feat: use Downloads folder as default path for file dialogs (#49868)

* fix: use Downloads folder as default path for file dialogs

Co-authored-by: Sourav Bera <sbera987654321@gmail.com>

* chore: improve breaking change description

---------

Co-authored-by: Sourav Bera <sbera987654321@gmail.com>

docs/api/dialog.md

@@ -28,7 +28,10 @@ added:
 * `window` [BaseWindow](base-window.md) (optional)
 * `options` Object
   * `title` string (optional)
-  * `defaultPath` string (optional)
+  * `defaultPath` string (optional) - Absolute directory path, absolute file
+    path, or file name to use by default. If not provided, the dialog will
+    default to the user's Downloads folder, or their home directory if Downloads
+    doesn't exist.
   * `buttonLabel` string (optional) - Custom label for the confirmation button, when
     left empty the default label will be used.
   * `filters` [FileFilter[]](structures/file-filter.md) (optional)
@@ -109,7 +112,10 @@ changes:
 * `window` [BaseWindow](base-window.md) (optional)
 * `options` Object
   * `title` string (optional)
-  * `defaultPath` string (optional)
+  * `defaultPath` string (optional) - Absolute directory path, absolute file
+    path, or file name to use by default. If not provided, the dialog will
+    default to the user's Downloads folder, or their home directory if Downloads
+    doesn't exist.
   * `buttonLabel` string (optional) - Custom label for the confirmation button, when
     left empty the default label will be used.
   * `filters` [FileFilter[]](structures/file-filter.md) (optional)
@@ -198,7 +204,9 @@ added:
 * `options` Object
   * `title` string (optional) - The dialog title. Cannot be displayed on some _Linux_ desktop environments.
   * `defaultPath` string (optional) - Absolute directory path, absolute file
-    path, or file name to use by default.
+    path, or file name to use by default. If not provided, the dialog will
+    default to the user's Downloads folder, or their home directory if Downloads
+    doesn't exist.
   * `buttonLabel` string (optional) - Custom label for the confirmation button, when
     left empty the default label will be used.
   * `filters` [FileFilter[]](structures/file-filter.md) (optional)
@@ -238,7 +246,9 @@ changes:
 * `options` Object
   * `title` string (optional) - The dialog title. Cannot be displayed on some _Linux_ desktop environments.
   * `defaultPath` string (optional) - Absolute directory path, absolute file
-    path, or file name to use by default.
+    path, or file name to use by default. If not provided, the dialog will
+    default to the user's Downloads folder, or their home directory if Downloads
+    doesn't exist.
   * `buttonLabel` string (optional) - Custom label for the confirmation button, when
     left empty the default label will be used.
   * `filters` [FileFilter[]](structures/file-filter.md) (optional)

docs/breaking-changes.md

@@ -12,6 +12,34 @@ This document uses the following convention to categorize breaking changes:
 * **Deprecated:** An API was marked as deprecated. The API will continue to function, but will emit a deprecation warning, and will be removed in a future release.
 * **Removed:** An API or feature was removed, and is no longer supported by Electron.
 
+## Planned Breaking API Changes (43.0)
+
+### Behavior Changed: Dialog methods default to Downloads directory
+
+The `defaultPath` option for the following methods now defaults to the user's Downloads folder (or their home directory if Downloads doesn't exist) when not explicitly provided:
+
+* `dialog.showOpenDialog`
+* `dialog.showOpenDialogSync`
+* `dialog.showSaveDialog`
+* `dialog.showSaveDialogSync`
+
+Previously, when no `defaultPath` was provided, the underlying OS file dialog would determine the initial directory — typically remembering the last directory the user navigated to, or falling back to an OS-specific default. Now, Electron explicitly sets the initial directory to Downloads, which also means the OS will no longer track and restore the last-used directory between dialog invocations.
+
+To preserve the old behavior, you can track the last-used directory yourself and pass it as `defaultPath`:
+
+```js
+const path = require('node:path')
+
+let lastUsedPath
+const result = await dialog.showOpenDialog({
+  defaultPath: lastUsedPath
+})
+
+if (!result.canceled && result.filePaths.length > 0) {
+  lastUsedPath = path.dirname(result.filePaths[0])
+}
+```
+
 ## Planned Breaking API Changes (42.0)
 
 ### Behavior Changed: macOS notifications now use `UNNotification` API

shell/browser/ui/file_dialog_linux.cc

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "shell/browser/javascript_environment.h"
 #include "shell/browser/native_window_views.h"
 #include "shell/browser/ui/file_dialog.h"
+#include "shell/common/electron_paths.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_converters/callback_converter.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_converters/file_path_converter.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_helper/dictionary.h"
@@ -81,14 +82,18 @@ class FileChooserDialog : public ui::SelectFileDialog::Listener {
     ui::SelectFileDialog::FileTypeInfo file_info =
         GetFilterInfo(settings.filters);
     ApplySettings(settings);
-    dialog_->SelectFile(
-        ui::SelectFileDialog::SELECT_SAVEAS_FILE,
-        base::UTF8ToUTF16(settings.title), settings.default_path,
-        &file_info /* file_types */, 0 /* file_type_index */,
-        base::FilePath::StringType() /* default_extension */,
-        settings.parent_window ? settings.parent_window->GetNativeWindow()
-                               : nullptr,
-        nullptr);
+    base::FilePath default_path = settings.default_path.empty()
+                                      ? electron::GetDefaultPath()
+                                      : settings.default_path;
+
+    dialog_->SelectFile(ui::SelectFileDialog::SELECT_SAVEAS_FILE,
+                        base::UTF8ToUTF16(settings.title), default_path,
+                        &file_info /* file_types */, 0 /* file_type_index */,
+                        base::FilePath::StringType() /* default_extension */,
+                        settings.parent_window
+                            ? settings.parent_window->GetNativeWindow()
+                            : nullptr,
+                        nullptr);
   }
 
