XDG Base Directory support, and/or data directory environment variable

[Jamozed]

What happened?

On Linux, the directories .zen and .mozilla are created in the user's home directory, and there does not appear to be a way to override this with an environment variable. Ideally the XDG Base Directory spec would be followed, or failing that an environment variable would be made available to redirect these directories somewhere specific (or both).

Firefox based browsers leaving unwanted clutter in my home directory is possibly the number one issue that has kept me using Chromium, otherwise Zen looks fantastic and I'd love to switch to it if this can be resolved.

Reproducible?

• [ ] I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.

Version

1.0.0.a.32-1

Severity impact

Low

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Linux

Relevant log output

No response

[mirsella]

This would be a really cool feature, afters years of browser shitting on us about this

[Dunexus]

Upstream bug : https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=259356

[Jamozed]

I think it is worth noting that the upstream issue has been unresolved for 20 years, and I do not see that changing any time soon.

[Dunexus]

There has been some tests / preparatory work started earlier this year. Not sure of the actually state of it since tho.

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @Jamozed. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported that .zen and .mozilla directories are created in the home directory on Linux without redirection options.
• You suggested support for the XDG Base Directory specification.
• Mirsella agreed, expressing frustration with current browser behaviors.
• Dunexus linked to a related unresolved Mozilla bug, noting some recent preparatory work.
• You expressed skepticism about a resolution due to the longstanding nature of the upstream issue.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting here.
• If there is no further activity, this issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[mirsella]

@dosubot not stale

a maintainer should close this issue if this is not "easily" possible for this project

[dosubot[bot]]

@mauro-balades, the user @mirsella has indicated that this issue is still relevant and should not be marked as stale. Please take a look and provide assistance regarding the support for the XDG Base Directory specification.

[musselmandev]

@dosubot not stale

I have to say, zen has made wonderful improvements so far and have brought a fresh breath of air into the realm of foss web browsers. That being said, unless there are plans to become a hard fork, I think contributing to the effort upstream is the better choice.

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @Jamozed. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported that .zen and .mozilla directories are created in the home directory on Linux without an option to change their location.
• Suggested support for the XDG Base Directory specification.
• Mirsella and Musselmandev support this feature request.
• Dunexus linked to a related unresolved Mozilla bug, noting some recent preparatory work.
• Mirsella and Musselmandev suggest contributing to the upstream effort unless Zen plans to become a hard fork.

Next Steps:

• Please let us know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting here.
• If there is no further input, this issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[TheLinuxDeveloper]

not stale @dosubot

[Swivelgames]

Related:

• #3619
• #3260

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @Jamozed. I'm Dosu, and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog. I'm marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You raised an issue about .zen and .mozilla directories being created in the home directory on Linux.
• Suggested support for the XDG Base Directory specification to manage these directories.
• Mirsella, Musselmandev, and others expressed support for this feature.
• Dunexus linked a related unresolved Mozilla bug, noting some recent preparatory work.
• Swivelgames referenced related issues, #3619 and #3260, for further context.

Next Steps:

• Please let us know if this issue is still relevant to the latest version of the desktop repository by commenting here.
• If there is no further activity, this issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[ruro]

AFAIK this is not stale @dosubot

[musselmandev]

Correct, this is still relevant!

[mr-cheffy]

Closing this issue as part of a repo cleanup

Due to technical-debt we had in the past, we are currently clearing out old, duplicate, stale, and non-actionable issues to improve issue tracking and make it easier to focus on fixing real bugs.

If this issue is still relevant, please open a new issue using our updated issue template, which will help us categorize and address it more efficiently.

Thanks for your understanding and for helping us improve the project! 🚀

This issue can be reopened at: https://github.com/zen-browser/desktop/issues/new?template=bug_report.yml&title=XDG%20Base%20Directory%20support%2C%20and%2For%20data%20directory%20environment%20variable%0A

[Swivelgames]

@mauro-balades There have now been multiple issues for this opened, and multiple people have chimed in to keep this open while we wait for a response, because it is still relevant.