ikawnoclastic thoughts

My Approach to Managing Dot Files with GNU Stow

May 19th, 2025
GNU Stow is used to manage configuration files for my Linux/UNIX tools and applications on all of my personal systems. The term “Dot Files” is
a reference to configuration files for many Linux/UNIX tools that prefix their configuration files with a “.” (in other words a “dot”). I maintain the configuration files in a shared directory (~/Shared/DotFiles) that is replicated across systems using SyncThing. Stow creates a series of symbolic links from the standard and known locations for those configuration files to the actual location of the configuration files in the shared configuration directory.

These instructions in this post serve as a reminder to me on how I use Stow to add new configuration files in the shared configuration folder or to update existing files. Perhaps, this content can be helpful for you too.

TL;DR

Use these commands to link dotfiles using the Stow command:
```
$ cd ~/Shared/DotFiles
$ stow -v --target=$HOME -S PKG
```
The PKG parameter is a directory in the ~/Shared/DotFiles directory that contains a collection of related files and directories. For example, I have a series of files for my Bash configuration in the bash directory. To install those, use the following command:
```
$ cd ~/Shared/DotFiles
$ stow -v --target=$HOME -S bash
```
Use the same command with each package directory in ~/Shared/DotFiles to install the symbolic links for that package.
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Scripting for Security Bash Course

March 9th, 2023

I have a new course available on Pluralsight. It’s a security analyst focused tools on GNU Bash and scripting. It is the first in a series of courses on Bash.

Scripting for Security with Bash is a technical course for information security analysts that need to understand the UNIX and Linux environment and use Bash as their primary shell and scripting tool. It is designed to be a quick introduction and focused on demonstrating how to use Bash for security operations and automation. (Course overview video)

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Reconnaissance with Spiderfoot Course

November 7th, 2021

I have a new course available on Pluralsight. It’s another Red Team Tools course focused course on Spiderfoot. It is part of the Pluralsight Red Team Tools learning path.

While my other courses are a couple hours of content, the Reconnaissance with Spiderfoot course is 38 minutes. It is designed to be a quick introduction and heavily focused on demonstrating how to use Spiderfoot for recon in red team engagements. (Course overview video)

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Reconnaissance with Shodan Course

July 12th, 2021

I have a new course available on Pluralsight. It’s a new type of course for me. My previous courses have been long-form courses. This one is shorter, tool-focused course on Shodan. It is part of the Pluralsight Red Team Tools learning path.

While my other courses are a couple hours of content, the Reconnaissance with Shodan course is 27 minutes. It is designed to be a quick introduction and heavily focused on demonstrating how to use Shodan for recon in red team engagements. (Course overview video)

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Metasploit: Getting Started Course

September 5th, 2020

I have a new course available at Pluralsight. It’s an introduction to the Metasploit Framework. In it, I focus on getting started quickly with using the framework. It’s a relatively short course (for me) at approximately two hours of content, including demonstrations. The course is called Metasploit: Getting Started. (Course Overview video)

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My Approach to Managing Dot Files with GNU Stow

TL;DR

Scripting for Security Bash Course

Reconnaissance with Spiderfoot Course

Reconnaissance with Shodan Course

Metasploit: Getting Started Course