The configuration file
Where DeskDrawer keeps your layout, what is in it, how it is written safely, and whether you should edit it.
Everything DeskDrawer remembers lives in one file: config.json, in the Configuration folder.
Finding it#
Tray menu → Open the configuration folder. You never need to type a path.
If you want one anyway:
| Build | Location |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Store | The package's per-user data folder, managed by Windows |
| Portable | %APPDATA%\DeskDrawer |
What is in it#
- Every board: name, rectangle, folded state, Sort mode, Icon size, outline and corner toggles
- Board membership — which desktop item belongs to which board
- Application preferences
That is all. There is no cache, no index, no copy of any file, and no history of what you have opened.
How it is written#
The file is written to a temporary file and then swapped into place atomically. A crash or a power cut during a save cannot leave a half-written configuration, because the swap either happens or does not.
A related failure mode took longer to find: an interrupted save used to be indistinguishable from a first run, so DeskDrawer would helpfully rebuild a default layout over the top of your real one. That was fixed in 1.2.3 by making "no configuration yet" and "configuration unreadable" distinct conditions with different responses.
Editing it by hand#
You can — it is readable JSON. Two cautions:
- Quit DeskDrawer first. It writes on change and will overwrite you otherwise.
- The format is not a stable API. It may change between versions without notice. Nothing outside DeskDrawer should depend on its shape.
The other file in the folder#
error.log, a plain-text record of unexpected internal errors. It stays on your machine unless you attach it to a report yourself. See Privacy & data.