appdirs

library1.4.4pypypi✓ verified 25d ago

AppDirs is a small Python module (version 1.4.4) designed to determine appropriate platform-specific directories for storing user data, configuration, cache, and log files across Linux, macOS, and Windows. This project has been officially deprecated, and `platformdirs` is recommended as a more actively maintained alternative.

devops

pip install appdirs

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · APPDIRS

appdirs

devopspythonv1.4.4

Install

1.8s avg

Import

—

Disk

16MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v1.4.4 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.000s · 17.8MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.8s · import 0.000s · 18MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

user_data_dir

✓ from appdirs import user_data_dir

Commonly imported functions include `user_data_dir`, `user_config_dir`, `user_cache_dir`, `site_data_dir`, `site_config_dir`, and `user_log_dir`.

This quickstart demonstrates how to use `appdirs` to retrieve common application-specific directory paths for the current user and platform. It also shows how to create one of these directories if it doesn't already exist.

from appdirs import user_data_dir, user_cache_dir, user_log_dir import os appname = "MyApplication" appauthor = "MyCompany" appversion = "1.0.0" # Get platform-specific directories data_dir = user_data_dir(appname, appauthor, appversion=appversion) cache_dir = user_cache_dir(appname, appauthor) log_dir = user_log_dir(appname, appauthor) print(f"Data directory: {data_dir}") print(f"Cache directory: {cache_dir}") print(f"Log directory: {log_dir}") # Example: Ensure the data directory exists os.makedirs(data_dir, exist_ok=True) print(f"Ensured data directory exists: {os.path.exists(data_dir)}")

Debug

Known issues

deprecatedThis project has been officially deprecated. It is recommended to use `platformdirs` (https://pypi.org/project/platformdirs/) which is an actively maintained fork with similar functionality.

fix

Migrate your application to use the `platformdirs` library. The API is largely compatible, making migration straightforward.

affects: 1.4.4 and older

gotchaAppDirs is 'slightly opinionated' on directory names. The exact paths generated can sometimes differ from strict system conventions or other tools' interpretations, potentially leading to unexpected locations. For instance, specific suffixes might be added to directory names.

fix

Always verify the generated paths on your target operating systems. If `appdirs`'s default naming is problematic, consider examining the `platformdirs` documentation for more flexible options or implementing custom logic.

affects: All versions

gotchaWhile version 1.4.4 is generally compatible with Python 3, earlier 1.x releases (e.g., 1.4.1) had specific issues with Python 3, particularly concerning Windows registry access (`winreg`) and string handling, which were addressed in subsequent minor releases. If working with older Python 3 environments or `appdirs` versions, verify generated paths carefully.

fix

Ensure you are using at least `appdirs==1.4.4` for Python 3 environments. For the best compatibility and ongoing support, migrate to `platformdirs`.

affects: 1.0.0 - 1.4.3

breakingThe functions `user_data_dir`, `user_config_dir`, `user_cache_dir`, `user_state_dir`, `user_log_dir`, and `site_data_dir` in `appdirs` expect the version argument to be named `version`, not `appversion`. Passing `appversion` will result in a `TypeError: unexpected keyword argument`.

fix

Correct the keyword argument from `appversion` to `version` when calling `appdirs` functions. For example, change `user_data_dir(appname, appauthor, appversion=appversion)` to `user_data_dir(appname, appauthor, version=appversion)`.

affects: All versions

breakingWhen calling `user_data_dir` (and similar functions like `user_config_dir`, `user_cache_dir`, etc.), the keyword argument for specifying the application version is `version`, not `appversion`. Using `appversion` will result in a `TypeError`.

fix

Correct the keyword argument from `appversion` to `version` in your function calls. For example, use `user_data_dir(appname, appauthor, version=my_app_version)` instead of `user_data_dir(appname, appauthor, appversion=my_app_version)`.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ImportError: No module named 'appdirs'

The 'appdirs' module is not installed in the Python environment.

fix

Install the 'appdirs' module using pip: 'pip install appdirs'.

ImportError: cannot import name 'appdirs' from 'pkg_resources.extern'

The 'appdirs' module is not available within 'pkg_resources.extern', possibly due to an outdated or incompatible version of setuptools.

fix

Update setuptools to the latest version: 'pip install --upgrade setuptools'.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'appdirs'

The 'appdirs' module is not installed in the Python environment.

fix

Install the 'appdirs' module using pip: 'pip install appdirs'.

TypeError: unexpected keyword argument 'appversion'

When calling `appdirs` functions like `user_data_dir`, the argument for specifying the application version is `version`, not `appversion`.

fix

Change the keyword argument from `appversion` to `version`. For example, `appdirs.user_data_dir(appname, appauthor, version=appversion)`.

IOError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '.../appdirs-1.4.x.dist-info/METADATA'

This error often occurs during an upgrade or downgrade of `appdirs` via `pip`, suggesting a corrupted installation or a conflict during the uninstall/reinstall process.

fix

Try to force reinstall `appdirs`: `pip install appdirs --ignore-installed`. If the problem persists, uninstall it first `pip uninstall appdirs` and then reinstall `pip install appdirs`.

Upgrade

Version history

1.4.4latest on PyPI · released May 11, 2020

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

30 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttp://github.com/ActiveState/appdirs ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/appdirs/ ↗