diff --git a/engine/e2e-test/cli/common/test_create_log_folder.py b/engine/e2e-test/cli/common/test_create_log_folder.py
index 7ad6ee452..e7b18ab77 100644
--- a/engine/e2e-test/cli/common/test_create_log_folder.py
+++ b/engine/e2e-test/cli/common/test_create_log_folder.py
@@ -6,12 +6,20 @@
 from utils.test_runner import start_server, stop_server
 
 
+def get_root_path():
+    if platform.system() == "Linux":
+        # For Linux, use the XDG base directory.
+        # Here we use XDG_DATA_HOME if set, otherwise default to ~/.local/share.
+        return Path(os.environ.get("XDG_DATA_HOME", Path.home() / ".local" / "share"))
+    else:
+        return Path.home()
+
 class TestCreateLogFolder:
     @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
     def setup_and_teardown(self):
         # Setup
         stop_server()
-        root = Path.home()
+        root = get_root_path()
         if os.path.exists(root / "cortexcpp" / "logs"):
             shutil.rmtree(root / "cortexcpp" / "logs")
         success = start_server()
@@ -24,7 +32,7 @@ def setup_and_teardown(self):
         stop_server()
 
     def test_create_log_folder_run_successfully(self):
-        root = Path.home()
+        root = get_root_path()
         assert (
             os.path.exists(root / "cortexcpp" / "logs")
             or os.path.exists(root / "cortexcpp-beta" / "logs")
diff --git a/engine/utils/file_manager_utils.cc b/engine/utils/file_manager_utils.cc
index 743c6a641..b5713456a 100644
--- a/engine/utils/file_manager_utils.cc
+++ b/engine/utils/file_manager_utils.cc
@@ -78,6 +78,16 @@ std::filesystem::path GetHomeDirectoryPath() {
   return std::filesystem::path(homeDir);
 }
 
+// Helper function to get XDG base directory, falling back to default if not set
+std::filesystem::path GetXDGDirectoryPath(const std::string& envVar,
+                                      const std::string& defaultPath) {
+  if (const char* envValue = std::getenv(envVar.c_str());
+      envValue && std::strlen(envValue) > 0) {
+    return std::filesystem::path(envValue);
+  }
+  return GetHomeDirectoryPath() / defaultPath;
+}
+
 std::filesystem::path GetConfigurationPath() {
 #ifndef CORTEX_CONFIG_FILE_PATH
 #define CORTEX_CONFIG_FILE_PATH kDefaultConfigurationPath
@@ -113,9 +123,14 @@ std::filesystem::path GetConfigurationPath() {
   std::string config_file_name{kCortexConfigurationFileName};
   config_file_name.append(env_postfix);
   // CTL_INF("Config file name: " + config_file_name);
-
+#if defined(__linux__)
+  auto config_base_path =
+      GetXDGDirectoryPath("XDG_CONFIG_HOME", ".config") / kCortexFolderName;
+  auto configuration_path = config_base_path / config_file_name;
+#else
   auto home_path = GetHomeDirectoryPath();
   auto configuration_path = home_path / config_file_name;
+#endif
   return configuration_path;
 }
 
@@ -150,11 +165,20 @@ cpp::result<void, std::string> UpdateCortexConfig(
 config_yaml_utils::CortexConfig GetDefaultConfig() {
   auto config_path = GetConfigurationPath();
   auto default_data_folder_name = GetDefaultDataFolderName();
+#if defined(__linux__)
+  auto default_data_folder_path =
+      cortex_data_folder_path.empty()
+          ? file_manager_utils::GetXDGDirectoryPath("XDG_DATA_HOME",
+                                                ".local/share") /
+                default_data_folder_name
+          : std::filesystem::path(cortex_data_folder_path);
+#else
   auto default_data_folder_path =
       cortex_data_folder_path.empty()
           ? file_manager_utils::GetHomeDirectoryPath() /
                 default_data_folder_name
           : std::filesystem::path(cortex_data_folder_path);
+#endif
 
   return config_yaml_utils::CortexConfig{
 #if defined(_WIN32)
@@ -204,6 +228,10 @@ cpp::result<void, std::string> CreateConfigFileIfNotExist() {
     // already exists, no need to create
     return {};
   }
+  if (!std::filesystem::exists(config_path.parent_path())) {
+    // Ensure the configuration directory exists
+    std::filesystem::create_directories(config_path.parent_path());
+  }
 
   CLI_LOG("Config file not found. Creating one at " + config_path.string());
   auto config = GetDefaultConfig();
@@ -236,8 +264,13 @@ std::filesystem::path GetCortexDataPath() {
     data_folder_path = std::filesystem::path(config.dataFolderPath);
 #endif
   } else {
+#if defined(__linux__)
+    auto data_base_path = GetXDGDirectoryPath("XDG_DATA_HOME", ".local/share");
+    data_folder_path = data_base_path / GetDefaultDataFolderName();
+#else
     auto home_path = GetHomeDirectoryPath();
     data_folder_path = home_path / kCortexFolderName;
+#endif
   }
 
   if (!std::filesystem::exists(data_folder_path)) {
@@ -253,13 +286,19 @@ std::filesystem::path GetCortexLogPath() {
   // TODO: get the variant of cortex. As discussed, we will have: prod, beta, nightly
 
   // currently we will store cortex data at ~/cortexcpp
+  // On linux, we follow the xdg directory specification
   auto config = GetCortexConfig();
   std::filesystem::path log_folder_path;
   if (!config.logFolderPath.empty()) {
     log_folder_path = std::filesystem::path(config.logFolderPath);
   } else {
+#if defined(__linux__)
+    auto data_base_path = GetXDGDirectoryPath("XDG_DATA_HOME", ".local/share");
+    log_folder_path = data_base_path / GetDefaultDataFolderName() / "logs";
+#else
     auto home_path = GetHomeDirectoryPath();
     log_folder_path = home_path / kCortexFolderName;
+#endif
   }
 
   if (!std::filesystem::exists(log_folder_path)) {