It may look like a small addition, but standardizing something many Linux users already do can improve workflows, application behavior, and even documentation over time.

If you are using a rolling release distro like Arch, you might have noticed that your home directory now has a new member, a new folder called “Projects”.

For as long as I remember, Linux has always had a set of default folders under the home directory. Usually they are Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos and Downloads. Templates, Desktop and Public folders are also there.

Now we have a new addition in the form of “Projects”.

  • graynk@discuss.tchncs.de
    8·
    9 hours ago

    Ahh, I was wondering why there’s a Projects next to my projects, I thought I just made a typo at some point

  • loiakdsf@discuss.tchncs.de
    8·
    11 hours ago

    how about first getting programs to put dotfiles into the .config folder (opposed to .programname) instead of adding more folders that are inconsistent over distros for multiple years before the point of a default for IDEs and CAD programs can even be meaningfully made?

  • thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world
    18·
    16 hours ago

    Honestly I say just let the user decide what goes in their home directory. I always get annoyed at all the random garbage in there. There should be a specific place that is user owned that isn’t filled with cruft and configuration files

    • TheV2@programming.dev
      0·
      4 hours ago

      The user does decide, XDG user directories are optional and configurable. Since they are already established, user-friendly distros / desktop environments already pre-install them.

      And what speaks against just using a new directory within your home directory as your “specific place that is user owned that isn’t filed with cruft and configuration files”?

    • RamenJunkie@midwest.socialEnglish
      3·
      15 hours ago

      Yeah, I have essentially never used these folders unless a program sticks something there by default (mostly pictures).

        • SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de
          1·
          2 hours ago

          A thing I started doing years ago, to combat trashing to ~/Desktop or ~/Downloads:

          Set /tmp as your default download directory.

          At least for me, almost everything I download is just ephemeral and would collect dust

          Putting it there causes it to be cleaned up on the next reboot. No more piles of junk on the desktop (the virtual one at least. Don’t ask about my physical desktop)

      • EddoWagt@feddit.nl
        1·
        10 hours ago

        I relocated the default folders that are useful to another drive, I pretty much don’t use the home folder at all apart from some random github pulls or some shit

  • bigmamoth@lemmy.world
    4·
    15 hours ago

    Fuuuuuuuck

    Tbh not a bad idea but I have nightmare about windows and their 3d models folder that they put everywhere

  • baronofclubs@lemmy.world
    10·
    20 hours ago

    Honestly I don’t mind this at all.

    When I start a Godot projects, putting the project into Documents makes very little sense to me.

  • Caveman@lemmy.world
    8·
    19 hours ago

    It’s pretty much the first folder I add on a fresh install, gotta keep that shit contained

  • zlatiah@lemmy.world
    3·
    16 hours ago

    I feel called out by the first sentence of the article

    Cool I guess? I’m a weirdo who always puts projects in Documents/ so… maybe I’ll use it more from now on

  • promitheas@programming.dev
    451·
    1 day ago

    Everyone complaining, and here I am not having noticed the change because I’ve created that directory for myself years ago :-P

    Personally its for organisation

      • promitheas@programming.dev
        13·
        21 hours ago

        All my projects, which to be fair are mostly programming.

        ~/Documents/Projects doesn’t make sense to me because theyre not strictly documents. In documents i have - well, documents like bill receipts, forms ive filled in, etc…

        My projects are a first-order thing for me if that makes sense, so it makes sense to have them in the top-level of my home.

        • naught101@lemmy.world
          2·
          12 hours ago

          Right, for me “documents” is just “personal files”. I used to have it called that, but then I just had and empty dir sitting there unused…

          I don’t like putting things in home because then files get mixed up with config and cache and crap, and it’s more annoying to search

  • rumba@lemmy.zipEnglish
    21·
    14 hours ago

    I’m more of a fan of /Projects

    then syncthing that between all my boxes.

    ~home is great on shared systems, but my projects should be in the same place for all my local accounts on my non-shared box.

  • blinfabian@feddit.nlEnglish
    2·
    17 hours ago

    i deleted an empty project folder yesterday… i just assumed i made it and forgor about it

    • curbstickle@anarchist.nexusEnglish
      41·
      1 day ago

      I made SO MANY directories under home that could have just been ~/Projects that I’m annoyed with myself for not doing something so simple.

      … I’ll be using the projects directory heavily going forward

      • andyburke@fedia.io
        15·
        1 day ago

        As someone who has used ~/Projects for years and has syncing and other setup around it I am (very slightly) terrified this change could somehow fuck with me.

        Please let this just be a mkdir call that will fail.

        • hallettj@leminal.spaceEnglish
          9·
          1 day ago

          I also use a Projects folder. It looks like it probably won’t break anything. Apps might start putting stuff there by default, hopefully in sensible subdirectories. There’s a note in the article that you can create ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs to specify where you want files to go.

        • curbstickle@anarchist.nexusEnglish
          4·
          1 day ago

          Nope. Only makes for new installs, and only uses it as a save spot default if the application asks for it. Should be no change at all.

            • curbstickle@anarchist.nexusEnglish
              4·
              14 hours ago

              When I read it originally (a bit back, maybe a week or two ago) it was new installs that was noted, though new users would make sense.

              I guess I’ll find out soon enough on a test box.

    • naught101@lemmy.world
      4·
      1 day ago

      This is the way. Everything I created in folder in Documents. Everything I downloaded in downloads. Home should be otherwise empty, except for all the left-over dot-folders that old software leaves lying around.