# Running Kibana from a read only directory \[5.4\]

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/running-kibana-from-a-read-only-directory-5-4/110378>\
**Category:** Kibana\
**Created:** [December 5, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/running-kibana-from-a-read-only-directory-5-4/110378 "2017-12-05T15:03:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![James\_Giles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@James\_Giles](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/James_Giles)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/running-kibana-from-a-read-only-directory-5-4/110378/1 "2017-12-05T15:03:08Z")

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Hi all,

I'm attempting to run Kibana from a read only directory, and I was hoping someone could give me a good idea of what files Kibana attempts to write to its installation directory.

I'm aware of .babel.json being created in the optimize directory, and I know I can get that written out elsewhere with the BABEL\_CACHE\_PATH environment variable.

I'm also aware of the data/uuid file that Kibana writes to, which can be changed with the Kibana path.data configuration.

Is anyone aware of any other files that are written out by Kibana to its install directory?

Regards,  
James

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**Author:** ![weltenwort](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/weltenwort/32/53885_2.png) [@weltenwort](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/weltenwort)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/running-kibana-from-a-read-only-directory-5-4/110378/2 "2017-12-05T18:24:29Z")

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Hi @James_Giles,

if you are using x-pack, the `data` directory will be used to store various temporary data as well, but that should be covered by the `path.data` setting. Depending on the distribution you are using, the startup scripts might write PID and log files, but those are usually located in `/var` or `/run`.

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**Author:** ![James\_Giles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@James\_Giles](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/James_Giles)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 12:02pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/running-kibana-from-a-read-only-directory-5-4/110378/3 "2017-12-15T12:02:37Z")

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Hi @weltenwort,

I've configured the pid and log files to a writeable directory, so I think I'm okay there.  
Seems like I have everything covered - thanks for your time in responding!

Regards,  
James

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 12:02pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/running-kibana-from-a-read-only-directory-5-4/110378/4 "2018-01-12T12:02:38Z")

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