How to Retrieve the User Home Directory in Linux/Unix without Using the HOME Environment Variable?

How to Acquire User Home Directory in Linux/Unix

For C applications running on Linux systems, the user's home directory can be retrieved without the use of the HOME environment variable. Here's a solution that aligns with this requirement:

To obtain the home directory, follow these steps:

1. Obtain User ID: Utilize the getuid function to retrieve the user ID (UID) of the user currently running the program.
2. Get Password Entry: Employ the getpwuid function to obtain the password entry associated with the retrieved UID. This entry includes the home directory information.

Example Code:

<code class="cpp">#include <unistd.h> // for getuid
#include <sys/types.h> // for getpwuid
#include <pwd.h> // for getpwuid

struct passwd *pw = getpwuid(getuid());
const char *homedir = pw->pw_dir;</code>

Now, the homedir variable stores the path to the user's home directory.

Note for Root Users:

When a program runs as the root user, it is generally considered unsafe to create files or folders in the /root directory. Instead, it's recommended to create a specific directory within /root for storing program-related data or logs.

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