refactor: migrate installation to XDG Base Directory Specification#1569
Merged
harehare merged 1 commit intoharehare:mainfrom Apr 10, 2026
Merged
refactor: migrate installation to XDG Base Directory Specification#1569harehare merged 1 commit intoharehare:mainfrom
harehare merged 1 commit intoharehare:mainfrom
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This change aligns mq's installation strategy with industry standards and the
Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS), improving standards compliance,
performance, and organization.
## What Changed
- Binary installation path: ~/.mq/bin/ -> ~/.local/bin/
- Plugin directory: ~/.mq/bin/ -> ~/.local/share/mq/plugins/
- New config directory support: ~/.config/mq/ (for future use)
## Key Features
1. **XDG Base Directory Compliance**
- Respects XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_CONFIG_HOME environment variables
- Uses standard ~/.local/bin for user binaries
- Uses ~/.local/share/mq/plugins/ for user plugins
2. **Environment Variable Support**
- MQ_HOME: Custom base directory for plugins
- XDG_DATA_HOME: Custom data directory
- XDG_CONFIG_HOME: Custom config directory
3. **Full Backward Compatibility**
- Plugin discovery searches in priority order:
1. $MQ_HOME/plugins
2. $XDG_DATA_HOME/mq/plugins
3. ~/.local/bin/
4. ~/.mq/bin/ (legacy fallback)
5. $PATH directories
- Existing ~/.mq/bin installations continue to work
## Standards Alignment
- FHS: ~/.local/bin is the standard for user-installed binaries
- XDG Base Directory Spec: Proper separation of binaries, data, and config
- Industry practice: Aligns with pipx, cargo, jq, gh, and other tools
## Benefits
- Reduced PATH clutter: ~/.local/bin already typically in PATH
- Faster shell startup: Fewer PATH entries to traverse
- Better organization: Separation of binaries, data, and config
- Standards compliance: Follows FHS and XDG specifications
## Migration
Existing users can:
- Re-run the installer to update paths
- Or manually migrate (see MIGRATION_GUIDE.md)
- Legacy ~/.mq/bin path still works as fallback
Fixes: Standards compliance issues (FHS, XDG)
Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
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Author
|
Hi @harehare, love your tool. I have a small refactor that can improve it. |
Owner
|
Thank you for the contribution! Agreed, ~/.local/bin/ is a much better default. |
harehare
approved these changes
Apr 10, 2026
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Problem
The current mq installer uses
~/.mq/bin/for binary installation, which doesn't follow the standard~/.local/bin/path used by most tools.Solution
Migrate to
~/.local/bin/following FHS (Filesystem Hierarchy Standard):~/.mq/bin/→~/.local/bin/MQ_HOME,XDG_DATA_HOMEChanges
MQ_BIN_DIRto use~/.local/bin/~/.mq/binto~/.local/binBenefits