fix: use persistent platform-appropriate dirs instead of /tmp for vector store defaults (#4279)

Replace hardcoded /tmp/{provider} default paths with XDG-compliant persistent
directories (~/.local/share/mem0/{provider}), fixing failures on Windows,
macOS LaunchAgents, Linux systemd, and Docker. Adds MEM0_DATA_DIR env var
override, legacy /tmp data migration warning, and updates Qdrant/ChromaDB/FAISS
configs and docs to use the new defaults.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/components/vectordbs/dbs/faiss.mdx

@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ Here are the parameters available for configuring FAISS:
 | Parameter | Description | Default Value |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | `collection_name` | The name of the collection | `mem0` |
-| `path` | Path to store FAISS index and metadata | `/tmp/faiss/<collection_name>` |
+| `path` | Path to store FAISS index and metadata | `~/.local/share/mem0/faiss/<collection_name>` |
 | `distance_strategy` | Distance metric strategy to use (options: 'euclidean', 'inner_product', 'cosine') | `euclidean` |
 | `normalize_L2` | Whether to normalize L2 vectors (only applicable for euclidean distance) | `False` |
 

docs/components/vectordbs/dbs/qdrant.mdx

@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ Let's see the available parameters for the `qdrant` config:
 | `client` | Custom client for qdrant | `None` |
 | `host` | The host where the qdrant server is running | `None` |
 | `port` | The port where the qdrant server is running | `None` |
-| `path` | Path for the qdrant database | `/tmp/qdrant` |
+| `path` | Path for the qdrant database | `~/.local/share/mem0/qdrant` |
 | `url` | Full URL for the qdrant server | `None` |
 | `api_key` | API key for the qdrant server | `None` |
 | `on_disk` | For enabling persistent storage | `False` |
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ Let's see the available parameters for the `qdrant` config:
 | `embeddingModelDims` | Dimensions of the embedding model | `1536` |
 | `host` | The host where the Qdrant server is running | `None` |
 | `port` | The port where the Qdrant server is running | `None` |
-| `path` | Path for the Qdrant database | `/tmp/qdrant` |
+| `path` | Path for the Qdrant database | `~/.local/share/mem0/qdrant` |
 | `url` | Full URL for the Qdrant server | `None` |
 | `apiKey` | API key for the Qdrant server | `None` |
 | `onDisk` | For enabling persistent storage | `False` |

docs/open-source/overview.mdx

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ Mem0 Open Source delivers the same adaptive memory engine as the platform, but p
   Mem0 OSS works out of the box with sensible defaults:
   - LLM: OpenAI `gpt-4.1-nano-2025-04-14` (via `OPENAI_API_KEY`)
   - Embeddings: OpenAI `text-embedding-3-small`
-  - Vector store: Local Qdrant instance storing data at `/tmp/qdrant`
+  - Vector store: Local Qdrant instance storing data at `~/.local/share/mem0/qdrant`
   - History store: SQLite database at `~/.mem0/history.db`
   - Reranker: Disabled until you configure a provider
 

docs/open-source/python-quickstart.mdx

@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ print(results)
 By default `Memory()` wires up:
 - OpenAI `gpt-4.1-nano-2025-04-14` for fact extraction and updates
 - OpenAI `text-embedding-3-small` embeddings (1536 dimensions)
-- Qdrant vector store with on-disk data at `/tmp/qdrant`
+- Qdrant vector store with on-disk data at `~/.local/share/mem0/qdrant`
 - SQLite history at `~/.mem0/history.db`
 - No reranker (add one in the config when you need it)
 </Note>

mem0/configs/vector_stores/chroma.py

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ from typing import Any, ClassVar, Dict, Optional
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field, model_validator
 
+from mem0.vector_stores.configs import get_default_vector_store_path
+
 
 class ChromaDbConfig(BaseModel):
     try:
@@ -23,24 +25,25 @@ class ChromaDbConfig(BaseModel):
     def check_connection_config(cls, values):
         host, port, path = values.get("host"), values.get("port"), values.get("path")
         api_key, tenant = values.get("api_key"), values.get("tenant")
-        
+        default_path = get_default_vector_store_path("chroma")
+
         # Check if cloud configuration is provided
         cloud_config = bool(api_key and tenant)
-        
+
         # If cloud configuration is provided, remove any default path that might have been added
-        if cloud_config and path == "/tmp/chroma":
+        if cloud_config and path == default_path:
             values.pop("path", None)
             return values
-        
+
         # Check if local/server configuration is provided
         local_config = bool(path) or bool(host and port)
-        
+
         if not cloud_config and not local_config:
             raise ValueError("Either ChromaDB Cloud configuration (api_key, tenant) or local configuration (path or host/port) must be provided.")
-        
+
         if cloud_config and local_config:
             raise ValueError("Cannot specify both cloud configuration and local configuration. Choose one.")
-            
+
         return values
 
