On 09/17, Colin Booth wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 11:32:33AM -0400, Steve Litt wrote:
> > Somebody suggested putting it in the /var/log/slitt/fetchmail, etc,
> > with the proper directory ownership and permissions. This is certainly
> > an expected place, very similar to /run/user/slitt/fetchmail, except
> > that /var/log is where log files are expected, so it's presumably sized
> > for them and easy to remember and find.
> >
> This is the most appropriate for long-lived services with a lifecycle
> that's larger than a login session and is also fine for things with a
> per-login lifecycle such as a sound server on a non-headless system.
[snip]
> > I really value all the opinions you and everyone else is giving me.
> > Based on the responses, I think there's no one-size-fits-all right
> > answer, and that's something I wouldn't have realized if not for yours
> > and other peoples' input.
> >
> The most "unix normal" approach would be /var/log/USER/SERVICE and the
> most "it really only matters to the user" would be something under
> $HOME. All other approaches are situationally viable at best and have
> really nasty downsides if you don't manage them correctly.
Hi, Colin!
The only thing about /var/log/USER/SERVICE that I'm a little uneasy
about is that it's not namespaced under /var/log. So, if USER were
the same as a file or directory already there (e.g., samba or wtmp),
then it breaks. What about namespacing it like /run/user/USER, so
/var/log/user/USER/SERVICE? Of course, if /var/log/USER is already
a standard, then I wouldn't want to go against it, but if it's not a
standard, then I wonder if namespacing it would be better.
Regards,
Lewis
Received on Wed Sep 17 2025 - 20:09:20 CEST