How to handle .zshrc conflict when using stow with machfiles repo and the Zap Zsh installer?

[wxlzcll]

Hello,

I'm trying to manage my dotfiles using this machfiles repository with GNU Stow, but I've run into a conflict regarding the .zshrc file when also using the zap Zsh plugin manager.

Here is my workflow and the issue I encountered:

Steps to Reproduce:

Clone the machfiles repository:

Bash

git clone https://github.com/ChristianChiarulli/machfiles.git /.machfiles
cd machfiles
Install the zap plugin manager using its official installer. This step automatically creates a new .zshrc file in my home directory (/).

Bash

zsh <(curl -s https://github.com/zap-zsh/zap/master/install.zsh)
Attempt to create symlinks for all packages in this repository using stow.

Bash

cd machfiles
stow */
Expected Behavior:

I expected stow to successfully create a symlink for ~/.zshrc pointing to the zsh/.zshrc file within this repository.

Actual Behavior:

The stow command fails with a conflict error because a real .zshrc file (created by the zap installer) already exists in the target directory.

WARNING! stowing zsh would cause conflicts:

• existing target is neither a link nor a directory: .zshrc
  All operations aborted.
  My Question:

What is the recommended way to resolve this conflict? Should I manually merge the contents of the zap-generated .zshrc into the .zshrc file provided by this machfiles repository before running stow? Or is there a different setup you would recommend for integrating zap with these dotfiles?