     @model_validator(mode="before")

mem0/configs/vector_stores/qdrant.py

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ from typing import Any, ClassVar, Dict, Optional
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field, model_validator
 
+from mem0.vector_stores.configs import get_default_vector_store_path
+
 
 class QdrantConfig(BaseModel):
     from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
@@ -13,7 +15,7 @@ class QdrantConfig(BaseModel):
     client: Optional[QdrantClient] = Field(None, description="Existing Qdrant client instance")
     host: Optional[str] = Field(None, description="Host address for Qdrant server")
     port: Optional[int] = Field(None, description="Port for Qdrant server")
-    path: Optional[str] = Field("/tmp/qdrant", description="Path for local Qdrant database")
+    path: Optional[str] = Field(default_factory=lambda: get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant"), description="Path for local Qdrant database")
     url: Optional[str] = Field(None, description="Full URL for Qdrant server")
     api_key: Optional[str] = Field(None, description="API key for Qdrant server")
     on_disk: Optional[bool] = Field(False,description="Enables persistent storage. Vectors are kept on disk (True) or in memory (False). Does not delete the local database path.")

mem0/vector_stores/configs.py

@@ -1,10 +1,33 @@
+import logging
 import os
-
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, Optional
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, model_validator
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def get_default_vector_store_path(provider: str) -> str:
+    """Return a platform-appropriate default path for a vector store provider.
+
+    Preference order: MEM0_DATA_DIR → XDG_DATA_HOME (Linux) → APPDATA (Windows) → ~/.local/share
+    """
+    mem0_data_dir = os.environ.get("MEM0_DATA_DIR")
+    if mem0_data_dir:
+        base = Path(mem0_data_dir)
+    else:
+        xdg = os.environ.get("XDG_DATA_HOME")
+        app_data = os.environ.get("APPDATA")
+        if xdg:
+            base = Path(xdg)
+        elif app_data:
+            base = Path(app_data)
+        else:
+            base = Path.home() / ".local" / "share"
+        base = base / "mem0"
+    return str(base / provider)
+
 
 class VectorStoreConfig(BaseModel):
     provider: str = Field(
@@ -64,18 +87,16 @@ class VectorStoreConfig(BaseModel):
 
         # also check if path in allowed kays for pydantic model, and whether config extra fields are allowed
         if "path" not in config and "path" in config_class.__annotations__:
-            # Use a platform-appropriate user data directory instead of /tmp, which is
-            # ephemeral on many systems and may be unwritable in service/restricted environments.
-            # Preference order: XDG_DATA_HOME (Linux) → APPDATA (Windows) → ~/.local/share
-            xdg = os.environ.get("XDG_DATA_HOME")
-            app_data = os.environ.get("APPDATA")
-            if xdg:
-                base = Path(xdg)
-            elif app_data:
-                base = Path(app_data)
-            else:
-                base = Path.home() / ".local" / "share"
-            config["path"] = str(base / "mem0" / provider)
+            config["path"] = get_default_vector_store_path(provider)
+
+            legacy_path = Path(f"/tmp/{provider}")
+            if legacy_path.exists() and any(legacy_path.iterdir()):
+                logger.warning(
+                    f"Found existing data at legacy path '{legacy_path}'. "
+                    f"mem0 now defaults to '{config['path']}'. "
+                    f"To keep using the old location, set path='/tmp/{provider}' in your config, "
+                    f"or move the data to the new path."
+                )
 
         self.config = config_class(**config)
         return self

mem0/vector_stores/faiss.py

@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ from typing import Dict, List, Optional
 import numpy as np
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
+from mem0.vector_stores.configs import get_default_vector_store_path
+
 import warnings
 
