diff --git a/bin/xbps-bin/find-files.c b/bin/xbps-bin/find-files.c
index ddb9f360..8d4ce3cd 100644
--- a/bin/xbps-bin/find-files.c
+++ b/bin/xbps-bin/find-files.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*-
- * Copyright (c) 2010 Juan Romero Pardines.
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2012 Juan Romero Pardines.
  * All rights reserved.
  *
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ find_files_in_packages(int npatterns, char **patterns)
 	unsigned int i, count;
 
 	xhp = xbps_handle_get();
-	path = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/metadata", xhp->rootdir, XBPS_META_PATH);
+	path = xbps_xasprintf("%s/metadata", xhp->metadir);
 	if (path == NULL)
 		return -1;
 
diff --git a/bin/xbps-uhelper/main.c b/bin/xbps-uhelper/main.c
index 30bfeabb..a475e65f 100644
--- a/bin/xbps-uhelper/main.c
+++ b/bin/xbps-uhelper/main.c
@@ -371,8 +371,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		}
 	} else if (strcasecmp(argv[0], "updatepkgdb") == 0) {
 		/* update regpkgdb to pkgdb */
-		plist = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/regpkgdb.plist",
-		    xh.rootdir, XBPS_META_PATH);
+		plist = xbps_xasprintf("%s/regpkgdb.plist", xh.metadir);
 	        if (plist == NULL) {
 			rv = ENOMEM;
 			goto out;
diff --git a/include/xbps_api.h b/include/xbps_api.h
index ab871bd7..1296d7ed 100644
--- a/include/xbps_api.h
+++ b/include/xbps_api.h
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
  */
 #define XBPS_PKGINDEX_VERSION	"1.4"
 
-#define XBPS_API_VERSION	"20120312-1"
+#define XBPS_API_VERSION	"20120313"
 #define XBPS_VERSION		"0.15"
 
 /**
@@ -520,10 +520,18 @@ struct xbps_handle {
 	 * If NULL default value in \a XBPS_CACHE_PATH is used.
 	 */
 	const char *cachedir;
+	/**
+	 * @var metadir
+	 *
+	 * Metadata directory for all operations in XBPS.
+	 * If NULL, defaults to \a XBPS_CACHE_PATH (relative to rootdir).
+	 */
+	const char *metadir;
 	/**
 	 * @private
 	 */
 	char *cachedir_priv;
+	char *metadir_priv;
 	/**
 	 * @var conffile
 	 *
diff --git a/lib/initend.c b/lib/initend.c
index c5158542..c453612a 100644
--- a/lib/initend.c
+++ b/lib/initend.c
@@ -43,24 +43,35 @@ static bool debug;
 static bool xbps_initialized;
 static struct xbps_handle *xhp;
 
-static void
-get_cachedir(struct xbps_handle *xh)
+static char *
+set_cachedir(struct xbps_handle *xh)
 {
-	if (xh->cachedir[0] == '/')
+	if (xh->cachedir[0] == '/') {
 		/* full path */
-		xh->cachedir_priv = strdup(xh->cachedir);
-	else {
+		return strdup(xh->cachedir);
+	} else {
 		/* relative to rootdir */
 		if (strcmp(xh->rootdir, "/") == 0)
-			xh->cachedir_priv =
-			    xbps_xasprintf("/%s", xh->cachedir);
+			return xbps_xasprintf("/%s", xh->cachedir);
 		else
-			xh->cachedir_priv =
-			    xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xh->rootdir,
+			return xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xh->rootdir,
 			    xh->cachedir);
 	}
 }
 
+static char *
+set_metadir(struct xbps_handle *xh)
+{
+	if (xh->metadir == NULL) {
+		if (strcmp(xh->rootdir, "/") == 0)
+			return xbps_xasprintf("/%s", XBPS_META_PATH);
+		else
+			return xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xh->rootdir, XBPS_META_PATH);
+	} else {
+		return strdup(xh->metadir);
+	}
+}
+
 static int
 cb_validate_virtual(cfg_t *cfg, cfg_opt_t *opt)
 {
@@ -156,12 +167,14 @@ xbps_init(struct xbps_handle *xh)
 		else
 			xhp->cachedir = cfg_getstr(xhp->cfg, "cachedir");
 	}
-	get_cachedir(xhp);
-	if (xhp->cachedir_priv == NULL)
+	if ((xhp->cachedir_priv = set_cachedir(xhp)) == NULL)
 		return ENOMEM;
-
 	xhp->cachedir = xhp->cachedir_priv;
 
