codefile

Pack an entire project directory into one structured text file, ready to paste into any LLM context window. Rebuild the original files back from that same file when you need to.

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Installation

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

pip install codefile

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What it does

When you run codefile on a project directory, it produces a single .txt file that contains:

• A metadata header (project name, timestamp, file count)
• An ASCII directory tree
• Every text file's content, each wrapped between FILE_START and FILE_END markers with a SHA-256 fingerprint
• Inline markers for binary files, empty files, and symlinks instead of garbage content

Your .gitignore rules are respected. The .git folder is always excluded.

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Usage

Pack the current directory:

codefile

Pack a specific directory:

codefile /path/to/project

Write to a custom output path:

codefile /path/to/project -o context.txt

Rebuild a project from a pack file:

codefile --build

Rebuild from a custom-named pack file:

codefile --build -o context.txt

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Options

Argument	Description
directory	Directory to pack. Defaults to the current directory. Ignored when using --build.
-o, --output	Pack mode: where to write the output file. Build mode: which pack file to read from.
-b, --build	Rebuild project files from a pack file instead of creating one.
-h, --help	Show help and exit.

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Output format

ROOT_NAME        myproject
CREATED_UTC      2026-03-21T12:00:00Z
TOTAL_SOURCE_MB  0.42
FILE_COUNT       18

START_STRUCTURE
myproject/
|-- src/
|   |-- main.py
|   \-- utils.py
\-- README.md
END_STRUCTURE

FILE_START src/main.py a3f9c12b8e01
def main():
    print("hello")
FILE_END src/main.py a3f9c12b8e01

Binary files, empty files, and symlinks appear as:

FILE_START assets/logo.png d7e2b45f9c33
BINARY_CONTENT
FILE_END assets/logo.png d7e2b45f9c33

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.gitignore support

codefile parses your .gitignore properly. The following pattern types all work:

• Glob patterns: *.log, *.pyc
• Directory rules: build/, dist/
• Root-anchored rules: /.env
• Deep globs: **/*.min.js
• Negation: !important.log

Ignored directories are pruned immediately during the walk, so large folders like node_modules/ are never descended into.

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License

Apache-2.0