Folderwalk - folder walking tool

code review
1

Folderwalk

Folderwalk is a simple folder-walking tool written in Rust. It recursively scans a directory and outputs its structure—optionally including file contents. Designed for fast inspection or generating context for AI systems (e.g. MCP agents, file-aware editors).

Install

Install via Cargo:

cargo install folderwalk

Usage

Output folder structure to files.txt

Creates a files.txt file in the target folder containing the directory tree.

folderwalk <path/to/folder>

Example:

folderwalk ./project

Include file contents in files.txt

Adds file contents inline beneath each file entry.

folderwalk <path/to/folder> -c

Example:

folderwalk ./project -c

Output to stdout instead of files.txt

Prints the folder structure directly to the terminal.

folderwalk <path/to/folder> -o

Example:

folderwalk ./project -o

Output structure + contents to stdout

Combines -o and -c to print everything to the terminal.

folderwalk <path/to/folder> -o -c

Example:

folderwalk ./project -o -c

Limit recursion depth

Use --max-depth N to restrict how deep the traversal goes.

folderwalk ./project --max-depth 2

Use ASCII tree formatting

Use --ascii to switch from Unicode to ASCII characters.

folderwalk ./project --ascii

Notes

  • By default, files.txt is created in the target folder unless -o is used.
  • Common directories like node_modules, .git, and target are excluded.
  • Symlinks are displayed with their targets.
  • Useful for AI context generation, quick project inspection, or documentation.

Feedback is welcome. If you have ideas for features or improvements, feel free to open an issue or PR on GitHub.

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Awesome, I need exactly a tool like that for my AI project. Thank you for sharing. I need also a report card for each visited file as:

  • last time updated
  • type - like src/lang, manifest, doc, human created, system created and so on
  • related files
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I will try to implement this and add metadata for files, probably in metadata.txt