Hidden Directories
This appendix describes the hidden directories that the GNOME Desktop adds to the home directories of users.
A hidden directory is a directory that has a name that begins with a period (.). Table A-1 describes the hidden directories that the GNOME Desktop adds to the home directories of users.
| Directory | Description |
|---|---|
| .config | This is the default location for the environment variable XDG_CONFIG_HOME, if it is not set. User defined menus can be created at menus/applications.menu. |
| .fonts | Contains fonts specific to a particular user. When a user installs a font by dragging it to the fonts:/// URI in nautilus, it is copied to this location. |
| .esd_auth |
Contains the authentication cookie for the GNOME sound daemon. The GNOME sound daemon is the Enlightened Sound Daemon (ESD). NOTE: This is a file, not a directory. |
| .gconf | Contains the GConf configuration source for the user. When the user sets a preference, the new preference information is added to this location. |
| .gconfd |
Contains the following GConf daemon details:
|
| .gnome |
Contains user-specific application data that is not stored in the GConf repository. NOTE: this directory is deprecated and is only used by GNOME 1.x applications. |
| .gnome2 |
Contains user-specific application data that is not stored in the GConf repository. For example, this directory contains the following:
This directory may also contain sub-directories that store application specific data. |
| .gnome2-private | Ignore this directory. This directory has no function at the time of publication of this guide. |
| .local/share | This is the default location for the environment variable XDG_DATA_HOME, if it is not set. User defined desktop entries can be created in the subdirectory applications. User defined mime types can be created in mime/packages/Overrides.xml. |
| .metacity | Contains session data for the Metacity window manager. |
| .nautilus |
Contains file manager data that is specific to the user. For example, this directory can contain the following:
|
| .themes | Contains controls theme options, window frame theme options, and icons theme options that the user adds. The user can add themes from the Theme preference tool. |
| .thumbnails | Contains image thumbnails for the user. The image thumbnails are used in the file manager. The file manager contains a preference that the user can select to stop generation of thumbnail images. |