Unified API for retrieving system app directories (temp, documents, cache, downloads), synchronous calls, application-id isolation for per-app subdirectories and standard path mappings.
A Kotlin Multiplatform library meant to provide a unified API to access platform-specific application directories (like temp, documents, cache, etc.) across multiple targets.
Inspired by Flutter's path_provider.
Add the dependency to your build.gradle.kts:
commonMain.dependencies {
implementation("io.github.loshine:multiplatform-path-provider:0.0.1")
}
On desktop and native platforms, you should set the Application ID. This ID is used to create isolated subdirectories for your application in shared system locations (like Application Support or Cache).
import io.github.loshine.multiplatform.pathprovider.setApplicationId
fun main() {
setApplicationId("com.example.myapp")
// ...
}
Note: On Android and Apple platforms (iOS, macOS, tvOS),
setApplicationIdis a no-op because the operating system handles sandboxing automatically.
All functions are synchronous and can be called directly.
import io.github.loshine.multiplatform.pathprovider.getTemporaryDirectory
import io.github.loshine.multiplatform.pathprovider.getApplicationDocumentsDirectory
import io.github.loshine.multiplatform.pathprovider.getApplicationCacheDirectory
// Call directly anywhere
val tempDir = getTemporaryDirectory()
val docDir = getApplicationDocumentsDirectory()
val cacheDir = getApplicationCacheDirectory()
Note: Mappings for Linux and Windows may vary based on XDG_* environment variables or system configuration.
Copyright 2025 Loshine
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
| Function | Android | Apple (Native) | Linux (Native) | Windows (Native) | JVM |
|---|
getTemporaryDirectory() | cacheDir | NSTemporaryDirectory | /tmp | %TEMP% | java.io.tmpdir |
getApplicationSupportDirectory() | filesDir | NSApplicationSupportDirectory | ~/.local/share/<appId> | %APPDATA%\<appId> | %APPDATA% (Win)App Support (Mac)~/.local/share (Linux) |
getApplicationDocumentsDirectory() | dataDir | NSDocumentDirectory | ~/Documents | ~/Documents | ~/Documents |
getApplicationCacheDirectory() | cacheDir | NSCachesDirectory | ~/.cache/<appId> | %LOCALAPPDATA%\<appId> | AppData/Local (Win)Library/Caches (Mac)~/.cache (Linux) |
getDownloadsDirectory() | ExternalFiles/Download | NSDownloadsDirectory | ~/Downloads | ~/Downloads | ~/Downloads |
getApplicationLibrary() | Not Supported | NSLibraryDirectory | Not Supported | Not Supported | ~/Library (Mac only) |
getExternalStorageDirectory() | getExternalFilesDir(null) | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported |
getExternalStorageDirectories() | getExternalFilesDirs(null) | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported |
getExternalCacheDirectory() | externalCacheDir | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported |
getExternalCacheDirectories() | externalCacheDirs | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported | Not Supported |
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