# Cross-platform storage for the client (Windows / macOS / Linux) This document covers two things: 1. Where to store **app-internal state** (the auto-login token, config, caches). 2. Where to store **user-facing output files** (exports). And which crate to use so you never hand-roll platform paths. --- ## 1. The shortcut crate: `directories` Yes, there is a crate for exactly this: [`directories`](https://crates.io/crates/directories). You already depend on its little sibling `dirs = "6.0.0"`, which gives you the *base* folders (`home_dir`, `data_dir`, `download_dir`, …). `directories` builds on the same logic but adds `ProjectDirs`, which computes the **per-application** subdirectory following each OS's conventions in one call: ```toml # client/Cargo.toml [dependencies] directories = "6" ``` ```rust use directories::ProjectDirs; // (qualifier, organization, application) let proj = ProjectDirs::from("com", "komp-ac", "komp_ac_client") .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("no home directory available"))?; proj.config_dir(); // settings the user may edit proj.data_dir(); // app-owned data (safe default for the token too) proj.cache_dir(); // re-creatable stuff, OK to delete proj.state_dir(); // Option<&Path> — logs, session state; Linux-only concept ``` What that resolves to: | Call | Linux | macOS | Windows | |----------------|------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------| | `config_dir()` | `~/.config/komp_ac_client` | `~/Library/Application Support/com.komp-ac.komp_ac_client` | `%APPDATA%\komp-ac\komp_ac_client\config` | | `data_dir()` | `~/.local/share/komp_ac_client` | `~/Library/Application Support/com.komp-ac.komp_ac_client` | `%APPDATA%\komp-ac\komp_ac_client\data` | | `cache_dir()` | `~/.cache/komp_ac_client` | `~/Library/Caches/com.komp-ac.komp_ac_client` | `%LOCALAPPDATA%\komp-ac\komp_ac_client\cache` | | `state_dir()` | `~/.local/state/komp_ac_client` | `None` | `None` | > Alternative: keep only `dirs` and compose paths yourself (`dirs::data_dir()?.join(APP_NAME)`). > That works, but `ProjectDirs` removes the per-OS naming decisions entirely, so prefer it. --- ## 2. Fixing the auto-login token path (the current bug) `client/src/config/storage/storage.rs:34` currently does: ```rust let state_dir = dirs::state_dir() .or_else(|| dirs::home_dir().map(|home| home.join(".local").join("state"))) ``` `dirs::state_dir()` returns `Some` **only on Linux**. On Windows and macOS it is `None`, so the fallback kicks in and you get `C:\Users\x\.local\state\...` and `/Users/x/.local/state/...` — it *works*, but it's a hidden Unix-style litter directory that no Windows/macOS user or uninstaller will ever find. Cross-platform fix — fall back to the **data dir**, which exists everywhere: ```rust pub fn get_token_storage_path() -> Result { let proj = directories::ProjectDirs::from("com", "komp-ac", APP_NAME) .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Could not determine app directories"))?; // state_dir is the right place on Linux; data_dir is the right place elsewhere. let dir = proj.state_dir().unwrap_or_else(|| proj.data_dir()).to_path_buf(); fs::create_dir_all(&dir) .with_context(|| format!("Failed to create app state directory at {dir:?}"))?; Ok(dir.join(TOKEN_FILE_NAME)) } ``` **Migration:** existing Linux users keep the same path (`~/.local/state/komp_ac_client`), so nothing breaks there. If you care about existing Windows/macOS installs that already wrote to `~/.local/state`, add a one-time check: if the new path doesn't exist but the old one does, move the file. ### Token file security per platform - **Unix:** you already `chmod 600` — keep the `#[cfg(unix)]` block as is. - **Windows:** there is no mode-bit equivalent, but `%APPDATA%` is already ACL-restricted to the current user, so a plain file there is the accepted baseline. No extra code needed. - **Optional upgrade:** the [`keyring`](https://crates.io/crates/keyring) crate stores the token in the OS credential store (Windows Credential Manager, macOS Keychain, Linux Secret Service). More secure, but adds a D-Bus/secret-service requirement on Linux and Keychain prompts on macOS. For a TUI client, the ACL'd file is a fine default; consider `keyring` only for the `access_token` field if security review demands it. --- ## 3. Where output/export files go Rule of thumb: **files the user asked for go in user-visible folders; files the app needs go in `ProjectDirs`.** Never write outputs next to the executable (unwritable under `Program Files` / `/usr/bin`) and never default to the current working directory (unpredictable for a GUI/TUI launched from a launcher). Your export logic (`client/src/pages/import_export/export/logic.rs:70`) already does the right first step: ```rust dirs::download_dir().unwrap_or_else(std::env::temp_dir) ``` Two improvements: 1. `download_dir()` can be `None` on minimal Linux setups (no `xdg-user-dirs` installed → no `~/Downloads` mapping). Falling all the way to `temp_dir()` means exports silently land in `/tmp` and get wiped on reboot. Prefer a chain: ```rust let out_dir = dirs::download_dir() .or_else(dirs::document_dir) .or_else(dirs::home_dir) .unwrap_or_else(std::env::temp_dir) .join(APP_NAME); // keep exports grouped in one folder ``` 2. Always **show the resolved absolute path in the status line** after export (you already do this via `last_export_path`) — on three platforms the default location differs, so telling the user where the file went matters more than which folder you picked. For program outputs that are *not* user-requested (logs, generated caches, import scratch files): use `proj.state_dir()/data_dir()` for logs, `proj.cache_dir()` for scratch. Same `ProjectDirs` instance, no new decisions. --- ## 4. General cross-platform hygiene checklist - Build every path with `PathBuf::join`, never string concatenation with `/` or `\\`. (The codebase already does this — keep it that way.) - Always `fs::create_dir_all` before the first write; none of these directories are guaranteed to exist, especially on a fresh Windows profile. - Don't read `$HOME` / `%USERPROFILE%` env vars directly — that's exactly what `dirs`/`directories` abstracts (including Windows Known Folders redirection). - Handle the `None` case from every `dirs::*` call (headless CI, service accounts, containers have no home). Return an error or fall back to `temp_dir` explicitly. - Filenames typed by the user: reject `/`, `\`, and reserved Windows names (`CON`, `NUL`, `COM1`, trailing dots/spaces) before creating export files, or the export will fail only on Windows. - Test matrix: the cheap smoke test is `cargo check --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu` plus running the path-resolution unit tests with the `dirs` values mocked; the real test is running the client once per OS and checking where `auth.token` and one export actually land. --- ## 5. Summary of concrete steps 1. Add `directories = "6"` to `client/Cargo.toml` (keep `dirs` for `download_dir` etc.). 2. Create one `ProjectDirs::from("com", "komp-ac", "komp_ac_client")` helper (e.g. in `client/src/config/storage/`) and route all internal paths through it. 3. Rewrite `get_token_storage_path()` as in §2 → auto-login token lands in the idiomatic per-OS location; Linux path unchanged. 4. Improve the export default-directory chain as in §3 (`download → documents → home → temp`). 5. (Optional) move the raw `access_token` into `keyring` later.