Environment Variables
Environment variables that control LCT behavior.
Base directory overrides
These variables control where LCT stores and reads data. They default to standard XDG-style locations and expand ~ automatically.
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
SOFTWARE_DIR |
$HOME/software |
Downloaded libraries and tools managed on the machine. |
CONFIG_DIR |
$HOME/.config |
Base for application configs (also where ~/.config/lct lives). |
SHARE_DIR |
$HOME/.local/share |
Shared app data, including the LCT remote copy. |
STATE_DIR |
$HOME/.local/state |
Persistent state such as logs and state markers. |
CACHE_DIR |
$HOME/.cache |
Download and extraction cache for modules and plugins. |
CODE_DIR |
$HOME/code |
Optional convenience path for project checkouts. |
How LCT uses these values
On startup LCT derives working paths from the variables above:
CONFIG_DIR→~/.config/lct/config.yaml(primary config file)SHARE_DIR→~/.local/share/lct(remote mirror, plugins, modules, env and alias files)STATE_DIR→~/.local/state/lct(debug log)CACHE_DIR→~/.cache/lct(module/plugin cache)
Override the base variables to relocate all derived paths, for example to place everything on an external drive:
SOFTWARE_DIR=/Volumes/data/software CACHE_DIR=/Volumes/data/cache lct gather