env-paths

library4.0.0jsnpmunverified

Small library to retrieve OS-specific paths for storing data, config, cache, logs, and temp files. Version 4.0.0 requires Node >=20, ships TypeScript definitions, and is ESM-only. Correctly implements XDG Base Directory (Linux), macOS conventions, and Windows %APPDATA%/%LOCALAPPDATA%. Unlike ad-hoc path joining, env-paths avoids common portability mistakes. Published by Sindre Sorhus; stable API with infrequent updates.

storage

npm install env-paths

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · ENV-PATHS

env-paths

storagejavascriptv4.0.0

harness data pending

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

No compatibility data collected yet for this library.

Code

Verified usage

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

default

✓ import envPaths from 'env-paths'

✗ const envPaths = require('env-paths')

ESM-only package since v4; CommonJS require will fail.

envPaths

✓ import envPaths from 'env-paths'

✗ import { envPaths } from 'env-paths'

This package has a default export, not a named export.

Paths type

✓ import type { Paths } from 'env-paths'

TypeScript users can import the type for return value annotations.

Shows how to import envPaths, generate paths for 'MyApp', and create those directories (the library does not create them).

import envPaths from 'env-paths'; import { mkdirSync } from 'node:fs'; const paths = envPaths('MyApp', { suffix: 'nodejs' }); // You must create directories yourself for (const dir of Object.values(paths)) { mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true }); } console.log('Data directory:', paths.data); console.log('Config directory:', paths.config); console.log('Cache directory:', paths.cache);

Debug

Known issues

breakingVersion 4.0.0 drops CommonJS support. Package is ESM-only.

fix

Use dynamic import() or migrate to ESM. If using TypeScript, set module to 'ESNext' or 'NodeNext'.

affects: >=4.0.0

breakingMinimum Node.js version raised to 20 in v4.0.0.

fix

Upgrade Node.js to v20 or later.

affects: >=4.0.0

gotchaThe library does not create directories; you must call mkdir() yourself.

fix

After obtaining paths, use fs.mkdirSync(path, { recursive: true }) or the promise-based equivalent.

affects: *

gotchaDefault suffix is 'nodejs' to avoid collisions with native apps. Override with empty string to remove suffix.

fix

Call envPaths('AppName', { suffix: '' }) for paths without suffix.

affects: *

deprecatedNo deprecated features known, but v3 users must update to ESM for v4.

fix

Switch to ESM imports and update Node to >=20.

affects: <4.0.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ERR_REQUIRE_ESM: require() of ES Module

Using CommonJS require() on an ESM-only package (v4).

fix

Replace require('env-paths') with import envPaths from 'env-paths'.

ENOENT: no such file or directory, open '...'

Trying to write to a path that does not exist because env-paths only generates the path string.

fix

Call mkdirSync(paths.data, { recursive: true }) before writing files.

TypeError: envPaths is not a function

Using a named import { envPaths } when the module exports a default function.

fix

Use import envPaths from 'env-paths'.

Upgrade

Version history

4.0.0latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

33 hits · last 30 days

node

Amazon

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/sindresorhus/env-paths ↗

packageenv-paths ↗

homepagehttps://github.com/sindresorhus/env-paths#readme ↗