Last Updated on February 28, 2026
lnko is a simple stow-like dotfile linker which adds relative symlinks, tree folding, ignore patterns, and dry-run mode.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Conflict handling – interactive prompt with backup, skip, overwrite, and diff options when files already exist.
- Stow-compatible – works with existing Stow symlinks. Supports tree folding for cleaner directory structures.
- Orphan cleanup – lnko clean removes stale symlinks pointing to non-existent targets.
- Relative symlinks – portable across machines. Symlinks use relative paths, not absolute.
Website: github.com/luanvil/lnko
Support:
Developer: Papuna Gagnidze
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
lnko is written in Lua. Learn Lua with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| stow alternatives | Programming Language | License |
|---|---|---|
| boxunbox | Rust | BSD Zero Clause License |
| stow-cm | Rust | GNU General Public License v2.0 |
| stown | Python | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| Rustow | Rust | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| XStow | C++ | GNU General Public License v2.0 |
| Tuckr | Rust | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| Dploy | Python | MIT License |
| fling | Go | MIT License |
| lash | Rust | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| yadm | Python | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| lnko | Lua | GNU General Public License v3.0 |
| DotState | Rust | MIT License |
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