned. Use this to lookup application data.

# :lookup
my $dir = config_home(@path);
my $dir = $bd->config_home(@path);

Takes a list of path elements and appends them to the config home directory returning a new path. The new path does not need to exist. Use this when writing user specific configuration.

# :lookup
my $dir = config_dirs(@path);
my $dir = $bd->config_dirs(@path);
my @dirs = config_dirs(@path);
my @dirs = $bd->config_dirs(@path);

Looks for directories specified by @path in the config home and other config directories. Returns (possibly empty) list of readable directories. In scalar context only the first directory found is returned. Use this to lookup configuration.

# :lookup
my $file = config_files(@path);
my $file = $bd->config_files(@path);
my @files = config_files(@path);
my @files = $bd->config_files(@path);

Looks for files specified by @path in the config home and other config directories. Returns a (possibly empty) list of files that are readable. In scalar context only the first file found is returned. Use this to lookup configuration.

# :lookup
my $dir = cache_home(@path);
my $dir = $bd->cache_home(@path);

Takes a list of path elements and appends them to the cache home directory returning a new path. The new path does not need to exist.

# :var
my $dir = xdg_data_home;
my $dir = $bd->xdg_data_home;

Returns either $ENV{XDG_DATA_HOME} or it's default value. Default is $HOME/.local/share.

# :var
my @dirs = xdg_data_dirs;
my @dirs = $bd->xdg_data_dirs;

Returns either $ENV{XDG_DATA_DIRS} or it's default value as list. Default is /usr/local/share, /usr/share.

# :var
my $dir = xdg_config_home;
my $dir = $bd->xdg_config_home;

Returns either $ENV{XDG_CONFIG_HOME} or it's default value. Default is $HOME/.config.

# :var
my @dirs = xdg_config_dirs;
my @dirs = $bd->xdg_config_dirs;

Returns either $ENV{XDG_CONFIG_DIRS} or it's default value as list. Default is /etc/xdg.

# :var
my $dir = xdg_cache_home;
my $dir = $bd->xdg_cache_home;

Returns either $ENV{XDG_CACHE_HOME} or it's default value. Default is $HOME/.cache.

The use of File::Spec ensures that all paths are returned in their native formats regardless of platform. On Windows this module will use the native environment variables, rather than the default on UNIX (which is traditionally $HOME).

Please note that the specification is targeting Unix platforms only and will only have limited relevance on other platforms. Any platform dependent behavior in this module should be considered an extension of the spec.

The methods xdg_data_files() and xdg_config_files() are exported for backwards compatibility with version 0.02. They are identical to data_files() and config_files() respectively but without the "wantarray" behavior.

  • Jaap Karssenberg || Pardus [Larus] <pardus@cpan.org>
  • Graham Ollis <plicease@cpan.org>

This software is copyright (c) 2003-2021 by Jaap Karssenberg || Pardus [Larus] <pardus@cpan.org>.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.

2024-09-01 perl v5.40.0