treedump 0.2.0

Dump all text files in a directory tree into a single file

treedump v0.2.0

treedump walks a directory tree and produces a single text dump containing:

1. The directory tree structure (first)
2. The contents of all text files in that tree (second)

Binary files are never dumped.
The output file itself is never re-ingested.

By default, hidden files and directories are excluded.

This tool is designed for:

• code review and audits
• LLM context ingestion
• archiving project snapshots
• inspecting unfamiliar repositories

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Installation

Install from PyPI:

pip install treedump

For development or local testing:

pip install -e .

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Basic usage

Run in any directory:

treedump

This creates dump.txt in the current directory.

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Output format

The output is structured and deterministic.

Tree structure is always written first, followed by file contents.

Example:

===== TREE STRUCTURE =====
.
./src
./src/main.py
./README.md
===== END TREE STRUCTURE =====

===== FILE: src/main.py =====
<file contents>
===== END FILE: src/main.py =====

===== FILE: README.md =====
<file contents>
===== END FILE: README.md =====

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Ignore behavior (important)

Default behavior

Ignore rules are determined as follows:

1. If a .gitignore file exists in the current directory:

   • Only .gitignore rules are used
   • Built-in defaults are NOT applied

2. If no .gitignore exists:

   • A safe built-in ignore list is used

The built-in ignore list includes:

• version control and tooling directories
  .git/, __pycache__/, venv/, .venv/, node_modules/,
  .mypy_cache/, .pytest_cache/, .idea/, .vscode/

• compiled and noisy artifacts
  *.pyc, *.log

• secret-bearing files
  .env, .env.*, *.env
.secrets, .secrets.*
*.key, *.pem, *.crt, *.p12, *.keystore
id_rsa, id_ed25519, *.pub
credentials, credentials.*
.aws/, .ssh/

Hidden files are excluded by default at the directory traversal level.

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Ignore options

Disable all ignore rules

treedump --ignore-off

When this flag is used:

• all ignore rules are disabled
• binary files are still skipped
• the output file is still excluded

Use with care.

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Add ignore files

treedump --ignore .gitignore custom.ignore

Ignore files use simple glob-style patterns.
Empty lines and comments (#) are ignored.

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Add ignore patterns inline

treedump --ignore-pattern "*.sql" "*.db"

Ignore files and inline patterns are additive unless --ignore-off is specified.

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Other options

Change output file name

treedump --output project_dump.txt

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Omit tree structure

treedump --no-tree

Only file contents will be written.

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Include hidden files and directories

treedump --include-hidden

Includes dotfiles and dot-directories (such as .env, .git/, .github/), subject to ignore rules.

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Show version

treedump --version

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Requirements

• Python 3.9 or newer
• External commands available in PATH:
  • tree
  • file

These are standard on most Unix-like systems.

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Philosophy

treedump follows classic Unix principles:

• structure before content
• text-only by default
• hidden files excluded unless explicitly requested
• explicit behavior over clever inference
• safe defaults with deliberate escape hatches
• boring, predictable output

It intentionally does less than a full indexing or archival system.

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License

MIT