mkctx - Make Context

A powerful command-line tool that generates comprehensive markdown context files from your project code, perfect for use with AI assistants and documentation.

Features

• 🚀 Multi-platform - Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• 📝 Smart Ignoring - Respects gitignore patterns and custom ignore rules
• ⚙️ Configurable - Customize source directories, output locations, and comments
• 🎯 AI-Friendly - Outputs code in markdown format ideal for AI prompts
• 🔧 Easy Installation - Install globally via npm

Installation

npm install -g mkctx

Quick Start

Generate context for your project

mkctx

Create configuration file

mkctx config

Usage

Basic Usage

Run mkctx in your project root to generate a context.md file containing all your project code:

cd your-project/
mkctx

Configuration

Create a configuration file to customize behavior:

mkctx config

This creates:

• mkctx.config.json - Configuration file
• mkctx/ directory - Output folder (added to .gitignore)

Configuration Options

The mkctx.config.json file supports the following options:

{
  "src": "./src",
  "ignore": "*.log, temp/, node_modules/, .git/",
  "output": "./mkctx",
  "first_comment": "/* Project Context */",
  "last_comment": "/* End of Context */"
}

| Option | Description | Default | |--------|-------------|---------| | src | Source directory to scan | "." (current directory) | | ignore | Comma-separated patterns to ignore | "*.log, temp/, node_modules/, .git/" | | output | Output directory for context file | "." (current directory) | | first_comment | Comment added at the beginning of the context | "/* Project Context */" | | last_comment | Comment added at the end of the context | "/* End of Context */" |

Output Format

The generated context.md file contains your project code in this format:

/* Project Context */

```javascript
// src/main.js
console.log("Hello World!");
```

```css
// styles/main.css
body { margin: 0; }
```

/* End of Context */

Examples

Include only specific directories

{
  "src": "./src",
  "ignore": "*.test.js, __tests__/, dist/",
  "output": "./docs",
  "first_comment": "/* My App Codebase */"
}

Generate context for documentation

{
  "src": ".",
  "ignore": "node_modules/, .git/, *.md, package-lock.json",
  "first_comment": "## Project Overview\n\nThis is the complete codebase for my application.",
  "last_comment": "## End of Codebase\n\nThis context file was generated using mkctx."
}

Platform Support

• ✅ Windows - Full support with automatic .exe handling
• ✅ macOS - Native support with proper permissions
• ✅ Linux - Complete compatibility

Requirements

• Go 1.16+ (for building from source)
• Node.js 14.0+ (for npm installation)
• npm or yarn (for package management)

How It Works

1. Scan: Recursively scans your source directory
2. Filter: Applies ignore patterns from config and .gitignore
3. Format: Converts each file to markdown code blocks with file paths
4. Output: Generates a comprehensive context.md file

Use Cases

• AI Pair Programming - Provide complete context to AI assistants
• Code Reviews - Share project overview with reviewers
• Documentation - Create living documentation of your codebase
• Onboarding - Help new developers understand the project structure
• Backup - Generate searchable archives of your code

Troubleshooting

Installation Issues

If installation fails, try manual installation:

1. Build the binary: go build -o mkctx main.go
2. Copy to a directory in your PATH
3. Ensure execution permissions: chmod +x mkctx

Permission Errors

On Unix systems, you might need to use sudo:

sudo npm install -g mkctx

Binary Not Found

If mkctx command is not found after installation:

1. Check if the installation directory is in your PATH
2. Restart your terminal
3. Try reinstalling: npm uninstall -g mkctx && npm install -g mkctx

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or open issues for bugs and feature requests.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

If you encounter any problems or have questions:

1. Check this README for solutions
2. Open an issue on GitHub
3. Check the generated configuration for guidance