+	if ((xhp->metadir_priv = set_metadir(xhp)) == NULL)
+		return ENOMEM;
+	xhp->metadir = xhp->metadir_priv;
+
 	if (xhp->cfg == NULL) {
 		xhp->flags |= XBPS_FLAG_SYSLOG;
 		xhp->fetch_timeout = XBPS_FETCH_TIMEOUT;
@@ -183,6 +196,7 @@ xbps_init(struct xbps_handle *xh)
 	xbps_fetch_set_cache_connection(cc, cch);
 
 	xbps_dbg_printf("Rootdir=%s\n", xhp->rootdir);
+	xbps_dbg_printf("Metadir=%s\n", xhp->metadir);
 	xbps_dbg_printf("Cachedir=%s\n", xhp->cachedir);
 	xbps_dbg_printf("FetchTimeout=%u\n", xhp->fetch_timeout);
 	xbps_dbg_printf("FetchCacheconn=%u\n", cc);
@@ -210,6 +224,8 @@ xbps_end(void)
 		cfg_free(xhp->cfg);
 	if (xhp->cachedir_priv != NULL)
 		free(xhp->cachedir_priv);
+	if (xhp->metadir_priv != NULL)
+		free(xhp->metadir_priv);
 
 	xhp = NULL;
 	xbps_initialized = false;
diff --git a/lib/pkgdb.c b/lib/pkgdb.c
index 810d3845..8aeb924d 100644
--- a/lib/pkgdb.c
+++ b/lib/pkgdb.c
@@ -80,30 +80,23 @@ int
 xbps_pkgdb_update(bool flush)
 {
 	struct xbps_handle *xhp = xbps_handle_get();
-	char *plist, *metadir;
+	char *plist;
 	int rv = 0;
 
-	plist = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/%s", xhp->rootdir,
-	    XBPS_META_PATH, XBPS_PKGDB);
+	plist = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xhp->metadir, XBPS_PKGDB);
 	if (plist == NULL)
 		return ENOMEM;
 
 	if (xhp->pkgdb != NULL && flush) {
-		metadir = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xhp->rootdir,
-		    XBPS_META_PATH);
-		if (metadir == NULL) {
-			free(plist);
-			return ENOMEM;
-		}
 		/* Create metadir if doesn't exist */
-		if (access(metadir, X_OK) == -1) {
+		if (access(xhp->metadir, X_OK) == -1) {
 			if (errno == ENOENT) {
-				if (xbps_mkpath(metadir, 0755) != 0) {
+				if (xbps_mkpath(xhp->metadir, 0755) != 0) {
 					xbps_dbg_printf("[pkgdb] failed to "
-					    "create metadir %s: %s\n", metadir,
+					    "create metadir %s: %s\n",
+					    xhp->metadir,
 					    strerror(errno));
 					rv = errno;
-					free(metadir);
 					free(plist);
 					return rv;
 				}
@@ -112,7 +105,6 @@ xbps_pkgdb_update(bool flush)
 				return errno;
 			}
 		}
-		free(metadir);
 		/* flush dictionary to storage */
 		if (!prop_array_externalize_to_zfile(xhp->pkgdb, plist)) {
 			free(plist);
diff --git a/lib/plist.c b/lib/plist.c
index 8565b89d..c220470e 100644
--- a/lib/plist.c
+++ b/lib/plist.c
@@ -272,8 +272,8 @@ xbps_dictionary_from_metadata_plist(const char *pkgname,
 	xhp = xbps_handle_get();
 
