Stow

This script mimics the functionality of GNU Stow, allowing you to create symlinks to files and directories in a specified path.

Why did I create stow?

It is not possible to install the traditional GNU stow command on Windows.

Therefore, I have constructed a python script that mimics the core behavior of GNU stow.

Installing stow on Windows

1. Obtain the stow script:

   wget https://github.com/dotbrains/stow/-/raw/main/stow.py -O ~/.local/bin/stow

2. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x ~/.local/bin/stow

3. Add it to your PATH (optional): If you want to run the script from anywhere, you can add it to your PATH. For example, add the following line to your .bashrc or .zshrc:

   export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Usage

To use the script, simply run it from the command line:

stow

By default, the script will create symlinks to all files and directories in the current directory, excluding those listed in .stow-local-ignore to the current users' $HOME directory.

Options

The script accepts the following options:

• -h, --help: Print this help message
• -n, --dry-run: Perform a dry run and print the resulting file system structure
• -p, --path: Specify the path to the directory containing files to stow

Example Use Cases

• Create symlinks to all files and directories in the current directory:

stow

• Perform a dry run and print the resulting file system structure:

stow -n

• Specify a custom path to the directory containing files to stow:

stow -p /path/to/directory

Requirements

• Bash shell
• ln command (for creating symlinks)
• mkdir command (for creating directories)

Example Run

[+] Using path: /path/to/source
[+] --- Stow Configuration ---
[+] Source Directory: /path/to/source
[+] Ignore List: ['.stow-local-ignore']
[+] Target Directory: /home/user
[+] Dry Run: False
[!] --- Files to Stow ---
[!] - file1
[!] - file2
[!] - file3
[+] --- Stowing Files ---
[!] Would create symlink: /home/user/file1 -> /path/to/source/file1
[!] Would create symlink: /home/user/file2 -> /path/to/source/file2
[!] Would create symlink: /home/user/file3 -> /path/to/source/file3

Tests

To run the tests, execute the following command:

python3 test_stow.py

Running the tests within Git Bash on Windows in PyCharm

To run the tests within Git Bash on Windows in PyCharm, you need to set the SHELL environment variable to bash.exe:

1. Open the Run/Debug Configurations dialog.
2. Select the stow configuration.
3. Add the following environment variable:
   • Name: SHELL
   • Value: bash.exe
   • Description: Path to the shell executable
4. Click OK to save the configuration.
5. Run the tests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.