# Repository to Text Conversion: repo-to-text command

`repo-to-text` is an open-source project that converts the structure and contents of a directory (repository) into a single text file. By executing a simple command in the terminal, this tool generates a text representation of the directory, including the output of the `tree` command and the contents of each file, formatted for easy reading and sharing. This can be very useful for development and debugging with LLM.

## Example of Repository to Text Conversion

![Example Output](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kirill-markin/repo-to-text/main/examples/screenshot-demo.jpg)

The generated text file will include the directory structure and contents of each file. For a full example, see the [example output for this repository](https://github.com/kirill-markin/repo-to-text/blob/main/examples/example_repo-to-text_2024-06-09-08-06-31-UTC.txt).

The same text will appear in your clipboard. You can paste it into a dialog with the LLM and start communicating.

## Features

- Generates a text representation of a directory's structure.
- Includes the output of the `tree` command.
- Saves the contents of each file, encapsulated in markdown code blocks.
- Copies the generated text representation to the clipboard for easy sharing.
- Easy to install and use via `pip` and Homebrew.

## Installation

### Using pip

To install `repo-to-text` via pip, run the following command:

```bash
pip install repo-to-text
```

To upgrade to the latest version, use the following command:

```bash
pip install --upgrade repo-to-text
```

## Usage

After installation, you can use the `repo-to-text` command in your terminal. Navigate to the directory you want to convert and run:

```bash
repo-to-text
```

This will create a file named `repo-to-text_YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS-UTC.txt` in the current directory with the text representation of the repository. The contents of this file will also be copied to your clipboard for easy sharing.

### Options

You can customize the behavior of `repo-to-text` with the following options:

- `--output-dir <path>`: Specify an output directory where the generated text file will be saved. For example:

  ```bash
  repo-to-text --output-dir /path/to/output
  ```
  
  This will save the file in the specified output directory instead of the current directory.

- `--create-settings`: Create a default `.repo-to-text-settings.yaml` file with predefined settings. This is useful if you want to start with a template settings file and customize it according to your needs. To create the default settings file, run the following command in your terminal:

  ```bash
  repo-to-text --create-settings
  ```

  This will create a file named `.repo-to-text-settings.yaml` in the current directory. If the file already exists, an error will be raised to prevent overwriting.

- `--debug`: Enable DEBUG logging. By default, `repo-to-text` runs with INFO logging level. To enable DEBUG logging, use the `--debug` flag:

  ```bash
  repo-to-text --debug
  ```

  or to save the debug log to a file:

  ```bash
  repo-to-text --debug > debug_log.txt 2>&1
  ```

## Settings

`repo-to-text` also supports configuration via a `.repo-to-text-settings.yaml` file. By default, the tool works without this file, but you can use it to customize what gets included in the final text file.

### Creating the Settings File

To create a settings file, add a file named `.repo-to-text-settings.yaml` at the root of your project with the following content:

```yaml
# Syntax: gitignore rules

# Ignore files and directories for all sections from gitignore file
# Default: True
gitignore-import-and-ignore: True

# Ignore files and directories for tree
# and "Contents of ..." sections
ignore-tree-and-content:
  - ".repo-to-text-settings.yaml"
  - "examples/"
  - "MANIFEST.in"
  - "setup.py"

# Ignore files and directories for "Contents of ..." section
ignore-content:
  - "README.md"
  - "LICENSE"
  - "tests/"
```

You can copy this file from the [existing example in the project](https://github.com/kirill-markin/repo-to-text/blob/main/.repo-to-text-settings.yaml) and adjust it to your needs. This file allows you to specify rules for what should be ignored when creating the text representation of the repository.

### Configuration Options

- **gitignore-import-and-ignore**: Ignore files and directories specified in `.gitignore` for all sections.
- **ignore-tree-and-content**: Ignore files and directories for the tree and "Contents of ..." sections.
- **ignore-content**: Ignore files and directories only for the "Contents of ..." section.

Using these settings, you can control which files and directories are included or excluded from the final text file.

## gitignore Rule to Ignore generated files

To ignore the generated text files, add the following lines to your `.gitignore` file:

```gitignore
repo-to-text_*.txt
```

## Install Locally

To install `repo-to-text` locally for development, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

    ```bash
    git clone https://github.com/kirill-markin/repo-to-text
    cd repo-to-text
    ```

2. Install the package locally:

    ```bash
    pip install -e .
    ```

### Installing Dependencies

To install all the required dependencies, run the following command:

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

### Running Tests

To run the tests, use the following command:

```bash
pytest
```

## Uninstall

To uninstall the package, run the following command from the directory where the repository is located:

```bash
pip uninstall repo-to-text
```

## Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you have any suggestions or find a bug, please open an issue or submit a pull request.

## License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](https://github.com/kirill-markin/repo-to-text/blob/main/LICENSE) file for details.

## Contact

This project is maintained by [Kirill Markin](https://github.com/kirill-markin). For any inquiries or feedback, please contact [markinkirill@gmail.com](mailto:markinkirill@gmail.com).