this post was submitted on 28 May 2025
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I really do wish that more packages on Linux had installation paths clearly noted in a readme.
I've been using Linux daily for over a year now and I still have a hard time tracking down config files and install paths. Its just not one of those tasks I do regularly so I always forget best practices when trying to find stuff. The CLI always gives me the best results but getting the commands right can be tedious.
I've started saving useful commands in a note on my desktop.
i just give up after a couple of minutes if it isn’t somewhere obvious and then search my whole system with grep lmao.
how wonderful to live in a world where compute is so cheap.
Amateur. I read the source on GitHub to see where it's saving that shit.
Which readme?
The one on the github that has out of date instructions and tells you to check the discord?
The 6 year out-of-date one on your distro's wiki?
or The gnu-info/manpage that is only for the original upstream and doesn't tell you where all the files have been moved or that half of the software isn't actually installed since it was split out into extra packages for justdebianthings
To be honest, sounds like you aren't using arch btw. Jk I have the same issues on arch
People can say what they want about Windows, having stuff installed in a folder called Program Files with sub folders using the brand/program name is so much simpler than whatever the fuck is going on on Linux.
For user specific files a lot of modern programs try to adhere to https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/latest/. You should set those environmental variables and check there first.
For system level.. it's definitely more complicated. I check
/etcfirst and then then/usrdirs. If you're using your system package manager there is generally a way to query it for that information, but it's typically CLI based.Or just use our lord and savior NixOS and configure everything in a single directory
Until an app decides to install in the hidden AppData folder with the confusing sub-folder names, or even the root of the user folder, or god forbid in a folder in the root of the C drive
Local, LocalLow, Roaming really are confusing names ngl, but %AppData% isn't really hidden.
It's funny because it seems like it's all just familiarity with conventions on both platforms. I've used Linux for around 15 years and I'm completely lost trying to find anything on a Windows computer.
It's hidden enough that I have had to provide tech support to my friends a few times on this. I think it's easy to forget how expertise shapes our perspective on these things
Also the two Program Files folders that have existed since the switch to 64-bit systems.
And third-party software installers that install stuff into their own secret places. Like Steam games.
I don't remember seeing something get installed in appdata, but having other files it depends on in there sure does happen though
I've seen Electron based apps do this sometimes. GitHub Desktop, for instance
Oh right, it's the only one I've seen doing it. You still get the prompt to ask where you want to install it and it just needs to not be in Program Files or you need to give it administrator access so it can update itself...
It's pretty ridiculous
WinXP times are long gone, my friend. These days I will sooner dig out where vim plugin source code resides on Linux than figure out config file location for a fucking game on Windows
dpkg -L package-nameOr the inverse
dpkg -S /usr/bin/somefileFor apt based distros, obviously.
This does not return all "config files and install paths" as it only ever considers files that came in the package, not files created by the package (such as /etc/samba.smb.conf, which is created during installation), so doesn't actually solve the problem.
That limitation should've been made clear in the advice itself so as not to send users that don't know better down dead ends, though the subsequent discussion between this and the previous user is a great illustration of how the way some give Linux "advice" just ends up frustrating those seeking advice.
(It even eventually frustrated me because over the years I've had to teach plenty of junior developers to not give advice like that, only they're seldom so bad that they insist they actually know what the other person wants even in the face of a user providing proof that they do not)
I just tried this with Samba (so
dpkg -L sambaanddpkg -S samba, and I also tried addinggrep "smb.conf"and running it with sudo) and I was unable to find the share config file.It's located under
/etc/samba/smb.confbut that command was returning a path under my local user. This is on UbuntuAs a long time linux user, I think all programs should have a config gui. (Not all, but you get what I mean)
I think it should be GUI config or detailed man page/readme. The amount of assumed end-user knowledge by devs is way too high.
Great idea
Usually under ~/.config/ or ~/.local/share/
Often also in /etc/
Or ~/.
Every time I touch a config file/setting I document it in my notes. I would be lost without it.
I usually start inotifywatch with read events, open the program, close it and see what inotifywatch dumped.
Suprised nobody said to use whereis xyz