# Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 containerized installation - Change user local containers storage location **URL:** \ **Category:** Get Help\ **Tags:** rhel, rhel9, containerized, aap, ansible\ **Created:** [November 15, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845 "2025-11-15T21:51:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![snowman11784](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/snowman11784/32/7032_2.png) [@snowman11784](https://forum.ansible.com/u/snowman11784)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845/1 "2025-11-15T21:51:38Z")
I am trying to install Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 containerized installation on RHEL 9.6. Does anyone know if it is even possible to change the location of the paths for the “.local/share/containers” hierarchy? I know I can create a symlink to point the “.local/share/containers” to another mountpoint, but I would prefer to not use a symlink if possible. Currently its parent path is $HOME (e.g. /home/$USER"). Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![markstos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/markstos/32/9706_2.png) [@markstos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/markstos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 11:14am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845/2 "2025-11-16T11:14:19Z")
I don’t know for certain, but you could try exporting the XDG\_DATA\_HOME env var with a different path, both before install but also persistently via a shell config file. > **[XDG Base Directory Specification](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir/latest/#variables)** > > 1 Introduction # Various specifications specify files and file formats. This specification defines where these files should be looked for by defining one or more base directories relative to which files should be located. 2 Basics # The XDG Base... It defaults to ~/.local/share and Podman references it when deciding where to store containers before defaulting to ~/.local/share > **[podman — Podman documentation](https://docs.podman.io/en/latest/markdown/podman.1.html)** ---
**Author:** ![snowman11784](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/snowman11784/32/7032_2.png) [@snowman11784](https://forum.ansible.com/u/snowman11784)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845/3 "2025-11-17T15:13:13Z")
Thanks @markstos. Setting XDG\_DATA\_HOME worked. `export XDG_DATA_HOME=/apps/$USER/.local/share` ---
**Author:** ![markstos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/markstos/32/9706_2.png) [@markstos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/markstos)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845/4 "2025-11-17T15:18:38Z")
Great! Could you mark my answer as “solved”? ---
**Author:** ![anon81884396](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b782af/32.png) [@anon81884396](https://forum.ansible.com/u/anon81884396)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845/5 "2025-11-17T19:21:29Z")
I think he meant mark his reply as the one that resolved your issue. ---
**Author:** ![markstos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/markstos/32/9706_2.png) [@markstos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/markstos)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845/6 "2025-11-17T19:23:16Z")
@anon81884396 That’s right. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/original/1X/1882d9a01da5d8996a862359b0913cc568a39b84.svg) [@system](https://forum.ansible.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/red-hat-ansible-automation-platform-2-5-containerized-installation-change-user-local-containers-storage-location/44845/7 "2025-12-17T19:23:43Z")
Closed on December 17, 2025, 7:23pm UTC This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.