---
title: "GNU Stow"
category: "Terminal and shell"
tagline: "Manage your dotfiles as symlinks from one folder you keep in Git."
source: "pacman"
package: "stow"
command: "stow"
website: "https://www.gnu.org/software/stow/"
code: "https://github.com/aspiers/stow"
---

## What it is

GNU Stow is a symlink manager. You keep files in one directory, organized into "packages", and Stow creates the symlinks that put them where they belong. Its most common use is dotfiles: keep your configs in a Git repository and link them into your home directory with one command.

```
cd ~/dotfiles && stow nvim     # links ~/dotfiles/nvim/.config/nvim to ~/.config/nvim
```

## Why it's here

- **Dotfiles in Git.** Version your configuration and set up a new machine quickly.
- **Easy to undo.** `stow -D` removes the links it made.

## On CoreDesktop

Stow is installed from pacman with no extra setup. Type `stow` in a terminal. `update` keeps it current along with the rest of the pacman packages.