Basics
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## Basics

The XDG Base Directory Specification is based on the following concepts:

- There is a single base directory relative to which user-specific data files should be written. This directory is defined by the environment variable `$XDG_DATA_HOME`.

- There is a single base directory relative to which user-specific configuration files should be written. This directory is defined by the environment variable `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME`.

- There is a set of preference ordered base directories relative to which data files should be searched. This set of directories is defined by the environment variable `$XDG_DATA_DIRS`.

- There is a set of preference ordered base directories relative to which configuration files should be searched. This set of directories is defined by the environment variable `$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS`.

- There is a single base directory relative to which user-specific non-essential (cached) data should be written. This directory is defined by the environment variable `$XDG_CACHE_HOME`.

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XDG Base Directory Specification | Home | Environment variables