A powerful, type-safe directory tree export and navigation tool written in Ada 2022
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) [](https://www.adacore.com/) []()
Tree Navigator is a professional-grade directory tree visualization and export tool that solves the common problem of overwhelming tree output in large projects (especially Rust, Node.js, and other projects with massive dependency directories). Built with Ada 2022, it provides compile-time safety, extensive filtering options, and clean, readable output.
The Problem: Standard tree commands output thousands of lines for modern projects:
- Rust projects: target/ directories with 50,000+ files
- Node.js projects: node_modules/ with endless dependencies
- Build artifacts cluttering your tree view
- Difficulty finding specific file types
- No easy way to filter by permissions or file attributes
The Solution: Tree Navigator gives you surgical control: - 🎯 Smart Filtering: Exclude directories/files by name or pattern - 🔍 Type Selection: Show only executables, configs, scripts, or data files - 📊 Statistics: Get file counts, sizes, and exclusion metrics - 💾 Clean Export: Save filtered trees to files for documentation - 🛡️ Robust: Handle permission errors gracefully - ⚡ Fast: Compile-time optimizations via Ada
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🎯 Advanced Filtering - Exclude specific directories and file patterns
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📂 Type-Based Selection - Filter by file type (executable, config, script, data, etc.)
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📊 Statistics - Automatic counting of files, directories, and total size
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💾 File Export - Save tree output to files for documentation or analysis
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🔍 Hidden File Control - Show or hide dotfiles
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📏 Depth Limiting - Control how deep to traverse
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📦 Size Display - Optional file size information
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🎨 Color-Coded - Visual distinction with emoji icons
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🛡️ Permission Handling - Graceful handling of access denied errors
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🔖 Interactive Mode - Navigate and bookmark favorite locations
Tree Navigator automatically categorizes files:
- 📁 Directories
- ⚙️ Executables (.exe, .bin, executable permission)
- ⚙️ System Configs (.conf, .cfg)
- 📜 Shell Scripts (.sh, .bash)
- 📄 Data Files (.json, .xml, .yaml, .yml)
- 👻 Hidden Files (starting with .)
- 📄 Regular Files (everything else)
Export directory trees to files with powerful filtering:
= Basic export
tree-navigator --export output.txt
= Export with depth limit
tree-navigator --export output.txt --max-depth 5
= Export specific directory
tree-navigator --export output.txt --dir /path/to/project
= Show file sizes
tree-navigator --export output.txt --show-sizePerfect for ignoring build artifacts and dependencies:
= Rust project - exclude build directory
tree-navigator --export rust-tree.txt --exclude-dirs target
= Node.js - exclude dependencies
tree-navigator --export node-tree.txt --exclude-dirs node_modules
= Multiple exclusions
tree-navigator --export clean-tree.txt --exclude-dirs "target,node_modules,.git,build,dist"
= Ada/GNAT project
tree-navigator --export ada-tree.txt --exclude-dirs obj,binFilter out specific files or patterns:
= Exclude compiled objects
tree-navigator --export source-tree.txt --exclude-files "*.o,*.ali,*.so"
= Exclude temporary files
tree-navigator --export clean-tree.txt --exclude-files "*.tmp,*.log,*.bak,*~"
= Exclude multiple patterns
tree-navigator --export code-tree.txt --exclude-files "*.o,*.exe,*.dll,*.pyc"Show only specific categories of files:
= Only executables
tree-navigator --export bins.txt --only-type executable
= Only configuration files
tree-navigator --export configs.txt --only-type config
= Only shell scripts
tree-navigator --export scripts.txt --only-type script
= Only data files (JSON, XML, YAML)
tree-navigator --export data.txt --only-type data
= Only directories (no files)
