diff --git a/src/artwork/cache.py b/src/artwork/cache.py
index 806bb68..67dd49e 100644
--- a/src/artwork/cache.py
+++ b/src/artwork/cache.py
@@ -9,21 +9,33 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import hashlib
 import logging
 import os
-import tempfile
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+def xdg_cache_path(subdir: str) -> str:
+    """Return path inside XDG cache directory for neo-pod-desktop.
+    Creates the directory structure if missing.
+    """
+    base = os.environ.get(
+        "XDG_CACHE_HOME",
+        os.path.join(os.path.expanduser("~"), ".cache"),
+    )
+    path = os.path.join(base, "neo-pod-desktop", subdir)
+    os.makedirs(path, exist_ok=True)
+    return path
+
+
 class CoverCache:
     """Manages a local cache of cover art images for the player UI.
 
     The cache stores JPEG thumbnails keyed by (artist, album) hash.
+    Covers are stored in $XDG_CACHE_HOME/neo-pod-desktop/covers/
+    (default ~/.cache/neo-pod-desktop/covers/).
     """
 
     def __init__(self, cache_dir: str | None = None):
-        self.cache_dir = cache_dir or os.path.join(
-            tempfile.gettempdir(), "neo-pod-covers"
-        )
+        self.cache_dir = cache_dir or xdg_cache_path("covers")
         os.makedirs(self.cache_dir, exist_ok=True)
 
     def _key(self, artist: str, album: str) -> str:
diff --git a/src/metadata_handler.py b/src/metadata_handler.py
index 9671bec..dfc0a7a 100644
--- a/src/metadata_handler.py
+++ b/src/metadata_handler.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ Handles metadata injection and album art embedding
 import os
 import sys
 import logging
-import tempfile
 import struct
 import base64
 from typing import Optional, Dict, Any
@@ -22,7 +21,7 @@ from mutagen.id3 import ID3, APIC, TIT2, TPE1, TALB, TRCK
 from mutagen.easyid3 import EasyID3
 
 from youtube_downloader import TrackInfo
-from artwork.cache import cover_cache
+from artwork.cache import cover_cache, xdg_cache_path
 
 # Configure logging
 logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format='%(asctime)s - %(name)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s')
@@ -39,7 +38,7 @@ class MetadataHandler:
         Args:
             temp_dir: Directory for temporary files (optional)
         """
-        self.temp_dir = temp_dir or tempfile.gettempdir()
+        self.temp_dir = temp_dir or xdg_cache_path("thumbnails")
         os.makedirs(self.temp_dir, exist_ok=True)
     
     def download_thumbnail(self, thumbnail_url: str) -> Optional[str]: