fix VersionManager not using CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY

[vladmandic]

Summary

VersionManager did not do an eval of CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY env variable unlike actual database manager,
so it caused split-brain scenario where database was written in folder specified by env variable,
followed by failure to write version.txt since that was force-attempted in users home folder.

List of files changed and why

utils.py:

Checklist:

• My code follows the style guidelines of this project
• I have performed a self-review of my own code
• I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
• I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
• I have added/updated unit tests that prove my fix is effective or that my feature works
• New and existing unit tests pass locally with my changes

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features
  • You can now customize the application's base directory with the CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY environment variable; if unset it defaults to the user's home directory.
  • Version tracking file is now stored directly in that base directory (no hidden subdirectory), ensuring predictable location for version information.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The VersionManager constructor in crawl4ai/utils.py now sets home_dir from the CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY environment variable (if present) or else uses the user's home directory. It no longer appends a .crawl4ai subdirectory; version_file is located at home_dir / "version.txt".

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Change Summary
VersionManager change crawl4ai/utils.py	Updated VersionManager.__init__ to derive self.home_dir from os.getenv("CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY", Path.home()) instead of Path.home() / ".crawl4ai". version_file now points to home_dir / "version.txt" (removed implicit .crawl4ai subdirectory).

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~10 minutes

Poem

A rabbit hopped through code today,
It nudged the path to find its way.
No dot-folder trailing behind—
The env decides the burrow kind.
🐇✨

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 83b323f and 367190f.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• crawl4ai/utils.py (1 hunks)

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (1)

• crawl4ai/utils.py

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 0

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

crawl4ai/utils.py (1)

229-229: ✅ Good fix for the split-brain scenario, but consider type consistency.

This change correctly addresses the issue where VersionManager wasn't respecting the CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY environment variable. However, there's a minor type inconsistency in the implementation.

The current implementation mixes types: os.getenv() returns a string when the environment variable is set, but Path.home() returns a Path object when it's not set. While the Path() constructor handles both, it's cleaner to be consistent:

-self.home_dir = Path(os.getenv("CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY", Path.home()))
+self.home_dir = Path(os.getenv("CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY") or Path.home())

or

-self.home_dir = Path(os.getenv("CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY", Path.home()))
+self.home_dir = Path(os.getenv("CRAWL4_AI_BASE_DIRECTORY", str(Path.home())))

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between bde1bba and 83b323f.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• crawl4ai/utils.py (1 hunks)