repo-serializer 1.1.2

A tool to serialize repository contents into a single file

Repo Serializer

A Python utility for serializing local Git repositories into a structured text file, capturing the directory structure (in ASCII format), file names, and contents of source files. Ideal for providing a comprehensive snapshot of a repository for code review, documentation, or interaction with large language models (LLMs).

Installation

# Install from PyPI
pip install repo-serializer

Usage

Command Line

# Basic usage
repo-serializer /path/to/repository

# Specify output file
repo-serializer /path/to/repository -o output.txt

# Copy to clipboard in addition to saving to file
repo-serializer /path/to/repository -c

# Use structure-only mode to output only the directory structure and filenames
repo-serializer /path/to/repository -s

# Skip specific directories (can be used multiple times or as a comma-separated list)
repo-serializer /path/to/repository --skip-dir build,dist
repo-serializer /path/to/repository --skip-dir build --skip-dir dist

# Only include Python files (.py, .ipynb)
repo-serializer /path/to/repository --python

# Only include JavaScript/TypeScript files
repo-serializer /path/to/repository --javascript

# Combine with other options
repo-serializer /path/to/repository --python -s -c  # Python files, structure only, copy to clipboard

Python API

from repo_serializer import serialize

# Serialize a repository, skipping specific directories
serialize("/path/to/repository", "output.txt", skip_dirs=["build", "dist"])

Features

• Directory Structure: Clearly visualize repository structure in ASCII format.
• Structure-Only Mode: Option to output only the directory structure and filenames without file contents.
• File Filtering: Excludes common binary files, cache directories, hidden files, and irrelevant artifacts to keep outputs concise and focused.
• Smart Content Handling:
  • Parses Jupyter notebooks to extract markdown and code cells with sample outputs
  • Limits CSV files to first 5 lines
  • Truncates large text files after 1000 lines
  • Handles non-UTF-8 and binary files gracefully
• Extensive Filtering: Skips common configuration files, build artifacts, test directories, and more.
• Clipboard Integration: Option to copy output directly to clipboard.

Example

# Create a serialized snapshot of your project
repo-serializer /Users/example_user/projects/my_repo -o repo_snapshot.txt

Contributing

Pull requests and improvements are welcome! Please ensure your contributions are clearly documented and tested.

Development

Quick Testing

For quick testing during development:

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

# Now any changes to the source code take effect immediately
repo-serializer /path/to/test/repo -o test_output.txt

Full Test Suite

Run the test script:

./dev/test_dev.py

This will:

1. Install the package in development mode
2. Run multiple test scenarios
3. Generate test outputs for review