copy-cli

Copy files matched by glob patterns into your clipboard as Markdown-formatted code blocks.

Useful for pasting project files into ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub issues, documentation, code reviews, or anywhere else you want multiple files bundled into one readable Markdown payload.

Features

• Copy one or more files by glob pattern
• Output each file as a Markdown section with a fenced code block
• Automatically detects common languages from file extensions
• Respects .gitignore by default
• Supports exclude patterns
• Supports git diff mode
• Supports staged-only diff mode
• Can print to stdout instead of copying to clipboard
• Shows file count, byte size, and token estimate

Installation

Install globally:

npm install -g @vinciworks-devs/copy-cli

Then run:

copy --help

Use with npx

You can also run it without installing globally:

npx @vinciworks-devs/copy-cli "src/**"

Or explicitly use the latest published version:

npx @vinciworks-devs/copy-cli@latest "src/**"

If your shell or npm setup does not resolve the binary automatically, use:

npx --package @vinciworks-devs/copy-cli copy "src/**"

Usage

copy <glob...> [options]

Examples:

copy "src/**/*.js"

copy "src/**/*.ts" "README.md"

copy "src/**" --exclude "**/*.test.ts"

By default, the generated Markdown is copied to your clipboard.

Example Output

Running:

copy "src/**/*.js"

Produces Markdown like:

## src/example.js

```js
console.log('hello');
```

Options

--exclude, -x

Exclude one or more glob patterns.

copy "src/**" --exclude "**/*.test.js"

You can pass multiple exclusions:

copy "src/**" -x "**/*.test.js" -x "**/*.spec.js"

--diff

Copy files changed according to git diff.

copy --diff

You can also pass a git range:

copy --diff HEAD~1

copy --diff main...feature-branch

When used without a range, untracked files are also included.

--staged

Use staged changes with --diff.

copy --diff --staged

This uses staged changes only.

--stdout

Print the generated Markdown instead of copying it to the clipboard.

copy "src/**" --stdout

--no-header

Disable the Markdown header before each file.

copy "src/**" --no-header

Without --no-header, each file is formatted like this:

## src/example.js

```js
...
```

With --no-header, only the code block is emitted.

--sort

Sort files alphabetically.

Enabled by default.

copy "src/**" --sort

--gitignore

Respect .gitignore.

Enabled by default.

copy "src/**" --gitignore

--max-files

Limit the number of files included.

copy "src/**" --max-files 10

--include-lockfiles

Include package manager lockfiles such as package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, and yarn.lock.

Lockfiles are skipped by default because they are usually noisy in LLM context.

copy "src/**" "package-lock.json" --include-lockfiles

copy "**/*" --include-lockfiles

Common Examples

Copy all files under src:

copy "src/**"

Copy all JavaScript files under src:

copy "src/**/*.js"

Copy TypeScript and Markdown files:

copy "src/**/*.ts" "*.md"

Copy changed files:

copy --diff

Copy staged files:

copy --diff --staged

Copy recent changes compared to the previous commit:

copy --diff HEAD~1

Print instead of copying:

copy "src/**" --stdout

Copy files but skip tests:

copy "src/**" -x "**/*.test.*" -x "**/*.spec.*"

Limit output to the first 20 matched files:

copy "src/**" --max-files 20

Glob Notes

Patterns are handled by globby (including .gitignore when enabled).

Use quoted glob patterns so your shell does not expand them before copy-cli receives them:

copy "src/**/*.ts"

instead of:

copy src/**/*.ts

To copy everything under a directory, use:

copy "src/**"

Token Count

The CLI estimates token count using gpt-tokenizer.

After copying, it prints a summary like:

✔ 3 files | 12,481 bytes | 2,934 tokens

This is useful when preparing context for LLM prompts.

Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

Run locally:

node ./bin/copy.js "src/**" --stdout

Link globally during development:

npm link

Then test:

copy "src/**"

License

MIT