confabpath

pkg/confabpath

Path-builder helpers for the ~/.confab directory, where all confab local state lives (config, sync state, inboxes, logs, update timestamps).

This is a stdlib-only leaf package so it can be imported by any package without introducing cycles — notably both pkg/config and pkg/logger, which historically couldn't share a path helper because pkg/config already imports pkg/logger.

Files

Key API

• Dir() (string, error) — returns ~/.confab (absolute). Wraps os.UserHomeDir errors with "failed to get home directory: %w".
• Subpath(first string, rest ...string) (string, error) — joins ~/.confab with the given segments. The first segment is required by the signature, forcing callers to express intent at the call site (use Dir() if you really want just ~/.confab).

Invariants

• Helpers do not cache os.UserHomeDir. Several tests in pkg/daemon redirect HOME between subtests via os.Setenv; caching would silently break them. The lookup is essentially a getenv call, so the cost is negligible.
• Error wrap text is stable. "failed to get home directory: %w" is preserved verbatim so any log-line consumers continue to match.
• Subpath's first segment is required by signature. No runtime panic — the type system enforces it.

Out of scope

• ~/.claude and ~/.codex paths — those have their own helpers in pkg/config (GetClaudeStateDir) and pkg/provider respectively, with CONFAB_CLAUDE_DIR / CONFAB_CODEX_DIR env-override semantics.
• ~/.local/bin — install/update destination paths live in cmd/install.go and cmd/update.go.

Testing

go test ./pkg/confabpath/...

Tests redirect HOME via t.Setenv so they never touch the real home directory.

Dependencies

Uses: standard library only.

Used by: pkg/config (getConfigPath), pkg/daemon (state and inbox path builders), pkg/logger (default log dir), cmd/update.go (auto-update check timestamp).