ADR 0004: Per-user storage in the platform's standard directories
Status: Accepted (2026-10-29)
Decision
Section titled “Decision”Everything gdt installs lives in the user’s standard data directory, never in system locations, so no administrator rights are needed:
| OS | Data directory | Config directory |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | %LOCALAPPDATA%\gdt |
%APPDATA%\gdt |
| Linux | $XDG_DATA_HOME/gdt (default ~/.local/share/gdt) |
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gdt (default ~/.config/gdt) |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/gdt |
same |
The environment variable GDT_HOME replaces both with a single root, and config.toml can set versions_dir to relocate installed builds. Changing the location is supported but not a focus of the first milestones.
Layout inside the data directory is described in version-management.md.
Consequences
Section titled “Consequences”- Predictable, uninstallable by deleting one folder.
- A developer with an existing folder of Godot builds can point
versions_dirat it, if names match; adopting existing folders is a later convenience.
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