Create a `.c2pconfig` File

Guide Overview

In this guide, you’ll learn how to create and use a .c2pconfig file to automate your prompt generation workflow.

Manually typing long exclude patterns, tokenizer settings, or custom variables every time you run Code2Prompt can become tedious. By creating a .c2pconfig configuration file, you can “set and forget” your project preferences. Code2Prompt will automatically look for this file in your current working directory and apply your rules seamlessly.

Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up your first configuration file.

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Initialize your Configuration File

Navigate to the root directory of your project using your terminal and create a file named .c2pconfig.

cd path/to/your/project
touch .c2pconfig

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Step 2: Define your Base Behavior (TOML Format)

Open the .c2pconfig file in your preferred text editor. The file uses TOML syntax. Paste the following baseline configuration into the file:

# Default behavior configuration
default_output = "clipboard"    # Options: stdout, clipboard, file
output_format = "xml"           # Options: markdown, json, xml
line_numbers = false            # Adds line numbers to your code blocks
encoding = "o200k"              # Matches the tokenizer to your target LLM

# Global filtering rules
include_patterns = ["src/**/*.rs", "Cargo.toml"]
exclude_patterns = [
    "**/node_modules/**",
    "**/target/**",
    "tests/fixtures/**",
    "package-lock.json"
]

Tip

Keep Context Clean: Excluding heavy directories like node_modules or build artifacts (like target/) ensures your LLM receives a filtered, high-quality context without hitting token limits unnecessarily.

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Step 3: Run with Zero Arguments

Once your .c2pconfig file is saved at the root of your codebase, you no longer need to pass complex flags. Simply run the tool:

code2prompt .

Code2Prompt will automatically read your .c2pconfig, filter your files using your glob patterns, attach line numbers, and format the output based on your choices.

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Next Steps

To dive deeper into setting up advanced workflows, variables, and default configuration keys:

Configuration Tutorial