Default file locations

Neo4j directories

The page describes the Neo4j directories, specifying their default locations per distribution and minimal file permissions.

If Neo4j was installed using a tar.gz or zip archive, <NEO4J_HOME> refers to the location the archive was extracted to.

Instructions provided for Neo4j Desktop are applicable across all operating systems where Neo4j Desktop is supported.

If tmp is set to noexec, it is recommended to set server.jvm.additional=-Djava.io.tmpdir=/home/neo4j in conf/neo4j.conf and replace /home/neo4j with a path that has exec permissions.

For /bin/cypher-shell, set this via an environment variable: export JAVA_OPTS=-Djava.io.tmpdir=/home/neo4j and replace /home/neo4j with a path that has exec permissions.

For the Neo4j’s uses of the Java Native Access (JNA) library, set server.jvm.additional=-Djna.tmpdir=/tmp in conf/neo4j.conf and replace /tmp with a path that has exec permissions.

Bin

Description: The Neo4j running script and built-in tools, such as Cypher Shell and Neo4j Admin.
File permissions: Read only and execute.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/bin
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\bin
Debian / RPM	/usr/bin
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal and run `cd bin`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/bin

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\bin

Debian / RPM

/usr/bin

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal and run cd bin.

Certificates

Description: The Neo4j TLS certificates.
File permissions: Read only.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/certificates
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\certificates
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/certificates
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal and run `cd certificates`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/certificates

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\certificates

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/certificates

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal and run cd certificates.

Configuration

Description: The Neo4j configuration settings, Log4j configuration settings, and the JMX access credentials. For details about neo4j.conf, see The neo4j.conf file.
File permissions: Read only

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/conf/neo4j.conf <NEO4J_HOME>/conf/neo4j-admin.conf <NEO4J_HOME>/conf/server-logs.xml <NEO4J_HOME>/conf/user-log.xml
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\conf\neo4j.conf <NEO4J_HOME>\conf\neo4j-admin.conf <NEO4J_HOME>\conf\server-logs.xml <NEO4J_HOME>\conf\user-log.xml
Debian / RPM	/etc/neo4j/neo4j.conf /etc/neo4j/neo4j-admin.conf /etc/neo4j/server-logs.xml /etc/neo4j/user-log.xml
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal and run `cd conf`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/conf/neo4j.conf
<NEO4J_HOME>/conf/neo4j-admin.conf
<NEO4J_HOME>/conf/server-logs.xml
<NEO4J_HOME>/conf/user-log.xml

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\conf\neo4j.conf
<NEO4J_HOME>\conf\neo4j-admin.conf
<NEO4J_HOME>\conf\server-logs.xml
<NEO4J_HOME>\conf\user-log.xml

Debian / RPM

/etc/neo4j/neo4j.conf
/etc/neo4j/neo4j-admin.conf
/etc/neo4j/server-logs.xml
/etc/neo4j/user-log.xml

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal and run cd conf.

Data

Description: All data-related content, such as databases, transactions, cluster-state (if applicable), dumps, and the cypher.script files (from the neo4j-admin database restore command). The data directory is internal to Neo4j and its structure is subject to change between versions without notice.
File permissions: Read and write.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/data
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\data
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/data
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd data`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/data

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\data

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/data

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd data.

Import

Description: All CSV files that the command LOAD CSV uses as sources to import data in Neo4j.
File permissions: Read only

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/import
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\import
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/import
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd import`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/import

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\import

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/import

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd import.

Labs

Description: Contains APOC Core. For more information, see APOC User Guide → Installation.
File permissions: Read only.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/labs
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\labs
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/labs
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd labs`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/labs

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\labs

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/labs

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd labs.

Lib

Description: All Neo4j dependencies.
File permissions: Read only.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/lib
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\lib
Debian / RPM	/usr/share/neo4j/lib
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd lib`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/lib

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\lib

Debian / RPM

/usr/share/neo4j/lib

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd lib.

Licenses

Description: For storing license files from Neo4j.
File permissions: Read only.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/licenses
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\licenses
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/licenses
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd licences`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/licenses

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\licenses

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/licenses

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd licences.

Logs

Description: The Neo4j log files.
File permissions: Read and write.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/logs ^[1]
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\logs
Debian / RPM	/var/log/neo4j/ ^[2]
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd logs`.
1. To view neo4j.log in Docker, use `docker logs <containerID/name>`. 2. To view the neo4j.log for Debian and RPM, use `journalctl --unit=neo4j`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/logs ^[1]

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\logs

Debian / RPM

/var/log/neo4j/ ^[2]

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd logs.

1. To view neo4j.log in Docker, use docker logs <containerID/name>.

2. To view the neo4j.log for Debian and RPM, use journalctl --unit=neo4j.

Metrics

Description: The Neo4j built-in metrics for monitoring the Neo4j DBMS and each individual database.
File permissions: Read and write.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/metrics
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\metrics
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/metrics
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd metrics`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/metrics

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\metrics

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/metrics

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd metrics.

Plugins

Description: Custom code that extends Neo4j, for example, user-defined procedures, functions, and security plugins.
File permissions: Read only.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/plugins
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\plugins
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/plugins
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd plugins`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/plugins

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\plugins

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/plugins

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd plugins.

Products

Description: The JAR files of the Neo4j products: Graph Data Science Library, Neo4j Bloom, and GenAI plugin. The folder also contains a README.txt file with information on enabling them.
File permissions: Read only.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/products
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\products
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/products
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd products`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/products

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\products

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/products

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd products.

Run

Description: The processes IDs.
File permissions: Read and write.

Neo4j distribution Default file location

Neo4j distribution	Default file location
Linux / macOS / Docker	<NEO4J_HOME>/run
Windows	<NEO4J_HOME>\run
Debian / RPM	/var/lib/neo4j/run
Neo4j Desktop	From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run `cd run`.

Linux / macOS / Docker

<NEO4J_HOME>/run

Windows

<NEO4J_HOME>\run

Debian / RPM

/var/lib/neo4j/run

Neo4j Desktop

From the Open dropdown menu of your active Neo4j DBMS, select Terminal, and run cd run.

Customize your file locations

The file locations can also be customized by using environment variables and options.

The locations of <NEO4J_HOME> and conf can be configured using environment variables:

Table 1. Configuration of *<NEO4J_HOME>* and *conf*
Location	Default	Environment variable	Notes
<NEO4J_HOME>	parent of bin	`NEO4J_HOME`	Must be set explicitly if bin is not a subdirectory.
conf	<NEO4J_HOME>/conf	`NEO4J_CONF`	Must be set explicitly if it is not a subdirectory of <NEO4J_HOME>.

The rest of the locations can be configured by uncommenting the respective setting in the conf/neo4j.conf file and changing the default value.

#server.directories.data=data
#server.directories.plugins=plugins
#server.directories.logs=logs
#server.directories.lib=lib
#server.directories.run=run
#server.directories.licenses=licenses
#server.directories.metrics=metrics
#server.directories.transaction.logs.root=data/transactions
#server.directories.dumps.root=data/dumps
#server.directories.import=import