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Settings and Data Locations

CompareCraft keeps your options and sessions in a settings folder in your user profile. This page explains where that folder is and what it contains.

The settings folder

System Folder
Linux ~/.config/comparecraft/
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/comparecraft/
Windows %APPDATA%\comparecraft\

On Linux, if the XDG_CONFIG_HOME environment variable is set, the folder is comparecraft inside that folder instead of inside ~/.config.

Use a different folder

Set the environment variable COMPARECRAFT_CONFIG_DIR to the path of a folder to make CompareCraft use that folder instead. This is useful for a portable setup, for testing, or to keep separate settings for different purposes.

On Linux and macOS:

COMPARECRAFT_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/cc-test" comparecraft

On Windows (Command Prompt):

set COMPARECRAFT_CONFIG_DIR=D:\CompareCraft\settings
comparecraft

The folder is created when CompareCraft first saves something in it.

What is stored

File or folder Contents
settings.json All options from Tools > Options, colors, keyboard shortcuts, Open With applications, name filter presets, the recent filters of the Filters box, and the tabs to restore at startup (if enabled).
sessions.json Your saved sessions and up to 50 recent sessions.
settings.json.bak and sessions.json.bak The previous version of each file, kept as a backup every time the file is saved.
Scripts An optional folder for script files. A script name given without a folder is also looked up here. See Scripting.

Profiles (Tools > Profiles) are not stored in the settings folder, and they are not included when you export settings.

Snapshots and backups

  • Snapshots (Tools > Save Snapshot) are saved wherever you choose. The suggested name is snapshot.ccsnap.
  • Backup copies of files are made next to the original file, or in the folder you choose on the Backups page of the Options.

File manager integration files

On Linux, when you turn on the commands under File manager integration on the Startup page of the Options, CompareCraft creates:

  • ~/.local/share/nautilus-python/extensions/comparecraft.py, the native Files menu provider.
  • shell-integration.json in the CompareCraft configuration directory, holding enabled action preferences.
  • shell-executable.json, recording the installed application path used by native providers.
  • context-left.json and context-left-folder.json, independent staged selections, plus per-kind lock files.

The package installs the shared policy library and the Thunar/Dolphin native providers in system library/plugin directories. They offer no actions unless enabled for the current user. Disabling every command removes the per-user Files provider and hides actions from the other providers. Old CompareCraft scripts, service menus and Thunar custom actions are removed when integration is reapplied. XDG data/configuration overrides apply.

On macOS, the normal configuration files remain in the application's configuration directory. The experimental Finder extension reads a separate finder-menu.json snapshot in the group.dev.comparecraft.app App Group container obtained from macOS. The extension stores left-file.bookmark and left-folder.bookmark there for sandbox access to staged items. The snapshot contains menu preferences, staged paths and monitored folders, not sessions or general settings. Group-container data may remain after uninstall; disable the extension in System Settings before removing the app. See Finder troubleshooting.

Reset CompareCraft

  • To reset all options, colors, shortcuts and presets but keep your sessions, choose Tools > Restore Factory Defaults…. See Restore Factory Defaults.
  • To remove your sessions as well, close CompareCraft and delete sessions.json from the settings folder.
  • To start completely fresh, close CompareCraft and delete the whole settings folder.

Back up and move your settings

The easiest way to copy your settings to another computer is Tools > Export Settings… and Tools > Import Settings…. See Export and Import Settings.

You can also copy settings.json and sessions.json to the settings folder on the other computer while CompareCraft is closed.