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# Environment variables

`XDG_CONFIG_HOME`

  This environment variables control where configuration files are read and written. Astropy will look for configuration files in `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/astropy`. If not set, or if `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/astropy` does not exist, astropy will default to `$HOME/.astropy/config`. See Configuration System (astropy.config) for how to programmatically set or get the location of the corresponding directory at runtime.

`XDG_CACHE_HOME`

  These environment variables control where data files are cached. Astropy will cache files in `$XDG_CACHE_HOME/astropy`. If not set, or if `$XDG_CACHE_HOME/astropy` does not exist, astropy will default to `$HOME/.astropy/cache`. See Downloadable Data Management (astropy.utils.data) for how to programmatically set or get the location of the corresponding directory at runtime.

Note

`XDG_CONFIG_HOME` and `XDG_CACHE_HOME` come from a Linux-centric specification (see here for more details), but `astropy` will use them on any OS as a more general means to know where user-specific configurations should be written.