code2prompt

Code2Prompt

Let code2prompt traverse, filter, parse, and assemble repository context locally. Use compact structural maps to choose relevant files, then read the implementation and its tests together. Prefer this over repeated find, rg --files, and individual file reads for broad exploration.

Choose the shortest useful workflow:

• If the relevant paths are known, go directly to a grouped source read.
• For an unfamiliar area, request one entity map, then use its paths and symbols to select a grouped read. Reuse the map until relevant source files change.
• For a small area, reading its source directly can be cheaper than mapping it.
• If entity extraction is unavailable, use the directory map as a fallback.

Adapt the scope to the task and context budget. Avoid scanning the whole repository again for each question or dumping all source before identifying the relevant area.

Install the CLI

Check availability once per environment, not before every read:

code2prompt --version
code2prompt --help

For the sem-backed entity map, use a CLI built with the optional entity-map feature. With Rust/Cargo available, build it from the code2prompt repository:

cargo install --git https://github.com/mufeedvh/code2prompt \
  --locked --features entity-map code2prompt

For ordinary directory maps and source reads, a standard installation is enough:

# Choose one available package manager:
cargo install code2prompt --locked
brew install code2prompt

An existing CLI may list --entity-map in its help even when built without the feature; in that case extraction returns no entities. If building with the feature is unavailable or unnecessary for the task, continue with ordinary source reads. There is no separate sem executable or service to configure: code2prompt uses sem-core internally.

Prebuilt binaries are available from the GitHub releases. Installing this skill adds instructions; the CLI is installed separately. pip install code2prompt-rs installs the Python SDK, not the CLI.

Map an unfamiliar area

Run from the repository you want to inspect. Replace the example paths and patterns below with its actual layout. Set CODE2PROMPT_SKILL_DIR to the absolute directory containing this installed SKILL.md; the bundled template is assets/code-map.hbs. It is a skill resource, not a file in the repository being analyzed.

For a source area and its tests:

code2prompt . --include 'src/**' --include 'tests/**' \
  --exclude '**/*.snap' --entity-map \
  --template "$CODE2PROMPT_SKILL_DIR/assets/code-map.hbs" \
  --output-file - --quiet

For an unknown layout, omit the includes and exclude generated/vendor paths, or get a directory map first. The template lists selected file paths and extracted entities: names, kinds, declaration snippets, parent names, and line ranges. It does not render full file contents; --entity-map with the default template does. Declaration snippets are the first line of an entity and can contain inline code; exclude generated/minified files to keep the map useful. Do not combine entity extraction with --exclude '**' or --deselected: files must be selected for code2prompt to parse them.

(no extracted entities) means extraction returned nothing or the binary lacks the feature. Some files yield generic chunk entries instead of declarations; the template shows their ranges without content snippets. Neither case means the file is irrelevant. Read manifests, documentation, or other such files directly as needed. This map is not a dependency graph or semantic text search.

Fallback directory map, without file contents:

code2prompt . --full-directory-tree --exclude '**' --output-file - --quiet

The full tree keeps excluded paths visible while respecting ignore rules and skipping hidden entries by default. To reduce this tree, analyze a subdirectory; include/exclude patterns do not prune a full directory tree.

Read the selected context together

Load the relevant implementation and tests together with line numbers:

code2prompt . --include 'src/auth/**' --include 'tests/auth/**' \
  --exclude '**/*.snap' --line-numbers --output-file - --quiet

Read a small set of specific files when their paths are known:

code2prompt . --include 'README.md' --include 'src/auth/session.ts' \
  --line-numbers --output-file - --quiet

Use the map to collect the likely implementation, its callers or interfaces, and related tests in one request. Add another batch only when the returned source reveals a missing dependency or leaves a concrete question unresolved. Narrow the selection if output is too large or truncated.

For an exact content match or a small line range within a very large file, use an appropriate text search or file-reading tool. code2prompt selects whole files by path; it does not offer a symbol-query or line-range CLI selector.

Useful controls

• Quote glob patterns so the shell does not expand them. Patterns are relative to the analyzed directory; repeat --include and --exclude for multiple patterns. Use **/*.rs for a language or src/** for a subtree.
• Use --output-file - to explicitly send the prompt to stdout, including when configuration defaults to clipboard output. --quiet suppresses progress and summary messages. Avoid --tui in automated agent workflows.
• For structured output, add --output-format json. For a larger result, use --output-file with a temporary file outside the analyzed directory, then read that file. Omit --quiet to see the estimated token count on stderr. The current estimate includes selected file contents even for a template that omits their bodies; do not interpret it as the compact map's actual token size.
• Hidden files require --hidden. Ignored files require --no-ignore; keep the default ignore behavior for ordinary exploration and target any extra files explicitly with include patterns.
• If output differs from the requested scope, rerun without --quiet to see which configuration was loaded. The CLI reads .c2pconfig from the working directory, then falls back to the platform's user configuration directory. Supplying any CLI include/exclude patterns replaces both configured pattern lists; a configured path can override the positional directory.

See the CLI guide for more options.