 	savedpkgname = pkgname;
-	plistf = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/metadata/%s/%s", xhp->rootdir,
-	    XBPS_META_PATH, savedpkgname, plist);
+	plistf = xbps_xasprintf("%s/metadata/%s/%s", xhp->metadir,
+	    savedpkgname, plist);
 	if (plistf == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 
@@ -283,9 +283,8 @@ xbps_dictionary_from_metadata_plist(const char *pkgname,
 			free(plistf);
 			prop_dictionary_get_cstring_nocopy(pkgd,
 			    "pkgname", &savedpkgname);
-			plistf = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/metadata/%s/%s",
-			    xhp->rootdir,
-			    XBPS_META_PATH, savedpkgname, plist);
+			plistf = xbps_xasprintf("%s/metadata/%s/%s",
+			    xhp->metadir, savedpkgname, plist);
 			prop_object_release(pkgd);
 			if (plistf == NULL)
 				return NULL;
diff --git a/lib/repository_sync_index.c b/lib/repository_sync_index.c
index 2b3e8e1e..ce7a63c0 100644
--- a/lib/repository_sync_index.c
+++ b/lib/repository_sync_index.c
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ xbps_repository_sync_pkg_index(const char *uri, const char *plistf)
 	struct stat st;
 	const char *fetch_outputdir, *fetchstr = NULL;
 	char *rpidx, *lrepodir, *uri_fixedp;
-	char *metadir, *tmp_metafile, *lrepofile;
+	char *tmp_metafile, *lrepofile;
 	int rv = 0;
 	bool only_sync = false;
 
@@ -117,16 +117,11 @@ xbps_repository_sync_pkg_index(const char *uri, const char *plistf)
 	/*
 	 * Create metadir if necessary.
 	 */
-	metadir = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xhp->rootdir, XBPS_META_PATH);
-	if (metadir == NULL) {
-		rv = -1;
-		goto out;
-	}
-	if ((rv = xbps_mkpath(metadir, 0755)) == -1) {
+	if ((rv = xbps_mkpath(xhp->metadir, 0755)) == -1) {
 		xbps_set_cb_state(XBPS_STATE_REPOSYNC_FAIL,
 		    errno, NULL, NULL,
 		    "[reposync] failed to create metadir `%s': %s",
-		    metadir, strerror(errno));
+		    xhp->metadir, strerror(errno));
 		goto out;
 	}
 	/*
@@ -138,10 +133,10 @@ xbps_repository_sync_pkg_index(const char *uri, const char *plistf)
 		goto out;
 	}
 	/*
-	 * Save temporary file in XBPS_META_PATH, and rename if it
+	 * Save temporary file in metadir, and rename if it
 	 * was downloaded successfully.
 	 */
-	tmp_metafile = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", metadir, plistf);
+	tmp_metafile = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xhp->metadir, plistf);
 	if (tmp_metafile == NULL) {
 		rv = -1;
 		goto out;
@@ -150,8 +145,7 @@ xbps_repository_sync_pkg_index(const char *uri, const char *plistf)
 	 * Full path to repository directory to store the plist
 	 * index file.
 	 */
-	lrepodir = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/%s",
-	    xhp->rootdir, XBPS_META_PATH, uri_fixedp);
+	lrepodir = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", xhp->metadir, uri_fixedp);
 	if (lrepodir == NULL) {
 		rv = -1;
 		goto out;
@@ -165,7 +159,7 @@ xbps_repository_sync_pkg_index(const char *uri, const char *plistf)
 		only_sync = true;
 		fetch_outputdir = lrepodir;
 	} else
-		fetch_outputdir = metadir;
+		fetch_outputdir = xhp->metadir;
 
 	/* reposync start cb */
 	xbps_set_cb_state(XBPS_STATE_REPOSYNC, 0, NULL, NULL,
@@ -232,8 +226,6 @@ out:
 		free(rpidx);
 	if (lrepodir)
 		free(lrepodir);
-	if (metadir)
-		free(metadir);
 	if (tmp_metafile)
 		free(tmp_metafile);
 	if (lrepofile)
diff --git a/lib/util.c b/lib/util.c
index 5f1c6a99..31f1011f 100644
--- a/lib/util.c
+++ b/lib/util.c
@@ -213,14 +213,7 @@ get_pkg_index_remote_plist(const char *uri, const char *plistf)
 	if (uri_fixed == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 
-	if (strcmp(xhp->rootdir, "/") == 0) {
-		repodir = xbps_xasprintf("/%s/%s/%s",
-		    XBPS_META_PATH, uri_fixed, plistf);
-	} else {
-		repodir = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/%s/%s",
-		    xhp->rootdir,
-		    XBPS_META_PATH, uri_fixed, plistf);
-	}
+	repodir = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s/%s", xhp->metadir, uri_fixed, plistf);
 	free(uri_fixed);
 	return repodir;
 }