TMPDIR

TMPDIR is the canonical environment variable in Unix and POSIX^[1] that should be used to specify a temporary directory for scratch space. Most Unix programs will honor this setting and use its value to denote the scratch area for temporary files instead of the common default of /tmp^[2][3] or /var/tmp.^[4]

Other forms sometimes accepted are TEMP, TEMPDIR and TMP, but these alternatives are used more commonly by non-POSIX operating systems or non-conformant programs.

TMPDIR is specified in various Unix and similar standards, e.g. per the Single UNIX Specification.^[5]

See also

• Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
• mktemp
• Temporary folder
• Unix filesystem

References

1. "Environment Variables". Pubs.opengroup.org. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
2. "The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, IEEE Std 1003.1-2008, Base Definitions volume: Directory Structure and Files: /tmp". The Open Group. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
3. "Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, version is 2.3: /tmp: Temporary files". Linux Foundation. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
4. "Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, version is 2.3: /var/tmp: Temporary files preserved between system reboots". Linux Foundation. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
5. "The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, IEEE Std 1003.1-2008, Base Definitions volume: Environment Variables: Other Environment Variables: TMPDIR". The Open Group. Retrieved 2011-04-02.