Contxtify

contxtify is a lightweight shell utility that turns an entire folder into a single text file. It collects the contents of every file in the directory and its subfolders, adds each file’s path as a header, and combines everything into one .txt file.

The result is an easy way to turn a project or repository into context for AI, or to save a snapshot of a folder’s contents.

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🚀 Installation

Install directly (auto-selects /usr/local/bin or ~/.local/bin):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RAMCloudCode/contxtify/main/install.sh | sh

Choose an exact install directory by setting TARGET_DIR before running the installer:

TARGET_DIR=/usr/local/scripts curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RAMCloudCode/contxtify/main/install.sh | sh

Verify installation:

contxtify -h

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📦 Drop‑in Script (Root Recommended)

If you prefer to keep contxtify as a lightweight, project-local tool, just drop the script itself into your repo’s root directory — no install needed.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RAMCloudCode/contxtify/main/contxtify -o contxtify
chmod +x contxtify
git add contxtify
git commit -m "Add contxtify"

Run it locally from your project root:

./contxtify -r . -o combined.txt

This approach keeps your repository self-contained and works anywhere without requiring installation.

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🧩 Features

• Recursive aggregation — walks the entire directory tree.
• Context headers — adds each file’s relative path before its contents.
• Cross-platform — works on macOS and Linux (GNU and BSD utils).
• Hidden file toggle — skips dotfiles unless --all is passed.
• Safe writes — uses a temporary file to prevent corruption.
• Self-aware — automatically excludes itself, its output, and temp files.

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⚙️ Usage

contxtify [-r ROOT] [-o OUT] [-a] [-h]

Flag	Long Form	Description
-r	--root <dir>	Root directory to scan (default: current directory)
-o	--output <file>	Output file name (default: combined.txt)
-a	--all	Include hidden files and directories
-h	--help	Show help and exit

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📘 Examples

Combine everything in the current directory:

contxtify

Combine a specific project and name the output:

contxtify -r /path/to/project -o merged.txt

Include hidden files:

contxtify --all

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🧠 Output Format

# path: myproject/src/main.py
<contents of main.py>

# path: myproject/README.md
<contents of README.md>

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🔒 Exclusions

contxtify automatically skips:

• The script file itself
• The output file
• Temporary working files

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💡 Common Use Cases

• Exporting codebases for LLM or AI model ingestion
• Generating plain-text project archives for documentation or audit
• Sharing complex directory structures as unified readable text

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🛠 Compatibility

• Tested on: macOS, Ubuntu, Debian
• Dependencies: bash, find, realpath, mktemp, sed, cat

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Uninstall

rm -f /usr/local/bin/contxtify ~/.local/bin/contxtify

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🧾 License

Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).

You may use, modify, and distribute this software under the same license terms.

Copyright (C) 2025 Robert A. Moore III