# Seeking convention: project directory for project info **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [August 4, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/seeking-convention-project-directory-for-project-info/101393 "2006-08-04T17:30:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/7/a8b319/32.png) [@7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/7rans)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/seeking-convention-project-directory-for-project-info/101393/1 "2006-08-04T17:30:35Z")
I’m querying the Ruby community for a general convention in project directories. I develop Reap which is essentially a Rake clone (almost fully Rake compatible interface) plus extensive project management tool. As it has matured I’ve come to see that it would be best to have a dedicated folder in which to store “meta information” for a project – things like project info, special admin scripts, etc. plus files we normally store at the top level like VERSION, fit nicely in this directory. Currently, I’m using the name ‘meta/’. But I’ve noticed some other project using ‘util/’ for similar purposes. I’ve also toyed with using ‘proj/’ but didn’t end up liking it so much. At this point I need to go ahead and commit to some name. Perhaps there can be a general concensus for a community convention for what to label such a directory? Thanks, T. ---
**Author:** ![7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/7/a8b319/32.png) [@7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/7rans)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/seeking-convention-project-directory-for-project-info/101393/2 "2006-08-04T18:18:41Z")
I would think that you could actually separate that data into appropriate directories. I don’t think special admin scripts falls into the meta category, and VERSION may be better off in the root… or something like state/ or someting. Also, there’s .meta/ if you’re wanting to keep it quiet for the most part. Does this make any sense? Or have I misunderstood your design and structure? M.T. ---
**Author:** ![7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/7/a8b319/32.png) [@7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/7rans)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/seeking-convention-project-directory-for-project-info/101393/3 "2006-08-04T18:36:42Z")
Matt T. wrote: > I would think that you could actually separate that data into > appropriate directories. I don’t think special admin scripts falls > into the meta category, and VERSION may be better off in the root… > or something like state/ or someting. Also, there’s .meta/ if you’re > wanting to keep it quiet for the most part. It can become rather clutterd if everything has it’s own particular place which is why this single “project metadata and utilities” dir really becomes useful. By admin I mean project admin. Eg. a script that updates RAA for instance (albiet more often these are in a Rakefile/Reapfile, but not always.) Here’s a like of some conceviable files: MANIFEST VERSION ChangeLog/CHANGES doap.xml ProjectInfo (Reap uses this) Reapfile (ditto) Rakefile (if Rake supported it) InstalledFiles (if setup.rb supported it) .config (if setup.rb supported it) I’m sure there are more, and of course there are others that could be very project specific. FYI, Reap still supports the files it uses even if they are in the root and not in “meta/” though. > Does this make any sense? Or have I misunderstood your design and structure? Yes and no. Perhaps you could be more specific. What directories do you think need to be separate? Thanks, T. ---
**Author:** ![7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/7/a8b319/32.png) [@7rans](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/7rans)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/seeking-convention-project-directory-for-project-info/101393/4 "2006-08-04T20:18:54Z")
I think any kind of script would belong in a ./script/ folder, and if need be, have a ./script/admin/ folder for those special admin scripts. And most of those other bits can be hidden in a ./.meta/ folder if you like, particularly MANIFEST and VERSION and doap.xml (maybe?). I’d have to know a bit more about the project to really give you some more suggestions. I think I’ll go check it out and give you some more suggestions once I’m a bit more familiar with it. M.T.