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[Docs] Documented data dir ~/.minimax-code does not exist — actual dir is ~/.minimax #158
Description
mcode 0.4.12, npm install, Linux
mcode creates and uses ~/.minimax/ for all its state (auth/, config.yaml,
model-cache.json, v2/ sqlite, .builtin-skills/). No ~/.minimax-code is ever
created. But the docs consistently say otherwise:
- README: "User data is stored in ~/.minimax-code by default."
- SECURITY.md: "The default data directory, ~/.minimax-code, stores login
state, provider configuration, and sessions." - docs/installation.md and others repeat the same path.
This is more than a typo. SECURITY.md tells users to "Restrict local access
and keep it out of Git" — anyone following that locks down or gitignores
~/.minimax-code while the real directory keeps default permissions on
config.yaml (which holds BYOK provider entries). Support also loses time when
users inspect the documented path, find nothing, and conclude nothing is
stored locally.
Suggested fix: change the docs to ~/.minimax (README.md + README_ZH.md +
SECURITY.md + docs/*). Renaming the data dir itself would break existing
installs, so docs seem like the right place.
Activity
hetaoBackend commentedon Sep 18, 2026
Thanks for reporting this. I checked the current public main: packages/tui/src/runtime/data-dir.ts explicitly defaults the standalone TUI to ~/.minimax-code. MINIMAX_DATA_DIR and MAVIS_DATA_DIR can override it; the shared runtime also has a separate ~/.minimax default. We therefore should not change all of the documentation to ~/.minimax based on this report alone.
Could you provide the output of command -v mcode (or the equivalent on your shell), mcode --version, and npm ls -g @minimax-ai/code --depth=0, plus whether MINIMAX_DATA_DIR or MAVIS_DATA_DIR is set and the command that created the directory? Please omit API keys and config contents. This will help distinguish the installed artifact/launcher path from an environment override or shared-runtime initialization issue.
We are investigating the configuration-file permissions in #159 separately.
superbigcup325 commentedon Sep 19, 2026
Versions and environment:
command -v mcode: not on PATH. Installed as a local npm dependency (@minimax-ai/code@0.4.12), run asnode_modules/.bin/mcode(npx equivalent).mcode --version: 0.4.12npm ls -g @minimax-ai/code: emptyMINIMAX_DATA_DIR/MAVIS_DATA_DIR: both unsetmcode provider add ... --useBehavior on 0.4.12: the first
provider addcreates~/.minimax/(cache, plugins, skills, shims, bin) and the provider config lands in~/.minimax/config.yaml.~/.minimax-codeis never created.So both directories are real, as your comment suggests: the TUI defaults to
~/.minimax-codeon main, while the provider / shared-runtime files that the docs never mention go to~/.minimax. The docs issue I meant is that README and SECURITY.md only document the first one — the config.yaml from #159 lives in the second.hetaoBackend commentedon Sep 19, 2026
Thanks for the follow-up; the local npm installation and unset overrides are useful evidence. My earlier reply relied on the current source default, which is not sufficient to describe the behavior of the published 0.4.12 package.
I'm checking the published artifact and updating the documentation to distinguish its data directory, the source-build default and the installer directory. The fix should tell users where their actual credentials and state live, without renaming existing data or replacing every path in the docs with a single directory. I'll link the documentation PR and its validation here.
hetaoBackend commentedon Sep 19, 2026
The documentation correction is ready for review in #178.
I re-downloaded the public
@minimax-ai/code@0.4.12tarball, verified its registry SHA-512 integrity, and exercised its data-directory resolver with a synthetic HOME: its default is~/.minimax. The newly built source CLI defaults to~/.minimax-code. This confirms the published-package/source difference that my original source-only reply did not account for. The official POSIX installer's~/.minimax-codeprefix is an installation location; it does not set either data-directory override.The PR updates both READMEs, SECURITY.md, installation and telemetry docs with the version-specific defaults, override precedence, and safe directory identification. No runtime paths or existing data are changed. Configuration-file permissions remain separate work.
Validation: full local
pnpm verifypassed all 14 applicable gates on macOS arm64 / Node.js 26.4.0 at7b970b9ac377636c3e188d4a3abfe8df74635115; synthetic directory/override checks passed for the npm resolver and built source CLI. This is not Linux/Windows runtime or live-service acceptance. The PR is open for review and has not been merged.hetaoBackend commentedon Sep 19, 2026
CI follow-up for #178 at
7b970b9ac377636c3e188d4a3abfe8df74635115: Linux, macOS and Windows verification, release audit and CodeQL have all passed (11 successful checks, 2 expected skips, no failures or pending checks). Source verification. This adds cross-platform CI evidence for the documentation PR; it does not change any runtime directory or establish real installer/live-service acceptance. The PR remains open for review.docs: distinguish published and source-build data directories
hetaoBackend commentedon Sep 19, 2026
#178 has now been merged into the default branch at
33b259bbbeb1c16433390869938191d09bdb0680. The documentation now distinguishes the verified npm 0.4.12 data directory from this source build's default and the installer prefix. This is a documentation correction; existing runtime paths and user data were not changed.hetaoBackend commentedon Sep 19, 2026
Closing as completed. #178 corrected the data-directory documentation, and the merged follow-up #188 aligned the source-build default with the shared runtime and published npm CLI: ~/.minimax, or ~/.minimax- for a selected profile, subject to the documented environment overrides. The docs distinguish user data from the installer prefix and explain how to retain an older source-build data directory. This closes the documentation/default-directory issue; it does not claim a new npm release or move existing user data.