Where Does Pidgin Store Logs and Accounts?
Pidgin .purple folder with logs, accounts.xml and OTR keys on Windows and Linux.
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Pidgin keeps everything in a .purple folder: accounts.xml for logins, per protocol chat logs under logs, OTR keys beside them. One folder copy migrates the whole client.
Logging plugins decide granularity. Plain text logs accumulate fast on busy channels, so rotate or disable per account when disk matters.
Where Pidgin stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\.purple\logs
accounts.xml sits one level up. Portable builds keep .purple next to the exe instead.
~/.purple/logs
Same layout. Finch (terminal UI) shares this folder, so both clients see the same accounts.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move Pidgin to a new machine?
Copy the whole .purple folder with Pidgin closed. Accounts, logs and plugin settings arrive together.
Are Pidgin passwords stored safely?
No, accounts.xml holds them obfuscated at best. Pair with a keyring plugin or accept the exposure on shared machines.
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