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Filtering Files with Code2Prompt

Using the Glob Pattern Filter

This tutorial demonstrates how to use the glob pattern tool in code2prompt to filter and manage files based on include and exclude patterns. Glob patterns work similarly to tools like tree or grep, providing powerful filtering capabilities. Check out the detailed explanation for more information.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have code2prompt installed. If you haven’t installed it yet, refer to the Installation Guide.

Understanding Include and Exclude Patterns

Glob patterns allow you to specify rules for filtering files and directories.

  • Include Patterns (--include): Specify files and directories you want to include.
  • Exclude Patterns (--exclude): Specify files and directories you want to exclude.
  • Priority (--include-priority): Resolves conflicts between include and exclude patterns.

Setting Up the Environment

To practice with glob patterns, let’s create a sample folder structure with some files.

Bash Script to Generate the Test Structure

Run this script to set up a temporary directory structure:

#!/bin/bash


# Create base directory
mkdir -p test_dir/{lowercase,uppercase,.secret}


# Create files in the structure
echo "content foo.py" > "test_dir/lowercase/foo.py"
echo "content bar.py" > "test_dir/lowercase/bar.py"
echo "content baz.py" > "test_dir/lowercase/baz.py"
echo "content qux.txt" > "test_dir/lowercase/qux.txt"
echo "content corge.txt" > "test_dir/lowercase/corge.txt"
echo "content grault.txt" > "test_dir/lowercase/grault.txt"


echo "CONTENT FOO.py" > "test_dir/uppercase/FOO.PY"
echo "CONTENT BAR.py" > "test_dir/uppercase/BAR.PY"
echo "CONTENT BAZ.py" > "test_dir/uppercase/BAZ.PY"
echo "CONTENT QUX.txt" > "test_dir/uppercase/QUX.TXT"
echo "CONTENT CORGE.txt" > "test_dir/uppercase/CORGE.TXT"
echo "CONTENT GRAULT.txt" > "test_dir/uppercase/GRAULT.TXT"


echo "top secret" > "test_dir/.secret/secret.txt"

To clean up the structure later, run:

Terminal window
rm -rf test_dir

Examples: Filtering Files with Include and Exclude Patterns

Case 1: No Include, No Exclude

Command:

Terminal window
code2prompt test_dir

Result

All files are included:

  • lowercase/foo.py
  • lowercase/bar.py
  • uppercase/FOO.py
  • .secret/secret.txt

Case 2: Exclude Specific File Types

Exclude .txt files:

Terminal window
code2prompt test_dir --exclude="*.txt"

Result

Excluded:

  • All .txt files

Included:

  • lowercase/foo.py
  • lowercase/bar.py
  • uppercase/FOO.py

Case 3: Include Specific File Types

Include only Python files:

Terminal window
code2prompt test_dir --include="*.py"

Result

Included:

  • All .py files

Excluded:

  • .secret/secret.txt

Case 4: Include and Exclude with Priority

Include .py files but exclude files in the uppercase folder:

Terminal window
code2prompt test_dir --include="*.py" --exclude="**/uppercase/*" --include-priority=true

Result

Included:

  • All lowercase/1 files having .py extension

Excluded:

  • All uppercase files
  • .secret/secret.txt

Summary

The glob pattern tool in code2prompt allows you to filter files and directories effectively using:

  • --include for specifying files to include
  • --exclude for files to exclude
  • --include-priority for resolving conflicts between patterns

To practice, set up the sample directory, try out the commands, and see how the tool filters files dynamically.