Command Reference

This page provides a comprehensive reference for all command-line options available in promptprep.

Core Options

Option	Description
`-d PATH, --directory PATH`	Directory to scan for code files (default: current directory)
`-o FILE, --output-file FILE`	Output file path (default: `full_code.txt`)
`-c, --clipboard`	Copy output to clipboard instead of saving to a file

File Selection Options

Option	Description
`-i LIST, --include-files LIST`	Only include these specific files (comma-separated list of relative paths)
`-e LIST, --exclude-dirs LIST`	Skip these directories (comma-separated list)
`-x LIST, --extensions LIST`	Only include files with these extensions (comma-separated list)
`-m SIZE, --max-file-size SIZE`	Skip files larger than this size in MB (default: 100.0)
`--interactive`	Launch terminal-based file browser for visual selection

Content Processing Options

Option	Description
`--summary-mode`	Extract only function/class signatures and docstrings
`--include-comments`	Include comments in the output (default)
`--no-include-comments`	Strip all comments from the output
`--metadata`	Add statistics about your codebase at the beginning
`--count-tokens`	Count tokens for AI model context limits (requires `--metadata`)
`--token-model MODEL`	Tokenizer model to use (default: `cl100k_base` for GPT-4)

Output Formatting Options

Option	Description
`--format FORMAT`	Output format: `plain`, `markdown`, `html`, `highlighted`, or `custom`
`--line-numbers`	Add line numbers to code in the output
`--template-file FILE`	Custom template file (required if using `--format custom`)

Incremental Processing Options

Option	Description
`--incremental`	Only process files that have changed since last run
`--last-run-timestamp TS`	Unix timestamp of last run (e.g., `1678886400.0`)

Diff Generation Options

Option	Description
`--diff PREV_FILE`	Compare with a previous output file and show changes
`--diff-context LINES`	Number of unchanged lines to show around changes (default: 3)
`--diff-output FILE`	Save diff to a file instead of showing on screen

Configuration Management Options

Option	Description
`--save-config [FILE]`	Save current options to a configuration file
`--load-config [FILE]`	Load options from a configuration file

Other Options

Option	Description
`--version`	Show version number and exit
`-h, --help`	Show help message and exit

Option Details

Directory Selection

promptprep -d PATH, --directory PATH

Specify the directory to scan for code files. If not provided, promptprep will use the current directory.

Output Options

promptprep -o FILE, --output-file FILE

Specify the file where the output should be saved. If not provided, promptprep will save to full_code.txt.

promptprep -c, --clipboard

Send the output directly to the clipboard instead of saving to a file. This is useful when you want to immediately paste the output into another application.

File Selection

promptprep -i LIST, --include-files LIST

Only process the specified files. Provide a comma-separated list of relative paths. For example:

promptprep -i "src/main.py,src/utils.py,README.md"

promptprep -e LIST, --exclude-dirs LIST

Skip the specified directories. Provide a comma-separated list of directory names. For example:

promptprep -e "node_modules,venv,.git,__pycache__"

promptprep -x LIST, --extensions LIST

Only include files with the specified extensions. Provide a comma-separated list of extensions. For example:

promptprep -x ".py,.js,.md"

promptprep -m SIZE, --max-file-size SIZE

Skip files larger than the specified size in MB. Default is 100.0 MB. For example:

promptprep -m 5  # Skip files larger than 5 MB

promptprep --interactive

Launch a terminal-based file browser to select files visually.

Content Processing

promptprep --summary-mode

Extract only function/class signatures and docstrings, skipping implementation details.

promptprep --include-comments  # Default behavior
promptprep --no-include-comments  # Strip all comments

Control whether comments are included in the output.

promptprep --metadata

Add statistics about your codebase at the beginning of the output.

promptprep --count-tokens
promptprep --token-model MODEL  # Default: cl100k_base (GPT-4)

Count how many tokens your code will use when sent to AI models. Requires --metadata.

Output Formatting

promptprep --format FORMAT

Choose the output format. Available options:

plain: Simple text format (default)
markdown: GitHub-friendly Markdown with code blocks
html: Complete webpage with basic styling
highlighted: Syntax-highlighted code (requires pygments)
custom: Custom format using a template file

promptprep --line-numbers

Add line numbers to the code in the output.

promptprep --format custom --template-file FILE

Use a custom template file for the output.

Incremental Processing

promptprep --incremental
promptprep --last-run-timestamp TIMESTAMP

Only process files that have changed since the last run.

Diff Generation

promptprep --diff PREV_FILE
promptprep --diff-context LINES  # Default: 3
promptprep --diff-output FILE

Compare with a previous output file and show what changed.

Configuration Management

promptprep [options] --save-config [FILE]

Save the current options to a configuration file for later use.

promptprep --load-config [FILE] [additional options]

Load options from a configuration file. Additional options will override the loaded ones.