Combicode

Combine a project's UTF-8 source files into one readable context file, with a directory tree and code outline. Restore those files with either the JavaScript or Python CLI.

Quick start

Requires Node.js 22.12+ or Python 3.11+.

npx combicode
# or
pipx run combicode

Run from the project root. The default output is combicode.txt.

# Preview without writing
combicode --dry-run

# Include selected file types (case-insensitive)
combicode -i '.ts, .tsx, .css' -o output/context.txt

# Add exclusions
combicode -e '**/*.generated.*,fixtures/'

# Keep files in the tree but omit their contents
combicode --skip-content '**/*.test.ts,**/*.spec.ts'

# Disable code outline parsing
combicode --no-parse

# Use a documentation-oriented prompt
combicode --llms-txt -i .md -o documentation.txt

# Restore an archive into a directory
combicode --recreate --input documentation.txt -o restored
combicode --recreate --input documentation.txt -o restored --dry-run
combicode --recreate --input documentation.txt -o restored --overwrite

-i always means --include-ext; use --input for restoration. --llms-txt changes the introductory prompt only: it does not read links or fetch documentation.

Options

| Option | Alias | Purpose | Default | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | --output | -o | Output file, or restore directory | combicode.txt; current directory in restore mode | | --dry-run | -d | Preview without writing | Off | | --include-ext | -i | Comma-separated extensions | All | | --exclude | -e | Additional comma-separated gitignore patterns | None | | --skip-content | | Show matching files in the tree but omit content | None | | --no-parse | | Disable code outline parsing | Parsing enabled | | --no-gitignore | | Ignore project .gitignore files | Respect .gitignore | | --no-header | | Omit the prompt and code index | Header enabled | | --llms-txt | -l | Use a documentation prompt | Off | | --recreate | -r | Restore files from an archive | Off | | --input | | Archive to restore | combicode.txt | | --overwrite | | Replace existing files during restoration | Off | | --version | -v | Print version | | | --help | -h | Print help | |

Output parent directories are created automatically. Unknown options fail with a nonzero exit status.

File selection

Both packages use the shared rules in configs/ignore.json. These exclude dependency folders, build outputs, common binary formats, .git, .env, and other generated files. Defaults and explicit --exclude patterns take precedence over project .gitignore files; --no-gitignore does not disable these defaults.

Nested .gitignore files can override patterns from parent files. An ignored directory is not traversed, so a child rule cannot re-include a file inside it. Submodule paths from .gitmodules are excluded. Symlinks and non-regular files are not collected. The output file excludes itself.

Files with NUL bytes in the initial sample are treated as binary. Other selected files must decode as UTF-8; read or decoding failures stop generation without replacing an existing output. Ignore rules are file-selection defaults, not secret detection; inspect the preview before sharing project content.

Code outline and line references

The output consists of an optional prompt and <code_index>, followed by <merged_code> records. Entries show:

• OL: original source line numbers.
• ML: line numbers within the combined output.
• Size: UTF-8 byte size.

Empty files and omitted content use OL: 0-0; their ML range points to the blank or placeholder line in the output.

For example, ML: 53-57 refers to lines 53 through 57 in the output:

sed -n '53,57p' combicode.txt

The Python package uses Python's built-in AST for valid Python sources. Other outlines, including Python outlines produced by the JavaScript package, use heuristics. They cover these language families:

| Languages | Typical outline elements | | --- | --- | | Python | Classes, functions, async functions, loops | | JavaScript, TypeScript | Classes, functions, methods, interfaces, test suites | | Go, Rust | Types, functions, implementation blocks | | Java, C/C++, C# | Types and methods | | PHP, Ruby | Classes, modules, functions | | Swift, Kotlin, Scala | Types and functions | | Lua, Perl, shell scripts | Functions and some control-flow blocks |

Configuration, markup, and other text files are included without a code outline. Heuristic outlines are approximate: unusual syntax, multiline declarations, regular-expression literals, and language-specific constructs can be missed or assigned imperfect ranges. File content remains intact. Use --no-parse when only the file tree is needed.

Archive format and restoration

Each record includes a percent-encoded relative path, OL/ML information, exact UTF-8 byte length, and an explicit omission flag. Four-backtick fences keep the output readable; the byte length, rather than the fences, delimits the original content.

This preserves empty files, final newlines, CRLF, Unicode, and source text containing archive-like headers or Markdown fences. JavaScript and Python archives are interchangeable. Omitted records are never restored, and existing files are skipped unless --overwrite is supplied. Summaries count files actually written or eligible for writing in a dry run.

Restoration validates records and paths before writing. Absolute paths, traversal components, duplicate names, control characters, backslashes, colon-containing paths, trailing dots/spaces, and Windows device names are rejected. Symlinks at or below the destination are rejected. Each file is staged and atomically installed; overwriting a hardlink does not change its other links. This is not a whole-project transaction: an I/O failure can leave earlier files restored. Use a destination that is not being modified concurrently by another process.

Old archive formats are unsupported. Regenerate existing context files before restoring them. Archives preserve file content, not permissions, timestamps, symlinks, or binary files. Editing a record's content requires updating its byte length.

Development

bash scripts/sync-assets.sh
npm ci --prefix combicode-js
npm test --prefix combicode-js
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install -e './combicode-py[test]' build
.venv/bin/python -m pytest -q combicode-py
.venv/bin/python -m ruff check --config combicode-py/pyproject.toml combicode-py scripts
.venv/bin/python -m build combicode-py

On Windows, use the corresponding executables under .venv/Scripts. The Python cross-runtime tests also require Node.js and installed JavaScript dependencies; they skip when Node.js is unavailable. CI installs both runtimes and tests minimum supported versions plus current runtimes on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Structure:

• combicode-js/index.js and combicode-py/combicode/main.py: CLI, file selection, and index generation.
• lib/parsers.js and combicode/parsers.py: language outlines.
• lib/archive.js and combicode/archive.py: framing, validation, and restoration.
• tests/fixtures: shared round-trip cases.
• configs/ignore.json: canonical defaults, synchronized into both packages.

Run python3 scripts/prepare-release.py MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH to update both package versions and the npm lockfile. Update changelogs and review changes before tagging and publishing a release. Release workflows synchronize shared assets, run package tests, build distributions, and publish.

License

MIT.