 try:
@@ -58,7 +60,7 @@ class FAISS(VectorStoreBase):
                 Defaults to False.
         """
         self.collection_name = collection_name
-        self.path = path or f"/tmp/faiss/{collection_name}"
+        self.path = path or f"{get_default_vector_store_path('faiss')}/{collection_name}"
         self.distance_strategy = distance_strategy
         self.normalize_L2 = normalize_L2
         self.embedding_model_dims = embedding_model_dims

tests/vector_stores/test_default_path.py

@@ -0,0 +1,357 @@
+"""Tests for the vector store default path fix (issue #4279).
+
+Verifies that vector store defaults use platform-appropriate persistent directories
+instead of /tmp, which is ephemeral and may be inaccessible in restricted environments.
+"""
+
+import logging
+import os
+import tempfile
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from mem0.vector_stores.configs import VectorStoreConfig, get_default_vector_store_path
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# get_default_vector_store_path unit tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestGetDefaultVectorStorePath:
+    """Tests for the get_default_vector_store_path helper function."""
+
+    def _clean_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Remove all relevant env vars to get a clean baseline."""
+        for var in ("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "XDG_DATA_HOME", "APPDATA"):
+            monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
+
+    def test_default_falls_back_to_local_share(self, monkeypatch):
+        """With no env vars set, path should be ~/.local/share/mem0/{provider}."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        result = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        expected = str(Path.home() / ".local" / "share" / "mem0" / "qdrant")
+        assert result == expected
+
+    def test_xdg_data_home_respected(self, monkeypatch):
+        """XDG_DATA_HOME should be used as the base when set."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("XDG_DATA_HOME", "/custom/xdg/data")
+        result = get_default_vector_store_path("chroma")
+        assert result == "/custom/xdg/data/mem0/chroma"
+
+    def test_appdata_respected_on_windows(self, monkeypatch):
+        """APPDATA should be used when XDG_DATA_HOME is not set (Windows)."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("APPDATA", "C:\\Users\\test\\AppData\\Roaming")
+        result = get_default_vector_store_path("faiss")
+        expected = str(Path("C:\\Users\\test\\AppData\\Roaming") / "mem0" / "faiss")
+        assert result == expected
+
+    def test_xdg_takes_precedence_over_appdata(self, monkeypatch):
+        """XDG_DATA_HOME should take precedence over APPDATA."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("XDG_DATA_HOME", "/xdg/path")
+        monkeypatch.setenv("APPDATA", "C:\\windows\\path")
+        result = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        assert result == "/xdg/path/mem0/qdrant"
+
+    def test_mem0_data_dir_takes_highest_precedence(self, monkeypatch):
+        """MEM0_DATA_DIR should override all other env vars."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "/custom/mem0/data")
+        monkeypatch.setenv("XDG_DATA_HOME", "/should/be/ignored")
+        monkeypatch.setenv("APPDATA", "C:\\also\\ignored")
+        result = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        assert result == "/custom/mem0/data/qdrant"
+
+    def test_mem0_data_dir_no_extra_mem0_subdir(self, monkeypatch):
+        """MEM0_DATA_DIR is already mem0-specific, so no extra 'mem0' subdir."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "/data/mem0")
+        result = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        # Should be /data/mem0/qdrant, NOT /data/mem0/mem0/qdrant
+        assert result == "/data/mem0/qdrant"
+
+    def test_different_providers_get_different_paths(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Each provider should get its own subdirectory."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        qdrant_path = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        chroma_path = get_default_vector_store_path("chroma")
+        faiss_path = get_default_vector_store_path("faiss")
+        assert qdrant_path != chroma_path != faiss_path
+        assert qdrant_path.endswith("/qdrant")
+        assert chroma_path.endswith("/chroma")
+        assert faiss_path.endswith("/faiss")
+
+    def test_path_never_contains_tmp(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Default path should never be under /tmp (the whole point of #4279)."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        for provider in ("qdrant", "chroma", "faiss"):
+            result = get_default_vector_store_path(provider)
+            assert not result.startswith("/tmp"), f"Provider {provider} still defaults to /tmp: {result}"
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# VectorStoreConfig integration tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestVectorStoreConfigPathInjection:
+    """Tests that VectorStoreConfig correctly injects the new default path."""
+
+    def _clean_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        for var in ("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "XDG_DATA_HOME", "APPDATA"):
+            monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
+
+    def test_qdrant_gets_persistent_default_path(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Qdrant should get a persistent default path, not /tmp."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={})
+        assert "/tmp" not in vc.config.path
+        assert "mem0" in vc.config.path
+        assert vc.config.path.endswith("/qdrant")
