Env-Var to move ~/.MakeMKV/ directory?

[W4tchT0wer]

Hi folks,

I am trying to clean up my user home directory on my Linux system.

And I am simply trying to change the location MakeMKV uses instead of ~/.MakeMKV/ as my user home is full of files that simply do not belong there, including the directory by MakeMKV.

I can see in the MakeMKV settings, that I can change the data directory, but that's not enough.

Most apps provide a environment variable that can be set, and it would be very nice if MakeMKV also has one.
Does anybody know something about that?

Thanks and have a nice day!

[segfaulted]

The variable HOME will set the directory where .MakeMKV will be found. I don't think there's any way to change the name for .MakeMKV itself. A few other external libs also seem to reference that variable, so don't be surprised if other dot folders show up alongside it.

[flojo]

Makemkv doesn't need to pollute the environment. Try using a script to define HOME=/what/ever then start makemkv.

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
mkdir -p /home/$USER/apps
HOME=/home/$USER/apps
makemkv

[W4tchT0wer]

Thanks for your replies and sad to see that MakeMKV does not support such a simple thing.

I've opted for creating the wrapper script ~/.local/bin/makemkv and override $HOME in there. That way, my desktop shortcut etc. also works properly.

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh
export HOME="${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}"/makemkv
mkdir --parent "$HOME"
/usr/bin/makemkv

I haven't had any issues yet, but we'll see

[bmillham]

And I am simply trying to change the location MakeMKV uses instead of ~/.MakeMKV/ as my user home is full of files that simply do not belong there, including the directory by MakeMKV.

The convention of having . directories in $HOME (vs somewhere like .config) is over 50 years old. I would just leave well enough alone.

[W4tchT0wer]

The convention of having . directories in $HOME (vs somewhere like .config) is over 50 years old. I would just leave well enough alone.

Well, it would be pretty easy to fix/improve ^^

A lot of applications allow you to provide a path via Env-Vars and I got rid of about 20 dot files/directories in my user-home with that.
Having apps use the correct location by-default would be better, but that's a valid workaround for me and very worth it.

[hhmit164]

And I am simply trying to change the location MakeMKV uses instead of ~/.MakeMKV/ as my user home is full of files that simply do not belong there, including the directory by MakeMKV.

The convention of having . directories in $HOME (vs somewhere like .config) is over 50 years old. I would just leave well enough alone.

Nothing would change for the better if we just stuck to conventions. There are many threads about the same general idea for a wide variety of apps, and many are using XDG base directories by default with $HOME as a fallback if they aren't defined. It would be nice to see makemkv do the same.

https://specifications.freedesktop.org/ ... ec/latest/

[georgesgiralt]

Hello,
Have you thought that if you move config directories from your home folder to another place, all users on the system will be forced to use YOUR settings ! (and see what they are ...)
Remember that Linux emanate from Unix which is a multi user system ....

[W4tchT0wer]

Hello,
Have you thought that if you move config directories from your home folder to another place, all users on the system will be forced to use YOUR settings ! (and see what they are ...)
Remember that Linux emanate from Unix which is a multi user system ....

Hi,

you seem to be misunderstanding. The config directory is still inside your $HOME, just in a sub-directory.
So for example $HOME/.config/makekmv/ or $HOME/.local/share/makemkv/

And even for users upgrading, MakeMKV could first check its old/current path and if it does not exist, it will start using the new directory.