Migrate to XGD Base Directory Specification for Unix-like systems

[durutheguru]

Description of the problem.

Currently, Flow nodes store configuration, state, and cache data in ad-hoc filesystem locations, which risks cluttering user home directories, complicating persistence across restarts, and reducing portability. The process for storing relevant files, including configurations and logs, is not standardized.

 

Description of the solution.

Adopting the XGD Base Directory Specification will bring structure and form to how files and directories are managed. File system hygiene, modularity, and clarity will help boost security and UX.

To align with widely adopted best practices, we should migrate to the XDG Base Directory Specification
, ensuring that configuration, data, state, and cache are stored in predictable, standardized locations. This migration will improve system hygiene and make overrides explicit and user-controllable. It will also provide a clearer separation of concerns between persistent state, ephemeral runtime data, and user configuration.

 

Additional context

• https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/latest/

[ukor]

The BaseDir struct adheres to the XDG specification for Linux and follows the default folder structure for Mac and Windows. No changes need to be made.

• BaseDir Documentation.

This issue should be closed as this behaviour corresponds with our intended implementation