calibre 4 linux viewer symlinked .cache fail

Adoby · 10-04-2019, 05:41 PM

This stopped working in calibre 4.

I run Ubuntu Mate 19.04 and I have the root fs on a NVMe drive and /home on a SATA SSD. To improve performance I have .cache on the NVMe (as /opt/.cache) and symlink that folder to ~/.cache.

I started doing this years back when I had the root fs on my first SATA SSD and /home on spinning rust. And I've kept doing it since then when the root fs is on a faster drive than /home. And it has never been any problems in any apps, including calibre. (I also have /tmp in RAM using tmpfs.)

However after upgrading to calibre 4 the calibre ebook reader can't open ebooks any more. I get this error:

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/opt/.cache/calibre/ev2/t/tmpezZNaM does exist and can also be accessed via the symlink as /home/anders/.cache/calibre/ev2/t/tmpezZNaM

By moving back .cache to ~/.cache instead of symlinking, everything is fine again. I can use the new calibre viewer fine.

But if possible I would like to continue be able to place ~/.cache on the fastest drive.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/calibre/+bug/1846834

NiLuJe · 10-04-2019, 08:26 PM

Have you considered exporting XDG_CACHE_HOME in your profile instead?

(EDIT: Because I do, and that works on my end).

Adoby · 10-04-2019, 10:41 PM

Good one. I'll do that!

Adoby · 10-05-2019, 05:52 AM

I got a bit confused trying to figure out how to set XDG_CACHE_HOME the best way. With the least side effects.

I ended up creating ~/bin/calibre with the following contents:

Code:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#Run calibre with XDG_CACHE_HOME set

env XDG_CACHE_HOME=/opt/.cache /opt/calibre/calibre

That way all other apps can continue using the default symlinked path ~/.cache and only calibre use /opt/.cache

And everything works fine again, the way I am used to...

Edit: ... and Kovid has already fixed the bug so that the symlink will work OK in the next release. So my "work-around" won't be needed for long. Fantastic!

10-04-2019, 05:41 PM	#1
Adoby Handy Elephant Posts: 1,737 Karma: 26785684 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern Sweden, far out in the quiet woods Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra	calibre 4 linux viewer symlinked .cache fail This stopped working in calibre 4. I run Ubuntu Mate 19.04 and I have the root fs on a NVMe drive and /home on a SATA SSD. To improve performance I have .cache on the NVMe (as /opt/.cache) and symlink that folder to ~/.cache. I started doing this years back when I had the root fs on my first SATA SSD and /home on spinning rust. And I've kept doing it since then when the root fs is on a faster drive than /home. And it has never been any problems in any apps, including calibre. (I also have /tmp in RAM using tmpfs.) However after upgrading to calibre 4 the calibre ebook reader can't open ebooks any more. I get this error: /opt/.cache/calibre/ev2/t/tmpezZNaM does exist and can also be accessed via the symlink as /home/anders/.cache/calibre/ev2/t/tmpezZNaM By moving back .cache to ~/.cache instead of symlinking, everything is fine again. I can use the new calibre viewer fine. But if possible I would like to continue be able to place ~/.cache on the fastest drive. https://bugs.launchpad.net/calibre/+bug/1846834 Last edited by Adoby; 10-04-2019 at 05:45 PM.

10-04-2019, 08:26 PM	#2
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Have you considered exporting XDG_CACHE_HOME in your profile instead? (EDIT: Because I do, and that works on my end). Last edited by NiLuJe; 10-04-2019 at 09:14 PM.

10-05-2019, 05:52 AM	#4
Adoby Handy Elephant Posts: 1,737 Karma: 26785684 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern Sweden, far out in the quiet woods Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra	I got a bit confused trying to figure out how to set XDG_CACHE_HOME the best way. With the least side effects. I ended up creating ~/bin/calibre with the following contents: Code: #!/usr/bin/env bash #Run calibre with XDG_CACHE_HOME set env XDG_CACHE_HOME=/opt/.cache /opt/calibre/calibre That way all other apps can continue using the default symlinked path ~/.cache and only calibre use /opt/.cache And everything works fine again, the way I am used to... Edit: ... and Kovid has already fixed the bug so that the symlink will work OK in the next release. So my "work-around" won't be needed for long. Fantastic! Last edited by Adoby; 10-05-2019 at 06:02 AM.

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10-04-2019, 10:41 PM	#3
Adoby Handy Elephant Posts: 1,737 Karma: 26785684 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern Sweden, far out in the quiet woods Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra	Good one. I'll do that!

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