xdgud allows you to execute commands in the XDG user directories while still maintaining a relation with the current directory. For example,
xdgud TEMPLATES cp boiler-plate.c ./
copies the template file "boiler-plate.c" to the current directory. When executed with only the XDG directory name, the absolute path to that directory will be printed.
Under all circumstances, the command will fail if the directory isn't found. No arbitrary fallback directories are used.
See the manpage for more details.
Configure "config.mk" to suit your system. To install:
sudo make install
NOTE: a symbolic link to xdgud called xdg-user-dir is also made and installed by default. The manpage explains the details of the difference when invoking the command under the different names. If this is not desirable, simply remove that line from the install command in the Makefile.