   void RunSaveDialog(gin_helper::Promise<gin_helper::Dictionary> promise,
@@ -108,9 +113,13 @@ class FileChooserDialog : public ui::SelectFileDialog::Listener {
     ui::SelectFileDialog::FileTypeInfo file_info =
         GetFilterInfo(settings.filters);
     ApplySettings(settings);
+    base::FilePath default_path = settings.default_path.empty()
+                                      ? electron::GetDefaultPath()
+                                      : settings.default_path;
+
     dialog_->SelectFile(
         GetDialogType(settings.properties), base::UTF8ToUTF16(settings.title),
-        settings.default_path, &file_info, 0 /* file_type_index */,
+        default_path, &file_info, 0 /* file_type_index */,
         base::FilePath::StringType() /* default_extension */,
         settings.parent_window ? settings.parent_window->GetNativeWindow()
                                : nullptr,

shell/browser/ui/file_dialog_mac.mm

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include "content/public/browser/browser_thread.h"
 #include "electron/mas.h"
 #include "shell/browser/native_window.h"
+#include "shell/common/electron_paths.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_converters/file_path_converter.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_helper/dictionary.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_helper/promise.h"
@@ -186,14 +187,18 @@ void SetupDialog(NSSavePanel* dialog, const DialogSettings& settings) {
 
   [dialog setShowsTagField:settings.shows_tag_field];
 
+  base::FilePath default_path = settings.default_path.empty()
+                                    ? electron::GetDefaultPath()
+                                    : settings.default_path;
+
   NSString* default_dir = nil;
   NSString* default_filename = nil;
-  if (!settings.default_path.empty()) {
+  if (!default_path.empty()) {
     electron::ScopedAllowBlockingForElectron allow_blocking;
-    if (base::DirectoryExists(settings.default_path)) {
-      default_dir = base::SysUTF8ToNSString(settings.default_path.value());
+    if (base::DirectoryExists(default_path)) {
+      default_dir = base::SysUTF8ToNSString(default_path.value());
     } else {
-      if (settings.default_path.IsAbsolute()) {
+      if (default_path.IsAbsolute()) {
         default_dir =
             base::SysUTF8ToNSString(settings.default_path.DirName().value());
       }

shell/browser/ui/file_dialog_win.cc

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include "base/win/registry.h"
 #include "shell/browser/native_window_views.h"
 #include "shell/browser/ui/win/dialog_thread.h"
+#include "shell/common/electron_paths.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_converters/file_path_converter.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_helper/dictionary.h"
 #include "shell/common/gin_helper/promise.h"
@@ -106,8 +107,12 @@ static HRESULT ShowFileDialog(IFileDialog* dialog,
 static void ApplySettings(IFileDialog* dialog, const DialogSettings& settings) {
   std::wstring file_part;
 
-  if (!IsDirectory(settings.default_path))
-    file_part = settings.default_path.BaseName().value();
+  base::FilePath default_path = settings.default_path.empty()
+                                    ? electron::GetDefaultPath()
+                                    : settings.default_path;
+
+  if (!IsDirectory(default_path))
+    file_part = default_path.BaseName().value();
 
   dialog->SetFileName(file_part.c_str());
 
@@ -149,8 +154,8 @@ static void ApplySettings(IFileDialog* dialog, const DialogSettings& settings) {
     }
   }
 
-  if (settings.default_path.IsAbsolute()) {
-    SetDefaultFolder(dialog, settings.default_path);
+  if (default_path.IsAbsolute()) {
+    SetDefaultFolder(dialog, default_path);
   }
 }
 

shell/common/electron_paths.cc

@@ -114,4 +114,18 @@ void RegisterPathProvider() {
                                       PATH_END);
 }
 
+base::FilePath GetDefaultPath() {
+  base::FilePath path;
+
+  ScopedAllowBlockingForElectron allow_blocking;
+  if (base::PathService::Get(chrome::DIR_DEFAULT_DOWNLOADS, &path) &&
+      base::DirectoryExists(path))
+    return path;
+
+  if (base::PathService::Get(base::DIR_HOME, &path))
+    return path;
+
+  return base::FilePath();
+}
+
 }  // namespace electron

shell/common/electron_paths.h

@@ -51,6 +51,10 @@ static_assert(PATH_START < PATH_END, "invalid PATH boundaries");
 // Register the path provider with the base::PathService.
 void RegisterPathProvider();
 
+// Returns a default directory for file dialogs when no default path is
+// provided.
+base::FilePath GetDefaultPath();
+
 }  // namespace electron
 
 #endif  // ELECTRON_SHELL_COMMON_ELECTRON_PATHS_H_