cxt: Context Extractor

Aggregate files and directories quickly into a single clipboard-ready context block, tuned for feeding code to AI assistants.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/a8953c2f-f888-46a2-a514-4317ab511b04

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Installation

Install script (all platforms)

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vaibhav-mattoo/cxt/main/install.sh | sh

If prompted, add ~/.local/bin to your PATH: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Cargo

cargo install cxt

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew tap vaibhav-mattoo/cxt && brew install cxt

AUR (Arch Linux)

yay -S cxt   # or: paru -S cxt

From source

git clone https://github.com/vaibhav-mattoo/cxt.git
cd cxt && cargo install --path .

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Quick Start

# for tui (recommended)
cxt

# or cli
cxt src/ README.md        # aggregate paths → clipboard

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Usage

Input sources

# Explicit paths (shell globs are expanded automatically)
cxt src/ tests/ README.md Cargo.toml

# any newline-delimited list of paths
fd -e rs | cxt
git diff --name-only HEAD | cxt
cat file_list.txt | cxt

# Interactive TUI picker
cxt
cxt --tui

# Single image copies the image itself to clipboard (not its path)
cxt screenshot.png

Output destination

cxt src/                          # clipboard (default)
cxt -p src/                       # stdout + clipboard
cxt -w context.xml src/           # write to file
cxt -w snapshot.gz --compress src/ # write gzip-compressed file
                                    # Decompress: gunzip snapshot.gz
                                    # View:       zcat snapshot.gz | less

Output format

cxt --format xml src/       # default : XML with <file path="…"> tags
cxt --format markdown src/  # Markdown with ## headings and fenced code blocks

XML (default)

<context>
<file path="/abs/path/to/main.rs">
fn main() { … }
</file>
</context>

Markdown

## File: src/main.rs

```rust
fn main() { … }

### Path headers

```bash
cxt src/           # absolute paths (default)
cxt -r src/        # relative to current directory
cxt -n src/        # no headers, raw content only
cxt --hidden src/  # include hidden / dot files

Filtering

Language and extension filters

cxt --lang rust src/           # Rust files only  →  rs, toml
cxt --lang python .            # Python files only → py, pyi, pyw
cxt --lang js --lang ts src/   # multiple languages
cxt --ext rs,toml src/         # specific extensions
cxt --lang rust --ext md src/  # combine --lang and --ext
cxt --lang help                # list all supported languages and their extensions

Supported languages include: rust, python, javascript, typescript, go, java, c, cpp, csharp, ruby, swift, kotlin, shell, html, css, sql, markdown, yaml, json, toml, nix, terraform, graphql, dockerfile, and more.

Ignore paths and glob patterns (-i is repeatable)

cxt -i target/ src/                   # ignore exact path
cxt -i "*.min.js" src/                # ignore by filename glob
cxt -i "**/__pycache__" .             # ignore by path glob
cxt -i node_modules/ -i "*.lock" .   # combine multiple ignores

Binary files are detected automatically and skipped with a warning.

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TUI Mode

Launch with cxt or cxt --tui to browse and select files interactively.

Key	Action
↑ / ↓ / j / k	Move cursor
→ / l / Enter	Expand directory
← / h / Backspace	Collapse / go to parent directory
Space	Select / unselect file or directory
/ or ctrl-f	Enter fuzzy search
?	Toggle keybinding help overlay
r	Toggle relative path headers
n	Toggle no path headers
c	Confirm selection → copy to clipboard
q / Ctrl-c	Quit

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All Options

Flag	Description
-p, --print	Print to stdout (also copies to clipboard)
-w, --write <FILE>	Write output to a file
--compress	Gzip-compress output, requires --write
--format <xml|markdown>	Output format (default: xml)
-r, --relative	Use relative paths in headers
-n, --no-path	Omit file path headers
--hidden	Include hidden / dot files
-i, --ignore <PATH>	Ignore a path or glob pattern, repeatable
--ext <EXT[,EXT…]>	Include only files with these extensions, repeatable
--lang <LANG[,LANG…]>	Include only files for this language, repeatable
--no-sort	Non-deterministic output order (faster for large trees)
-t, --tui	Launch interactive TUI file picker

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Uninstall

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vaibhav-mattoo/cxt/main/uninstall.sh | sh

For package manager installs, use the respective remove command (cargo uninstall cxt, brew uninstall cxt, yay -R cxt).

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License

MIT : see LICENSE.