The Linux/Unix Default Home Directory Receives An Update

On April 8th, 2026 the freedesktop.org’s xdg-user-dirs (XDG User Directories) project releases version 0.20 and as a result closes an outstanding issue that has existed for more than eleven years. What makes this update significant is that it has added a new default directory under the user’s home directory. For what feels like endless years the home directory has always remained a constant structure and base to start from. The new “Projects” directory builds upon this reliable structure filling in the missing gap that I’m sure many have manually created prior to this update using the same name or similar such as “code” or “dev”. For those with an operating system that has rolling releases you may have already received this update and the rest will have to wait patiently until the update is made available on their GNU/Linux or Unix system of choice. In the meantime dear reader let’s take a closer look at what is xdg-user-dirs, and what this new directory is all about. What is XDG User…