CLI Reference
This page provides a complete reference for all Recursivist commands and options.
Command Overview
Recursivist provides several commands for visualizing and exporting directory structures:
| Command | Description |
visualize | Display directory structures in the terminal |
export | Export directory structures to various formats |
compare | Compare two directory structures side by side |
completion | Generate shell completion scripts |
version | Show the current version |
Global Options
The following options apply to most Recursivist commands:
| Option | Short | Description |
--exclude | -e | Directories to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-ext | -x | File extensions to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-pattern | -p | Patterns to exclude (glob by default, regex with --regex flag) |
--include-pattern | -i | Patterns to include (overrides exclusions) |
--regex | -r | Treat patterns as regex instead of glob patterns |
--ignore-file | -g | Ignore file to use (e.g., .gitignore) |
--depth | -d | Maximum depth to display (0 for unlimited) |
--full-path | -l | Show full paths instead of just filenames |
--sort-by-loc | -s | Sort files by lines of code and display LOC counts |
--sort-by-size | -z | Sort files by size and display file sizes |
--sort-by-mtime | -m | Sort files by modification time and display timestamps |
--verbose | -v | Enable verbose output |
visualize Command
The visualize command displays a directory structure in the terminal.
Usage
recursivist visualize [OPTIONS] [DIRECTORY]
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
DIRECTORY | Directory path to visualize (defaults to current directory) |
Options
| Option | Short | Description |
--exclude | -e | Directories to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-ext | -x | File extensions to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-pattern | -p | Patterns to exclude (glob by default, regex with --regex flag) |
--include-pattern | -i | Patterns to include (overrides exclusions) |
--regex | -r | Treat patterns as regex instead of glob patterns |
--ignore-file | -g | Ignore file to use (e.g., .gitignore) |
--depth | -d | Maximum depth to display (0 for unlimited) |
--full-path | -l | Show full paths instead of just filenames |
--sort-by-loc | -s | Sort files by lines of code and display LOC counts |
--sort-by-size | -z | Sort files by size and display file sizes |
--sort-by-mtime | -m | Sort files by modification time and display timestamps |
--verbose | -v | Enable verbose output |
Examples
# Visualize current directory
recursivist visualize
# Visualize specific directory
recursivist visualize /path/to/directory
# Exclude directories
recursivist visualize --exclude "node_modules .git venv"
# Exclude file extensions
recursivist visualize --exclude-ext ".pyc .log .cache"
# Use a gitignore-style file
recursivist visualize --ignore-file .gitignore
# Use glob patterns
recursivist visualize --exclude-pattern "*.test.js" "*.spec.js"
# Use regex patterns
recursivist visualize --exclude-pattern "^test_.*\.py$" ".*_test\.js$" --regex
# Include only specific patterns
recursivist visualize --include-pattern "src/*" "*.md"
# Limit directory depth
recursivist visualize --depth 3
# Show full file paths
recursivist visualize --full-path
# Show lines of code
recursivist visualize --sort-by-loc
# Show file sizes
recursivist visualize --sort-by-size
# Show modification times
recursivist visualize --sort-by-mtime
# Combine statistics
recursivist visualize --sort-by-loc --sort-by-size
export Command
The export command exports a directory structure to various formats.
Usage
recursivist export [OPTIONS] [DIRECTORY]
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
DIRECTORY | Directory path to export (defaults to current directory) |
Options
| Option | Short | Description |
--format | -f | Export formats: txt, json, html, md, jsx |
--output-dir | -o | Output directory for exports |
--prefix | -n | Prefix for exported filenames |
--exclude | -e | Directories to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-ext | -x | File extensions to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-pattern | -p | Patterns to exclude (glob by default, regex with --regex flag) |
--include-pattern | -i | Patterns to include (overrides exclusions) |
--regex | -r | Treat patterns as regex instead of glob patterns |
--ignore-file | -g | Ignore file to use (e.g., .gitignore) |
--depth | -d | Maximum depth to display (0 for unlimited) |
--full-path | -l | Show full paths instead of just filenames |
--sort-by-loc | -s | Sort files by lines of code and display LOC counts |
--sort-by-size | -z | Sort files by size and display file sizes |
--sort-by-mtime | -m | Sort files by modification time and display timestamps |
--verbose | -v | Enable verbose output |
Examples
# Export to Markdown format
recursivist export --format md
# Export to multiple formats
recursivist export --format "json html md"
# Export to a specific directory
recursivist export --format txt --output-dir ./exports
# Custom filename prefix
recursivist export --format json --prefix my-project
# Export with exclusions
recursivist export --exclude node_modules --exclude-ext .pyc
# Export with file statistics
recursivist export --format html --sort-by-loc --sort-by-size
compare Command
The compare command compares two directory structures side by side.
Usage
recursivist compare [OPTIONS] DIR1 DIR2
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
DIR1 | First directory path to compare |
DIR2 | Second directory path to compare |
Options
| Option | Short | Description |
--exclude | -e | Directories to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-ext | -x | File extensions to exclude (space-separated or multiple flags) |
--exclude-pattern | -p | Patterns to exclude (glob by default, regex with --regex flag) |
--include-pattern | -i | Patterns to include (overrides exclusions) |
--regex | -r | Treat patterns as regex instead of glob patterns |
--ignore-file | -g | Ignore file to use (e.g., .gitignore) |
--depth | -d | Maximum depth to display (0 for unlimited) |
--full-path | -l | Show full paths instead of just filenames |
--save | -f | Save comparison result to HTML file |
--output-dir | -o | Output directory for exports |
--prefix | -n | Prefix for exported filenames |
--sort-by-loc | -s | Sort files by lines of code and display LOC counts |
--sort-by-size | -z | Sort files by size and display file sizes |
--sort-by-mtime | -m | Sort files by modification time and display timestamps |
--verbose | -v | Enable verbose output |
Examples
# Compare two directories
recursivist compare dir1 dir2
# Compare with exclusions
recursivist compare dir1 dir2 --exclude "node_modules .git"
# Compare with depth limit
recursivist compare dir1 dir2 --depth 2
# Export comparison to HTML
recursivist compare dir1 dir2 --save --output-dir ./reports
# Compare with file statistics
recursivist compare dir1 dir2 --sort-by-loc --sort-by-size
completion Command
The completion command generates shell completion scripts for different shells.
Usage
recursivist completion [SHELL]
Arguments
| Argument | Description |
SHELL | Shell type (bash, zsh, fish, powershell) |
Examples
# Generate Bash completion
recursivist completion bash > ~/.bash_completion.d/recursivist
# Generate Zsh completion
recursivist completion zsh > ~/.zsh/completion/_recursivist
# Generate Fish completion
recursivist completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/recursivist.fish
# Generate PowerShell completion
recursivist completion powershell > recursivist.ps1
version Command
The version command displays the current version of Recursivist.
Usage