Equivalents of XDG_CONFIG_HOME and XDG_DATA_HOME on Mac OS X?

Comparing Apple’s documentation for the various paths to the XDG Base Directory specifications approximates to the following locations:

• XDG_CONFIG_HOME ▶︎ ~/Library/Preferences/
• XDG_DATA_HOME ▶︎ ~/Library/
• XDG_CACHE_HOME ▶︎ ~/Library/Caches/

Mapping XDG Base Directory Specification locations for “My App” on Mac OS X could look like this:

• XDG_CONFIG_HOME ▶︎ ~/Library/Preferences/name.often.with.domain.myapp.plist
• XDG_DATA_HOME ▶︎ ~/Library/My App/
• XDG_CACHE_HOME ▶︎ ~/Library/Caches/My App/

These mappings seem pretty reasonable but they aren’t exact. Some kinds of cache or data may be appropriate for ~/Library/Application Support/My App, and other may be best in the temp locations or the App bundle. All of it is by convention and the same reasons for using the best XDG_ locations apply to using the best locations on the Mac OS X system.

Your annoyance at ~/.myscript is in line with Apple’s guidelines: “Don’t pollute user space”.

References:

• Mac OS X Reference Library: Where to Put Application Files
• Mac OS X Reference Library: Important Java Directories on Mac OS X