+
+    def test_explicit_path_not_overridden(self, monkeypatch):
+        """An explicitly provided path should be used as-is."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        custom_path = "/my/custom/qdrant/path"
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={"path": custom_path})
+        assert vc.config.path == custom_path
+
+    def test_explicit_tmp_path_still_works(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Users who explicitly want /tmp should still be able to use it."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={"path": "/tmp/qdrant"})
+        assert vc.config.path == "/tmp/qdrant"
+
+    def test_mem0_data_dir_flows_through_config(self, monkeypatch):
+        """MEM0_DATA_DIR should be respected through VectorStoreConfig."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "/custom/data")
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={})
+        assert vc.config.path == "/custom/data/qdrant"
+
+    def test_xdg_data_home_flows_through_config(self, monkeypatch):
+        """XDG_DATA_HOME should be respected through VectorStoreConfig."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("XDG_DATA_HOME", "/xdg/data")
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={})
+        assert vc.config.path == "/xdg/data/mem0/qdrant"
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Qdrant-specific config tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestQdrantConfigDefault:
+    """Tests that QdrantConfig's own default_factory uses the new path."""
+
+    def _clean_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        for var in ("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "XDG_DATA_HOME", "APPDATA"):
+            monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
+
+    def test_qdrant_field_default_is_persistent(self, monkeypatch):
+        """QdrantConfig's path Field default should not be /tmp."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        from mem0.configs.vector_stores.qdrant import QdrantConfig
+
+        # When path is explicitly provided, the before-validator sees it
+        config = QdrantConfig(path=get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant"))
+        assert "/tmp" not in config.path
+        assert config.path.endswith("/qdrant")
+
+    def test_qdrant_via_vector_store_config_no_path(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Creating QdrantConfig via VectorStoreConfig with empty config should work."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={})
+        assert vc.config.path is not None
+        assert "/tmp" not in vc.config.path
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# ChromaDB-specific config tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestChromaDbConfigDefault:
+    """Tests that ChromaDB's sentinel check works with the new default path."""
+
+    def _clean_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        for var in ("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "XDG_DATA_HOME", "APPDATA"):
+            monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
+
+    def test_chroma_default_path_via_vector_store_config(self, monkeypatch):
+        """ChromaDB via VectorStoreConfig should get a non-/tmp default path."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="chroma", config={})
+        assert "/tmp" not in vc.config.path
+        assert vc.config.path.endswith("/chroma")
+
+    def test_chroma_cloud_config_strips_default_path(self, monkeypatch):
+        """ChromaDB cloud config should strip the injected default path."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        default_path = get_default_vector_store_path("chroma")
+        from mem0.configs.vector_stores.chroma import ChromaDbConfig
+
+        # Simulate what VectorStoreConfig does: inject default path, then create config
+        config = ChromaDbConfig(
+            path=default_path,
+            api_key="test-key",
+            tenant="test-tenant",
+        )
+        # When cloud config is provided and path matches default, path should be stripped
+        assert config.path is None
+
+    def test_chroma_explicit_path_with_cloud_raises(self, monkeypatch):
+        """ChromaDB with both explicit custom path and cloud config should raise."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        from mem0.configs.vector_stores.chroma import ChromaDbConfig
+
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Cannot specify both"):
+            ChromaDbConfig(
+                path="/my/custom/path",
+                api_key="test-key",
+                tenant="test-tenant",
+            )
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# FAISS-specific tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestFaissDefaultPath:
+    """Tests that FAISS uses the new default path."""
+
+    def _clean_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        for var in ("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "XDG_DATA_HOME", "APPDATA"):
+            monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
+
+    def test_faiss_default_path_via_vector_store_config(self, monkeypatch):
+        """FAISS via VectorStoreConfig should get a non-/tmp default path."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="faiss", config={})
+        assert "/tmp" not in vc.config.path
+        assert vc.config.path.endswith("/faiss")
+
+    def test_faiss_implementation_uses_new_default(self, monkeypatch):
+        """FAISS implementation's own fallback should not use /tmp."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        with patch("faiss.IndexFlatL2") as mock_index:
+            mock_index.return_value = MagicMock()
