This is GNU Stow, a program for managing the installation of software packages, keeping them separate (/usr/local/stow/emacs vs. /usr/local/stow/perl, for example) while making them appear to be installed in the same place (/usr/local). Stow doesn't store an extra state between runs, so there's no danger of mangling directories when file hierarchies don't match the database. Also, stow will never delete any files, directories, or links that appear in a stow directory, so it is always possible to rebuild the target tree. See INSTALL for installation instructions. You can get the latest information about Stow from http://www.gnu.org/software/stow/stow.html Stow was inspired by Carnegie Mellon's "Depot" program, but is substantially simpler. Whereas Depot requires database files to keep things in sync, Stow stores no extra state between runs, so there's no danger (as there is in Depot) of mangling directories when file hierarchies don't match the database. Also unlike Depot, Stow will never delete any files, directories, or links that appear in a Stow directory (e.g., /usr/local/stow/emacs), so it's always possible to rebuild the target tree (e.g., /usr/local). Stow is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License, which can be found in the file COPYING. Please mail comments, questions, and criticisms to the current maintainers via help-stow@gnu.org or bug-stow@gnu.org.