Stow is a tool for managing the installation of multiple software packages in the same run-time directory tree. One historical difficulty of this task has been the need to administer, upgrade, install and remove files in independent packages without confusing them with other files sharing the same filesystem space. The approach used by Stow is to install each package into its own tree, then use symbolic links to make it appear as though the files are installed in the common tree. Administration can be performed in the package's private tree in isolation from clutter from other packages. Stow was inspired by Carnegie-Mellon's Depot program, but is substantially smaller.