18 Installation Configuration and Search Paths
A configuration directory path is built into the Racket executable as selected at install time, and its location can be changed via the PLTCONFIGDIR directory or --config/-G command-line flag. Use find-config-dir to locate the configuration directory.
Modify the "config.rktd" file in the configuration directory to configure other directories as described below. Use the setup/dirs library (which combines information from the configuration files and other sources) to locate configured directories, instead of reading "config.rktd" directly.
The path of the main collection directory is built into the Racket executable, and it can be changed via the --collects/-X flag, so it has no entry in "config.rktd". Most paths that are specified in "config.rktd" have default values that are relative to the main collection directory. The paths of the configuration directory and main collection directory thus work together to determine a Racket configuration.
A "config.rktd" file in the configuration directory should contain a readable hash table with any of the following symbolic keys, where a relative path is relative to the main collection directory:
'installation-name —
a string for the installation name, which is used to determine user- and version-specific paths, such as the initial path produced by find-library-collection-paths and the location of packages that are installed in user package scope. The default is (version). 'lib-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for the main library directory. It defaults to a "lib" sibling directory of the main collection directory. 'lib-search-dirs —
a list of paths, strings, byte strings, or #f representing the search path for directories containing foreign libraries. Each #f in the list, if any, is replaced with the default search path, which is the user- and version-specific "lib" directory followed by the main library directory. 'dll-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for a directory containing shared libraries for the main executable. It defaults to the main library directory. 'share-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for the main shared-file directory, which normally includes installed packages. It defaults to a "share" sibling directory of the main collection directory. 'links-file —
a path, string, or byte string for the collection links file. It defaults to a "links.rktd" file in the main shared-file directory. 'links-search-files —
like 'lib-search-dirs, but for collection links file. 'pkgs-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for packages that have installation package scope. It defaults to "pkgs" in the main shared-file directory. 'pkgs-search-dirs —
like 'lib-search-dirs, but for packages in installation package scope. 'bin-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for the installation’s directory containing executables. It defaults to a "bin" sibling directory of the main collection directory. 'apps-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for the installation’s directory for ".desktop" files. It defaults to a "applications" subdirectory of the main shared-file directory. 'man-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for the installation’s man-page directory. It defaults to a "man" sibling directory of the main collection directory. 'doc-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for the main documentation directory. The value defaults to a "doc" sibling directory of the main collection directory. 'doc-search-dirs —
like 'lib-search-dirs, but for directories containing documentation. 'doc-search-url —
a URL string that is augmented with version and search-tag queries to form a remote documentation reference. 'doc-open-url —
a URL string or #f; a string supplies a URL that is used instead of a local path to search and maybe open documentation pages (which normally makes sense only in an environment where opening a local HTML file does not work). 'include-dir —
a path, string, or byte string for the main directory containing C header files. It defaults to an "include" sibling directory of the main collection directory. 'include-search-dirs —
like doc-search-dirs, but for directories containing C header files. 'catalogs —
a list of URL strings used as the search path for resolving package names. An #f in the list is replaced with the default search path. 'default-scope —
either "user" or "installation", determining the default package scope for package-management operations. 'download-cache-dir —
a path string used as the location for storing downloaded package archives. When not specified, packages are cached in a "download-cache" directory in the user’s add-on directory as reported by (find-system-path 'addon-dir). 'download-cache-max-files and 'download-cache-max-bytes —
real numbers that determine limits on the download cache. When not specified, the cache is allowed to hold up to 1024 files that total up to 64 MB. 'build-stamp —
a string that identifies a build, which can be used to augment the Racket version number to more specifically identify the build. An empty string is normally appropriate for a release build. 'absolute-installation? —
a boolean that is #t if the installation uses absolute path names, #f otherwise. 'cgc-suffix —
a string used as the suffix (before the actual suffix, such as ".exe") for a "CGC" executable. Use Windows-style casing, and the string will be downcased as appropriate (e.g., for a Unix binary name). A #f value means that if the racket binary identifies itself as CGC, then the suffix is "", otherwise it is "CGC". '3m-suffix —
analogous to 'cgc-suffix, but for 3m. A #f value means that if the "racket" binary identifies itself as CGC, then the suffix is "3m", otherwise it is "".