Prettify Folder Structure

A CLI tool for converting between plain indented text and visual ASCII tree representations of folder structures. Share folder hierarchies with AI agents, create documentation, or simply visualize your project structure in a readable format.

Installation

npm install -g prettify-folder-structure

Usage

The tool supports two commands: format (default) and parse.

Format: Convert plain text to ASCII tree (default)

prettify-folder-structure format <path-to-text-file>
# or simply
prettify-folder-structure <path-to-text-file>

Convert plain indented text into an ASCII tree with box-drawing characters:

Input:

my-react-app/
  src/
    components/
      Button.tsx # Reusable button component
      Header.tsx
      Footer.tsx
    pages/
      Home.tsx # Landing page
      About.tsx
    App.tsx # Main app component
    index.tsx
  package.json

Output:

my-react-app/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── Button.tsx  # Reusable button component
│   │   ├── Header.tsx
│   │   └── Footer.tsx
│   ├── pages/
│   │   ├── Home.tsx  # Landing page
│   │   └── About.tsx
│   ├── App.tsx  # Main app component
│   └── index.tsx
└── package.json

Parse: Convert ASCII tree back to plain text

prettify-folder-structure parse <path-to-tree-file>

Convert an ASCII tree back to plain indented text:

Input:

my-react-app/
├── src/
│   ├── hooks/           # Custom React hooks
│   │   ├── useAuth.ts
│   │   └── useFetch.ts
│   ├── utils/
│   │   └── helpers.ts   # Utility functions
│   └── App.tsx
└── vite.config.ts

Output:

my-react-app/
  src/
    hooks/ # Custom React hooks
      useAuth.ts
      useFetch.ts
    utils/
      helpers.ts # Utility functions
    App.tsx
  vite.config.ts

Options

Format command:

• -o, --output <file> - Write output to file instead of stdout

Parse command:

• -i, --indent <width> - Indentation width: 2 or 4 spaces (default: 2)
• -o, --output <file> - Write output to file instead of stdout

Examples

# Convert plain text to ASCII tree
prettify-folder-structure structure.txt

# Save ASCII tree to file
prettify-folder-structure format structure.txt -o project-tree.txt

# Convert ASCII tree back to plain text with 4-space indentation
prettify-folder-structure parse project-tree.txt -i 4

# Save plain text to file
prettify-folder-structure parse project-tree.txt -o structure.txt

Input Format

Plain Text Format

Use indentation (2 or 4 spaces) to show hierarchy:

• Folders end with /
• Comments use #
• Consistent indentation required (no tabs)

react-app/
  src/
    App.tsx # Main application
    index.tsx
  public/
    index.html
  package.json

ASCII Tree Format

Box-drawing characters show hierarchy:

• ├── for items with siblings below
• └── for last items
• │ for vertical lines
• Folders end with /
• Comments use #

react-app/
├── src/
│   ├── App.tsx  # Main application
│   └── index.tsx
├── public/
│   └── index.html
└── package.json

Features

• ✨ Bidirectional conversion: Plain text ↔ ASCII tree
• 📦 Flexible indentation: Auto-detects 2 or 4 space indentation
• 💬 Inline comments: Preserve # comments in both formats
• 🎯 Folder detection: Automatically identifies folders vs files
• 📊 Deep nesting: Handles arbitrarily nested structures
• ⚡ Fast: Built with Bun for instant execution
• 🛡️ Error handling: Clear error messages for invalid input

Development

# Run tests
bun test

# Run directly with Bun
bun index.ts structure.txt

# Run parse command
bun run parse project-tree.txt

Built with Bun - a fast all-in-one JavaScript runtime.