dirpluck

dirpluck is a CLI tool for recording a recurring decision, "which files belong together?", in TOML and building a ZIP archive from the same declared intent later.

Rather than copying everything around a workspace like a backup, it is intended to reproducibly package only the material needed for an explicit purpose such as review, handoff, research, recurring work, or a working context shared with an LLM.

Where it fits

Gather fixed material from several locations

When files for one purpose live in different directories, they can be fixed in a Configuration as Companions.

For example, a review package can combine proposal material, research results, and legal references, or a recurring workflow can gather the same kinds of material each time. A Configuration may consist entirely of Companions when nothing needs to vary at runtime.

Attach stable references to a changing subject

Use a Target when the same selection rules should be applied to different projects, submissions, cases, or similar subjects. The Target selection stays in the Configuration while the concrete source directory is supplied when dirpluck runs.

Stable guidelines, templates, and reference material can remain as Companions in the same archive. This keeps the extraction intent fixed while only the subject changes.

Reuse an extraction intent declared elsewhere

When a related project already has a Configuration, a Configuration import can use it as an inner layer instead of copying the same definitions into the parent Configuration.

Exact import ordering, shadowing, and filesystem-boundary rules live in docs/SPECIFICATION.md. For the authoring forms needed to write a Configuration, see docs/CONFIGURATION.md.

Why keep the intent as a declaration

For a one-off archive, creating a ZIP by hand may be simpler. dirpluck is useful when the same kind of judgment needs to be made again.

A Configuration records what is required, what is optional, what should be excluded, and which fixed references belong with the package. That intent does not have to be reconstructed from shell history, conversation history, or memory. --dry-run can show how the current filesystem resolves before anything is written.

The same applies to ongoing work with an LLM. Keeping the source set in a Configuration lets the human and the LLM inspect the same declaration and reconstruct the same working scope without relying on an earlier conversation.

Selection is explicit

dirpluck does not infer which files look important, which artifact looks newest, or which filename might contain a secret. It applies the selection rules in the Configuration.

In particular, selecting a whole directory or a broad pattern such as * can include .git/, environment files, private keys, and other material below that directory unless it is explicitly excluded. For archives that will leave the workspace, review broad selections and add exclusions appropriate to that workspace.

This intentionally narrow model keeps the decision about what belongs together in the Configuration itself.

A small example

The following Configuration combines a runtime Target with fixed review guidelines:

[target]
description = "The project currently under review."
include_if_exists = ["README.md", "src", "tests"]
exclude = [".git/", "__pycache__/", "*.pyc"]
if_empty = "allow"

[companion.guidelines]
path = "review-guidelines"
description = "Guidelines used for every review."
include = ["*.md"]

[output]
path = "artifacts/review.zip"
if_exists = "overwrite"

dirpluck projects/example --dry-run
dirpluck projects/example

For all Configuration fields and a larger example, see docs/CONFIGURATION.md. For CLI options and Configuration discovery, see docs/CLI.md.

Installation

Python 3.11 or later is required. The current release is 0.5.2.

pip install dirpluck
dirpluck --version

dirpluck has no third-party runtime dependencies.

Documentation

The documents are separated by reading purpose:

• GLOSSARY.md: the concepts used throughout the documentation.
• docs/CONFIGURATION.md: how to write TOML Configurations.
• docs/CLI.md: how to operate the CLI.
• docs/SPECIFICATION.md: exact rules for resolution, matching, filesystem boundaries, archives, output, and validation.
• CHANGELOG.md: release history.

The wheel includes only compact dirpluck/docs/CONFIGURATION.md and dirpluck/docs/CLI.md references so an installed package contains enough information to write a Configuration and run the CLI. For more detail, use the documentation in the source distribution or repository.

Public interface

The compatibility-supported public surface is the dirpluck CLI and the TOML Configuration format. Python modules inside the package are internal implementation unless explicitly documented as a public API.