TIL: Using `files-to-prompt` to Concatenate Files for LLMs

Concatenate a directory full of files into a single prompt for use with LLMs

March 13, 2025 - 1 minute read -

Today, I learned about the files-to-prompt Python tool, which helps you concatenate files from a directory into a single prompt for LLMs like GPT or Claude. I particularly found it useful for processing Python files (.py) and formatting them in Markdown for further analysis.

Key Features:
  • Concatenate Python Files: Easily concatenate all Python files in a directory.
  • Markdown Output: Output the concatenated files in Markdown format.
  • Custom Output File: You can specify the output file where the concatenated content is saved.

Python-Specific Command Examples

# 1. Concatenate all Python files in a directory and output in Markdown format
# This will only include `.py` files and format them as Markdown.
files-to-prompt path/to/directory -e py -m

# 2. Save the concatenated Python files into a specific output file
# This command will save the output into `python_files.md`.
files-to-prompt path/to/directory -e py -m -o python_files.md

# 3. Use pbcopy to copy the concatenated Python files to clipboard
# This will copy the concatenated Python files into the clipboard for easy pasting.
# for example, paste the content to chatgpt
files-to-prompt path/to/directory -e py | pbcopy

Hope this helps make your experience with LLM and terminal in a large project more efficient and productive.

Reference: files-to-prompt