Is there a way to customize the directory where styles and presets are stored?

Software
1

I’m using Darktable on 3 different computers, in different locations, and it would be useful if the directories where styles and presets (and maybe even config file “darktable.rc” and DBs) are stored could be set to somewhere else, for example in the Dropbox shared folder, so I can always have the latest version of my styles and presets synchronized between every PCs.

Just like we could set the directory for LUT and Raster Mask in the preferences panel.

“styles folder: …”
“presets folder: …”
“config file folder: …”
“database folder: …”

Something like this, maybe moving all these settings in the “storage” section in the preferences.

Is there a way at the moment to do this manually modifying some config file?

2

Styles and presets are not stored in a folder, but in the database (data.db).
You can invoke darktable with the option --configdir . This folder includes the two db files and other config files, like darktablerc.
For details see the documentation at

1 Like
3

Well, in that case, it would be better, in my opinion, to have them stored in specific folders, to help in cases like mine.
Flexibility is a plus.

4

Maybe it would help if you described what you want to achieve, in what kind of setup you want to work? Maybe there’s a way to do so with what’s available today.

5

If you only want to keep the styles and presets in sync between computers, I think you could use – configdir to specify a common config folder, but on each computer you define a local DB for the images with the option --library.

darktable --configdir <folder on share> --library <local folder on computer>

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6

There is an import feature for both styles and presets in DT which makes it very easy to share between computers. It just means if you create a new style or preset you will need copy or email it to the next computer to be imported. Very easy to do.

7

I’ve described it in the op.

8

It’s not difficult but you must remember every time to do it, and if you forget, it could be a problem.

I work every day in different workstations and it could be a mess sometime to keep track of where I modified what style/preset.

Having saved them in some synced folders by design could be very useful and fail proof.

9

Sometimes, people have a way of working they want to achieve, and have an idea about what ‘technical’ steps may lead there. And it sometimes happens that the specific technical steps (changing configuration etc) are not possible, or not the best choices, and there is a solution that they do not know about. That is why I asked.

For example, styles and preset are not really stored in a directory, but in the database (data.db).
The image library database (library.db) is not that easy to share/move around, as it contains concrete physical paths, so if images are at different paths, you will have issues.
LUT files for the lut 3d module also pose a similar challenge.