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Directory Tree CLI Tool

A small Python CLI utility to print a directory tree, with support for:

• Ignoring files and folders via config.json
• Limiting tree depth
• Copying output to the clipboard
• Displaying the active ignore configuration

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Features

• 📁 Pretty tree output using ├── / └── connectors
• 🚫 Ignore specific folders and files
• 📏 Optional maximum depth
• 📋 Copy tree output directly to clipboard
• ⚙️ Configurable via config.json

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Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• pyperclip

Install dependencies:

pip install pyperclip

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Installation

Save the script as, for example:

tree.py

(Optional) Make it executable on Unix systems:

chmod +x tree.py

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Usage

python tree.py [path] [options]

If no path is provided, the current directory (.) is used.

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Options

Flag	Description
-l, --level <n>	Maximum directory depth
-c, --clipboard	Copy output to clipboard instead of printing
-s, --show-ignore	Print loaded ignore configuration and exit

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Examples

Print full tree of current directory

python tree.py

Print tree for a specific path

python tree.py /path/to/project

Limit tree depth to 2 levels

python tree.py -l 2

Copy tree output to clipboard

python tree.py -c

Show ignore configuration

python tree.py --show-ignore

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Output Example

project/
├── README.md
├── src/
│   ├── main.py
│   └── utils.py
└── tests/
    └── test_main.py

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Configuration (config.json)

The tool looks for a config.json file in the current working directory.

If the file does not exist, defaults are used.

Default Configuration

{
  "ignore": {
    "folders": [],
    "files": []
  }
}

Example Configuration

{
  "ignore": {
    "folders": ["__pycache__", ".git", "node_modules"],
    "files": [".DS_Store", "*.log"]
  }
}

Note: Ignore matching is based on exact names only (no glob or wildcard support).

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How Ignore Logic Works

• If a path is a directory, its name is checked against ignore.folders
• If a path is a file, its name is checked against ignore.files
• Ignored paths are completely excluded from the tree

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Error Handling

• Missing config.json → silently ignored
• Invalid config.json → prints error message
• Permission errors → shown as [Permission denied]
• Non-existent path → prints an error message

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Internals Overview

• load_config() Loads ignore settings from config.json

• should_ignore(path) Determines whether a file or folder should be skipped

• build_tree() Recursively constructs the tree structure

• generate_tree() Entry point for producing the final tree output

• main() CLI argument parsing and execution logic

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License

MIT (or specify your preferred license)

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Notes

• Sorting places directories before files
• Tree connectors adapt correctly for last/inner nodes
• Clipboard support works across platforms via pyperclip

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Happy hacking 🌲

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