^ ^                 ^ ^
=(o.o)=  ~byakuren  =(o.o)=
  m m                 m m

Personal Preference Patches for J Source

These patches modify J’s default configuration to match my personal preferences. They are not required for J to function and may not be suitable for all users.

Hidden User Directory

Patch: hidden-user-directory.patch

What It Does

Changes the J user directory from ~/j9.7-user to ~/.j9.7-user (note the leading dot), making it a hidden directory on Unix systems.

Why?

On Unix-like systems, directories beginning with a . are hidden from normal directory listings. This keeps the home directory cleaner by hiding J’s configuration and user files alongside other dotfiles like .config, .local, etc.

Technical Details

The change is a single-line modification to jlibrary/bin/profile.ijs:

NB. Before:
userx=. omitversion{::'/j9.7-user';'/j-user'

NB. After:
userx=. omitversion{::'/.j9.7-user';'/j-user'

The omitversion variable controls whether the version number is included in the path. With omitversion=0 (default), the path becomes ~/.j9.7-user. With omitversion=1, it would be ~/j-user (unchanged).

Applying the Patch

cd /path/to/jsource
git apply hidden-user-directory.patch

Compatibility Notes

• Unix/Linux/macOS: Works as expected, hides the directory
• Windows: The leading dot has no special meaning; the directory will be visible but named .j9.7-user
• Migration: Existing ~/j9.7-user directories are not automatically renamed; you may need to move your existing user directory manually