How to Manage Dotfiles with GNU Stow (and Rebuild Your Whole Ubuntu Server in One Command)

Short summary

A detailed tutorial on using GNU Stow to manage dotfiles and idempotent bash scripts to fully provision an Ubuntu server from bare install to complete dev environment in one command. Stow creates symlinks from a git repo into $HOME, while manifests declare every package and tool. The setup converges safely on both fresh and configured servers.

• •GNU Stow symlinks config files from a git repo into $HOME for live-editable dotfiles
• •Idempotent bash scripts with plain-text manifests install all packages and tools
• •One command transforms bare Ubuntu 24.04 into a complete dev environment, safely re-runnable

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