File Locations
This page lists where MT Showcase keeps its data, configuration files, logs and license on each operating system.
Ubuntu
| What | Location |
|---|---|
| Program files | /opt/mt-showcase-<version>/. /opt/mt-showcase points at the installed version. |
| Data folder | /var/lib/mt-showcase-server/, owned by the mt-showcase-server account |
| Settings you edit | /etc/MultiTaction/mt-showcase/server/production_users.yaml |
| Packaged settings (do not edit) | /opt/mt-showcase-<version>/server/production.yaml |
| Server logs | journalctl -u mt-showcase-server, and log files in /var/lib/mt-showcase-server/MultiTaction/showcase/logs/ |
| Backups | /var/lib/mt-showcase-server/backups/ |
| TLS certificate | /var/lib/mt-showcase-server/certs/. A copy is added to the system's trusted certificates as /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/mt-showcase.crt. |
| Custom widget packages | /etc/MultiTaction/mt-showcase/plugins/ |
| MT Launcher registration | /etc/MultiTaction/launcher/apps/mt-showcase-<version>.ini |
| Client cache | ~/MultiTaction/showcase/cache/ of the user running the client |
Windows
| What | Location |
|---|---|
| Program files | C:\Program Files\MT Showcase\ (the installation folder) |
| Data folder | %APPDATA%\mt-showcase-server\ of the Windows user the server runs as, for example C:\Users\multi\AppData\Roaming\mt-showcase-server\ |
| Settings you edit | <installation folder>\server\production_users.yaml. It is replaced when you upgrade; see Upgrade. |
| Packaged settings (do not edit) | <installation folder>\server\production_win.yaml |
| Server and client logs | %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\showcase\logs\, normally C:\ProgramData\MultiTaction\showcase\logs\ |
| Backups | %LOCALAPPDATA%\MultiTaction\showcase\backups\ |
| TLS certificate | %PROGRAMDATA%\mt-showcase-server\certs\ |
| Working folders for imports and exports | \tmp\showcase\ and \tmp\showcase-export\ on the installation drive, for example C:\tmp\showcase\ |
| Custom widget packages | %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\showcase\plugins\ or %LOCALAPPDATA%\MultiTaction\showcase\plugins\ |
| MT Launcher registration | %PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\launcher\apps\mt-showcase-<version>.ini |
| Client cache | %LOCALAPPDATA%\MultiTaction\showcase\cache\ |
| Crash dumps | %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps\ |
On Windows the server runs as the signed-in user, so %APPDATA% and %LOCALAPPDATA% are in that user's profile. Always operate MT Showcase with the same Windows account; see Install on Windows.
macOS
| What | Location |
|---|---|
| Program files | /Applications/MT Showcase.app. Never change files inside it. |
| Data folder | ~/.mt-showcase/ in the home folder of the user running MT Showcase |
| Settings you edit | /etc/MultiTaction/mt-showcase/server/production_users.yaml. It does not exist by default; create the folder and the file. |
| Server and client output | ~/.mt-showcase/showcase.log |
| Server logs | ~/MultiTaction/showcase/logs/ |
| Backups | ~/.mt-showcase/backups/ |
| TLS certificate | ~/.mt-showcase/certs/ |
| Client cache | ~/MultiTaction/showcase/cache/ |
Do not edit the copy inside the application bundle
The bundle contains a template production_users.yaml. Editing it breaks the app's code signature, and macOS then refuses to open the app. Always use the /etc path above. Settings in the /etc file override the template.
~/.mt-showcase/showcase.log collects everything the server and the client print, with a === client starting <date> === line each time the client starts. It is the first file to send to MultiTaction Support when you report a problem on macOS. server.pid in the same folder holds the process ID of the running server.
What is in the data folder
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
showcase.db |
The main application database: apps, structures, themes, content sets, users and settings |
showcase-reporting.db |
The reporting database for data gathering |
assets (data on macOS) |
The media library: images, videos and other uploaded content |
sites |
Hosted sites |
.auth-kek |
This installation's encryption key. It protects the signing keys, single sign-on settings, personal folder links and SMTP passwords stored in the database. Without it those cannot be read. |
backups, tmp, exports, certs |
As listed above, on Ubuntu and macOS |
What to back up
An mt-showcase-ctl backup covers the application database, the reporting database and the media library. From 26.10.0 it also includes .auth-kek. It does not include hosted sites, the certificate or your production_users.yaml. Copy those yourself; see Backup and restore. Keep copies of .auth-kek as securely as the databases.
Server configuration files
The server reads the packaged settings file first, then production_users.yaml. Settings in production_users.yaml override the packaged ones. Never edit the packaged file: it is replaced when you upgrade.
| Platform | File you edit | Kept when you upgrade? |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu | /etc/MultiTaction/mt-showcase/server/production_users.yaml |
Yes |
| Windows | C:\Program Files\MT Showcase\server\production_users.yaml |
No. Keep a copy and apply your changes again after upgrading. |
| macOS | /etc/MultiTaction/mt-showcase/server/production_users.yaml |
Yes |
For every setting, see the Settings reference.
Log files
Server logs
- Ubuntu: view the service log with
journalctl -u mt-showcase-server. The server also writes a log file each time it starts, in/var/lib/mt-showcase-server/MultiTaction/showcase/logs/. - Windows:
%PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\showcase\logs\. - macOS:
~/.mt-showcase/showcase.log, and a log file for each start in~/MultiTaction/showcase/logs/.
Server log files are named log<YYYY-MM-DD_HHmmss>-<n>.log, where the timestamp is when the server started and <n> is a sequence number.
Client logs
- Started from MT Launcher (Ubuntu and Windows): MT Launcher saves the client's output in a log file named after the MT Showcase application file,
mt-showcase-<version>-<YYYY-MM-DD>.log. By default the file is in~/MultiTaction/mt-showcase-<version>/logs/on Ubuntu and in%LOCALAPPDATA%\MultiTaction\mt-showcase-<version>\logs\on Windows. The[logs]section of the application file can change the folder and file name. See the MT Launcher manual. - Started directly on Windows (desktop shortcut or Start menu):
%PROGRAMDATA%\MultiTaction\showcase\logs\mt-showcase-<date>.log. - Started from a terminal on Ubuntu or Windows: the client prints its log to the terminal and does not write a log file.
- macOS: always
~/.mt-showcase/showcase.log, however the app was started.
License folders
MT Showcase looks for a license in these folders. An activated license is saved in the per-user folder of the user who activated it.
| Platform | System-wide | Per user (activated licenses are saved here) |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu | /etc/MultiTaction/Licenses/ |
~/MultiTaction/Licenses/ |
| Windows | %ProgramData%\MultiTaction\Licenses\ |
%LOCALAPPDATA%\MultiTaction\Licenses\ |
| macOS | /etc/MultiTaction/Licenses/ |
~/MultiTaction/Licenses/ |
On macOS the license is not in ~/.mt-showcase/, so deleting that folder does not remove your license.
Reset macOS to a clean state
To return MT Showcase on macOS to a freshly installed state, quit MT Showcase, stop the server, and delete its data:
rm -rf ~/.mt-showcase ~/MultiTaction/showcase
This deletes your apps
This removes the databases and all uploaded content, and a new certificate is generated on the next start. Export or back up anything you want to keep first; see Backup and restore.