lnko – Stow-like dotfile linker

lnko is a Stow-like dotfile manager that creates relative symbolic links between package directories and their target locations. It uses a familiar directory layout in which each package contains the files and subdirectories that should appear in the destination tree.

The application adds several conveniences to the GNU Stow approach. When a destination already contains a file, lnko can present an interactive conflict prompt instead of immediately stopping. It also provides commands for inspecting the state of deployed packages and identifying symbolic links whose original targets no longer exist.

An optional .lnkorc configuration file can supply default source and target locations, ignore patterns and package selections. Configuration is expressed as a Lua table, allowing different package selections to be made according to the environment.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• Create relative symbolic links from selected package directories.
• Remove deployed package links using the unlink command.
• Support directory tree folding to reduce the number of symbolic links.
• Disable folding when individual file links are preferred.
• Preview linking, unlinking and cleanup operations using dry-run mode.
• Prompt to back up, skip, overwrite, compare or abandon conflicting files.
• Automatically back up conflicting targets when requested.
• Ignore files matching specified glob patterns.
• Inspect package linking status using the status command.
• Distinguish complete, partial, occupied, unlinked and conflicting package states.
• Produce JSON status output for scripts and other tools.
• Identify and remove orphaned symbolic links using the clean command.
• Configure defaults through an optional .lnkorc file.
• Override configuration values using command-line options.
• Use conditional package selections in the configuration file.
• Recognise compatible symbolic links previously created by GNU Stow.

Website: github.com/Owloops/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.

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