tree-navigator --export dirs.txt --no-files
= Only files (no subdirectories)
tree-navigator --export files.txt --no-dirsHidden Files
= Include hidden files
tree-navigator --export full-tree.txt --show-hidden
= Show only hidden files
tree-navigator --export hidden-tree.txt --only-type hidden= Clean tree for README, excluding build artifacts
tree-navigator --export project-structure.txt \
--exclude-dirs "target,.git" \
--exclude-files "*.lock,*.toml" \
--max-depth 4= Show project structure without dependencies
tree-navigator --export app-structure.txt \
--exclude-dirs "node_modules,dist,.next,coverage" \
--exclude-files "*.map,*.log" \
--max-depth 5= Locate all binary files in a project
tree-navigator --export executables.txt \
--only-type executable \
--show-size= List all config files for review
tree-navigator --export all-configs.txt \
--only-type config \
--show-hiddenNavigate directories interactively with depth control:
= Start interactive mode
tree-navigator
= Start with depth limit
tree-navigator 5
= Or
tree-navigator --depth 10Interactive Commands:
- [dirname] - Enter a directory
- [..] - Go up one level
- [/] - Jump to root
- [~] - Go to home
- [b] - Show bookmarks
- [+] - Add bookmark
- [q] - Quit
-h, --help Show help message
-v, --version Show version information
--no-color Disable colored output
--verbose Enable verbose output--export FILE Export tree to file (enables export mode)
--output FILE Alternative way to specify output file
--dir PATH Root directory to export (default: current)--max-depth N Maximum depth to traverse (default: 10)
--show-hidden Include hidden files (starting with .)
--no-files Only show directories
--no-dirs Only show files
--show-size Display file sizes
--exclude-dirs LIST Comma-separated list of directories to exclude
--exclude-files LIST Comma-separated list of files/patterns to exclude
--only-type TYPE Only show specific file type
Types: directory, executable, config, script,
data, hidden, regularExample output:
Directory tree: /home/user/project
Generated: 2024-11-06 10:30:45
Max depth: 5
================================================================================
📁 project
├── 📁 src
│ ├── 📄 main.adb
│ ├── 📄 config.ads
│ └── 📄 navigator.adb
├── 📁 bin
│ └── ⚙️ tree-navigator
├── ⚙️ Makefile
└── 📄 README.md
================================================================================
Statistics:
Directories: 2
Files: 5
Total size: 45231 bytes
Excluded dirs: 1tree-navigator/
├── src/
│ ├── main.adb # CLI argument parsing & main logic
│ ├── navigator.ads/adb # Interactive navigation
│ ├── tree_printer.ads/adb # Tree export engine
│ ├── bookmarks.ads/adb # Bookmark management
│ ├── config.ads/adb # Configuration
│ ├── terminal.ads/adb # Terminal I/O
│ └── file_types.ads/adb # File categorization
├── bin/ # Compiled executable
├── obj/ # Build artifacts
├── tree_navigator.gpr # GNAT project file
├── Makefile # Build automation
├── README.md # This file
├── LICENSE # MIT License
├── CONTRIBUTING.md # Contribution guidelines
└── CHANGELOG.md # Version history= Clean build
gprclean -P tree_navigator.gpr
gprbuild -P tree_navigator.gpr
= Using Make
make clean
make build
= Run
./bin/main --helpTree Navigator stores data in:
- Config: ~/.config/tree-navigator/
- Bookmarks: ~/.config/tree-navigator/bookmarks.txt
- Cache: ~/.cache/tree-navigator/
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Ada Community - Excellent language and tools
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GNAT - World-class Ada compiler
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Contributors - See [CONTRIBUTORS.md](CONTRIBUTORS.md)
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[Ada 2022 Reference](http://www.ada-auth.org/standards/22rm/html/RM-TOC.html)
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[GNAT User’s Guide](https://docs.adacore.com/gnat_ugn-docs/html/gnat_ugn/gnat_ugn.html)
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[Ada Programming](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ada_Programming)
Found a bug or have a feature request? [Open an issue](https://github.com/yourusername/tree-navigator/issues)!
Built with Ada 2022 | Solving real problems with compile-time guarantees
