Java - find temporary directory path

In this short article, we would like to show how to find path to temporary directory where we can store temporary files using Java.

Quick solution:

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String path = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");

By default, operating systems have a place to store temporary files needed by many applications.

Motivation to use that store may be special features like:

• protection against access across different users,
• supported fast IO operations (e.g. virtual file systems in memory or dedicated fast storage),
• cleaning when the operating system is turned off.

Note: in Java we can change default temporary directory path by running: java -Djava.io.tmpdir=/path/to/temporary-directory

Example program:

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package com.example;

​

public class Program {

​

    public static void main(String[] args) {

​

        String path = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");

        System.out.println(path);

    }

}

Example output (under Windows):

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C:\Users\john\AppData\Local\Temp\

Where: john is directory used by currently logged-in user account.