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6.3 Conflicts

If, during installation, a file or symlink exists in the target tree and has the same name as something Stow needs to create, and if the existing name is not a folded tree that can be split open, then a conflict has arisen. A conflict also occurs if a directory exists where Stow needs to place a symlink to a non-directory. On the other hand, if the existing name is merely a symlink that already points where Stow needs it to, then no conflict has occurred. (Thus it is harmless to install a package that has already been installed.)

A conflict causes Stow to exit immediately and print a warning (unless `-c' is given), even if that means aborting an installation in mid-package.

When running Stow with the `-n' or `-c' options, no actual filesystem-modifying operations take place. Thus if a folded tree would have been split open, but instead was left in place because `-n' or `-c' was used, then Stow will report a false conflict, since the directory that Stow was expecting to populate has remained an unpopulatable symlink.