+            with patch("faiss.write_index"):
+                from mem0.vector_stores.faiss import FAISS
+                store = FAISS(collection_name="test")
+                assert "/tmp" not in store.path
+                assert "mem0" in store.path
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Legacy path migration warning tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestLegacyPathWarning:
+    """Tests that a warning is emitted when legacy /tmp data exists."""
+
+    def _clean_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        for var in ("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "XDG_DATA_HOME", "APPDATA"):
+            monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
+
+    def test_warning_when_legacy_path_has_data(self, monkeypatch, tmp_path, caplog):
+        """Should warn when /tmp/{provider} contains data."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        # Create a fake legacy directory with data
+        legacy_dir = tmp_path / "qdrant"
+        legacy_dir.mkdir()
+        (legacy_dir / "some_data.bin").write_text("fake data")
+
+        with patch("mem0.vector_stores.configs.Path") as MockPath:
+            # Make the default path resolution work normally for the new path
+            real_path = Path
+            def path_side_effect(*args):
+                if args and args[0] == f"/tmp/qdrant":
+                    return real_path(str(legacy_dir))
+                return real_path(*args)
+            MockPath.side_effect = path_side_effect
+            MockPath.home = real_path.home
+
+            # Instead of mocking Path, let's directly test the warning logic
+            # by creating a real /tmp-like structure
+
+        # Simpler approach: directly test the warning path in VectorStoreConfig
+        legacy_path = Path(f"/tmp/qdrant")
+        with patch.object(Path, "exists", return_value=True):
+            with patch.object(Path, "iterdir", return_value=iter(["somefile"])):
+                with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING, logger="mem0.vector_stores.configs"):
+                    vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={})
+
+        assert "legacy path" in caplog.text.lower() or "Found existing data" in caplog.text
+
+    def test_no_warning_when_legacy_path_empty(self, monkeypatch, caplog):
+        """Should not warn when /tmp/{provider} doesn't exist."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        with patch.object(Path, "exists", return_value=False):
+            with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING, logger="mem0.vector_stores.configs"):
+                vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={})
+
+        assert "legacy path" not in caplog.text.lower()
+        assert "Found existing data" not in caplog.text
+
+    def test_no_warning_when_explicit_path_provided(self, monkeypatch, caplog):
+        """Should not warn when user provides an explicit path."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING, logger="mem0.vector_stores.configs"):
+            vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider="qdrant", config={"path": "/my/path"})
+
+        assert "legacy path" not in caplog.text.lower()
+        assert "Found existing data" not in caplog.text
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Cross-platform / issue #4279 scenario tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestIssue4279Scenarios:
+    """End-to-end tests for the specific scenarios described in issue #4279."""
+
+    def _clean_env(self, monkeypatch):
+        for var in ("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "XDG_DATA_HOME", "APPDATA"):
+            monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
+
+    def test_windows_no_tmp(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Windows doesn't have /tmp — APPDATA should be used."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("APPDATA", "C:\\Users\\test\\AppData\\Roaming")
+        for provider in ("qdrant", "chroma", "faiss"):
+            path = get_default_vector_store_path(provider)
+            assert not path.startswith("/tmp"), f"Windows path for {provider} still uses /tmp"
+            assert "AppData" in path
+
+    def test_linux_systemd_with_xdg(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Linux systemd services should respect XDG_DATA_HOME."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("XDG_DATA_HOME", "/var/lib/myservice")
+        path = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        assert path == "/var/lib/myservice/mem0/qdrant"
+
+    def test_docker_with_custom_data_dir(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Docker users can mount a volume and point MEM0_DATA_DIR to it."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("MEM0_DATA_DIR", "/data/mem0")
+        path = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        assert path == "/data/mem0/qdrant"
+
+    def test_macos_default_is_persistent(self, monkeypatch):
+        """macOS default should be under home directory, not /tmp."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        path = get_default_vector_store_path("qdrant")
+        assert path.startswith(str(Path.home()))
+        assert "/tmp" not in path
+
+    def test_all_affected_providers_fixed(self, monkeypatch):
+        """All providers with a path field (qdrant, chroma, faiss) should be fixed."""
+        self._clean_env(monkeypatch)
+        for provider in ("qdrant", "chroma", "faiss"):
+            vc = VectorStoreConfig(provider=provider, config={})
+            assert "/tmp" not in vc.config.path, (
+                f"Provider '{provider}' still defaults to /tmp: {vc.config.path}"
+            )