Hi everyone

I recently started playing with shell scripting and i started with bash.
I have written a small script to backup specific files that i want( although it is not finished yet ).
So the idea is that i can add directory and file paths to a second file and when i execute the backup it will only backup these specific files and directories.


So i have my script somewhere in my home directory. But the sript make use of a helper file where the paths are stored. Where would be the best place to store this kind of files? Secondary files that are used to keep only data. I mean if i give this script to someone to use and i want this second file somewhere safe and with access to it.

Thanks

I gather that this backup script only backs up one user's data and therefore does not require root permissions. So putting the support file is /etc would probably not be ideal.

One common place for per-user configs is in a user's home directory. Let's say your backup script is called foo.sh

So you could put the config file in the home dir: ~/.foo.rc
or just ~/.foo if you prefer

Another trend is to put config files in a common dir like .config (look for it, you will see that quite a few apps already use this location). So you could have your script look for ~/.config/foo

It's up to you.

I would also suggest a test at the head of your script that prompts the user to create the file if it does not exist. Just so it doesn't inexplicably crash and burn if the user hasn't created a config yet.

Hope that helps!

the script itself could be stored in $HOME/bin.
this folder does not always exist by default, but if you create it it will probably be added to your $PATH.
excerpt from $HOME/.bash_profile:
that way you can invoke the script without its full path, just like any other ol' program.
Happy bashing!