Directory Structure Exporter

A comprehensive desktop application for visualizing, filtering, and exporting directory structures in various formats. Built with Python and PyQt6, offering an intuitive graphical interface and powerful filtering options.

Development Note: This project was entirely developed and tested using Claude 4 (Sonnet), Anthropic's latest AI model. Claude 4 demonstrates advanced code architecture, multi-file project management, and sophisticated GUI development capabilities, showcasing state-of-the-art AI-assisted software development.

🌟 Key Features

📁 Multi-Format Export

• TXT: Plain text format for quick viewing
• HTML: Navigable web page with CSS styling
• JSON: Structured format for programmatic processing
• XML: Markup format for integration with other systems

🎛️ Advanced Filtering System

• Excluded directories: Customizable list of folders to ignore (e.g., .git, node_modules)
• Excluded files: Specific filtering for unwanted files (e.g., .gitignore, thumbs.db)
• Included extensions: Targeted selection for specific file types (e.g., .py, .js, .css)
• Size filters: Customizable file size ranges
• Temporal filters: Filtering by creation and modification dates
• Regular expressions: Advanced patterns for precise filtering

📋 Preset Management

• Save and load predefined configurations
• Customizable preset system for different projects
• Import/export configurations in JSON format

🌍 Multi-language Support

• Italian (default)
• English
• French
• German
• Spanish

🎨 Customizable Interface

• Light/dark/system themes
• Interactive tree view with lazy loading
• Real-time search functionality
• Drag & drop directory selection
• Context menus for quick actions

🛠️ Project Architecture

directory-structure-exporter/
├── main.py                      # Application entry point
├── build.py                     # Executable build script
├── core/                        # Main business logic
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── exporter.py             # Export engine
│   ├── filters.py              # Filtering system
│   └── config_manager.py       # Configuration and preset management
├── ui/                         # User interface
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── main_window.py          # Main window
│   ├── export_tab.py           # Export tab
│   ├── filters_tab.py          # Advanced filters tab
│   └── config_tab.py           # Configuration tab
├── utils/                      # Utilities and services
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── file_utils.py           # File operations
│   ├── path_utils.py           # Path management
│   ├── directory_scanner.py    # Asynchronous directory scanning
│   ├── resources.py            # Resource management (icons, assets)
│   └── translation_manager.py  # Translation system
└── translations/               # Translation files (optional)

🚀 Installation and Usage

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• PyQt6

Installing Dependencies

pip install PyQt6

Running the Application

python main.py

Building Executable

To create a standalone executable file:

# Install PyInstaller if not present
pip install pyinstaller

# Run the build script
python build.py

The executable will be available in dist/DirectoryStructureExporter.exe

📖 User Guide

1. Basic Export

1. Open the "Export" tab
2. Select a directory using the "Browse..." button or drag & drop
3. Choose the output file path and format
4. Click "Export"

2. Filter Configuration

In the "Filters" tab you can set:

• File sizes: Size ranges in bytes
• Dates: Creation and modification filters
• Apply filters: Enable/disable filter application

3. Configuration Management

The "Configuration" tab allows you to:

• Add/remove excluded directories
• Manage specific files to exclude
• Configure included extensions
• Use regular expressions for complex patterns
• Save custom presets

4. Regular Expression Examples

• ^temp - Folders starting with "temp"
• backup$ - Files ending with "backup"
• .*\.tmp$ - Files with .tmp extension
• ^data_\d+$ - Patterns like "data_123"

⚙️ Advanced Configuration

Configuration Files

Settings are automatically saved through QSettings. Presets are stored in JSON files for portability.

Preset Customization

{
  "excluded_dirs": [".git", ".vs", "node_modules"],
  "excluded_files": [".gitignore", "thumbs.db"],
  "included_file_extensions": [".py", ".js", ".css"],
  "min_file_size": 0,
  "max_file_size": "inf"
}

Performance

• Lazy Loading: Progressive loading for large directories
• Asynchronous Scanning: Responsive interface during processing
• Caching: Optimization for repeated operations

🔧 Development

Adding New Languages

1. Modify utils/translation_manager.py
2. Add language code to available_languages
3. Insert translations in the _translations dictionary

Extending Filters

To add new filter types:

1. Modify core/filters.py for logic
2. Update ui/filters_tab.py for interface
3. Extend core/config_manager.py for persistence

New Export Formats

1. Add method in core/exporter.py
2. Update interface in ui/export_tab.py
3. Test with various directory structures

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• Permission errors: Run as administrator for system directories
• Large files: Set appropriate size limits
• Slow performance: Use filters to reduce the number of processed files

Logging and Debug

The application shows status messages in the bottom bar and informative dialogs for critical operations.

📄 License

Project developed for educational and commercial use. Check the license file for specific details.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! For improvement proposals:

1. Fork the project
2. Implement changes
3. Test thoroughly
4. Submit a pull request

💖 Support the Project

This project is completely free and open source. If you find it useful and would like to support its continued development and updates, consider making a donation. Your support helps keep the project alive and motivates me to add new features and improvements!

Every contribution, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated! ❤️

📞 Support

For issues, bug reports, or feature requests, use the repository's issue system.

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Developed entirely with Claude 4 (Sonnet) - Showcasing AI-powered software development