buildtree - Instant Directory Tree Builder

Buildtree is a lightning-fast CLI tool that creates directory structures from text-based tree diagrams. Perfect for developers, educators, and anyone who needs to quickly materialize directory examples provided by LLMs, documentation, or tutorials.

custom_login/
├── custom_login.info.yml
├── custom_login.services.yml
├── src/
│   ├── Routing/
│   │   └── RouteSubscriber.php
│   └── Controller/
│       └── LoginController.php

→ Converts to actual file structure with one command!

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Features

• Instant creation of complex directory structures
• Zero dependencies - single binary
• Supports Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Handles Unicode tree characters (├─, └─, │)
• Automatically detects files vs directories

Installation

go install github.com/neomen/buildtree/cmd/buildtree@latest

Quick install (Linux/macOS)

# Using curl
curl -sSL https://github.com/neomen/buildtree/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

# Or using wget
wget -q -O - https://github.com/neomen/buildtree/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

Manual installation

1. Download the latest release for your platform from the releases page
2. Extract the archive:

   tar xzf buildtree_<os>_<arch>.tar.gz

3. Move the binary to your PATH:

   # Linux/macOS
   sudo mv buildtree /usr/local/bin/
   
   # Windows
   # Move buildtree.exe to a directory in your PATH

Usage

Basic Example

buildtree "project/
├── src/
│   └── main.go
└── go.mod"

Creates:

project/
├── src
│   └── main.go
└── go.mod

From Clipboard (Linux/macOS)

pbpaste | buildtree -

From File

buildtree -i structure.txt

Multi-level Project

buildtree "web-app/
├── public/
│   ├── index.html
│   └── assets/
│       ├── style.css
│       └── app.js
├── server/
│   └── main.py
└── README.md"

Real-world LLM Example

buildtree "docker-project/
├── Dockerfile
├── .dockerignore
├── src/
│   └── app.py
├── requirements.txt
└── config/
    └── settings.yaml"

Exporting Project Structure for LLM Context

Buildtree now includes a powerful feature that allows you to export your entire project structure with file contents to a single file, perfect for providing context to Large Language Models (LLMs).

Key Features

• Complete project context: Export all files with their paths and contents in a structured format
• Smart filtering: Include only text files by default (go, js, py, md, json, yaml, xml, txt, etc.)
• Size control: Limit file size with --max-size (default: 100kb)
• Ignore patterns: Skip directories like .git and node_modules by default
• Hidden files: Control inclusion of hidden files with --include-hidden
• File ignore patterns: Ignore specific files using glob patterns with --ignore
• Minification: Reduce token usage with --minify (strips whitespace and empty lines)

Usage

buildtree -s OUTPUT_FILE [DIRECTORY] [OPTIONS]

Options:

• -f, --filter EXTS - Comma-separated list of file extensions or glob patterns (default: common text formats like .go, .js, .txt, .md, .json, etc.)
• -I, --ignore-dir DIRS - Comma-separated list of directories to ignore (in addition to .git and node_modules)
• --ignore PATTERNS - Comma-separated glob patterns for files to ignore (e.g., *_test.go,*.log)
• --max-size SIZE - Maximum file size to include (default: 100kb, e.g., 100kb, 1mb)
• -H, --include-hidden - Include hidden files and directories (starting with .)
• --minify - Strip whitespace and empty lines to reduce token usage for LLM

Flags can be placed before or after the directory argument:

# Flag after directory
buildtree -s export.txt ./project-dir -f "go,md"

# Flag before directory
buildtree -s export.txt -f "go,md" ./project-dir

Examples:

# Export project structure (exports text files by default)
buildtree -s export-structure.txt ./project-dir -I vendor

# Export with glob patterns
buildtree -s all.txt . -f "*.go,*.md" --ignore="*_test.go,*.log"

# Export all files (don't filter by extension)
buildtree -s all.txt . -f "*"

# Export with multiple filters and ignore patterns
buildtree -s context.txt ./myapp -f "go,js,ts,md,json" --ignore="*_test.go,*.log,*.tmp" -I dist

Advanced Filtering and Ignoring

Glob pattern support: Both --filter and --ignore support glob patterns like *, ?, and [...].

By default, only text file extensions are included: go, js, ts, py, rb, php, java, c, cpp, h, cs, rs, html, css, json, yaml, yml, xml, md, txt, csv, toml, ini, cfg, and more.

# Include only Go files and files starting with config
buildtree -s export.txt . -f "go,config.*"

# Ignore test files and log files
buildtree -s export.txt . --ignore="*_test.go,*.log"

# Multiple ignore patterns
buildtree -s export.txt . --ignore="*_test.go,*.log,*.tmp"

# Export all files without filtering by extension
buildtree -s all.txt . -f "*"

# Export with maximum file size limit
buildtree -s context.txt . --max-size 50kb

# Export including hidden files
buildtree -s all.txt . -f "*" -H

# Minify output to reduce token usage
buildtree -s context.txt . --minify

Use Cases

• Quickly test LLM-generated file structures
• Create educational examples for documentation
• Reproduce project layouts during debugging
• Salvage directory structures from corrupted systems
• Automate project scaffolding in CI/CD pipelines

Contribution

Contributions welcome! Please submit PRs for:

• Improved Unicode handling
• Windows clipboard integration
• Syntax extensions (file content hints)
• More robust error handling

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Stop manually creating directories - let BuildTree materialize your file structures with magical speed!