SSP – Show Structure of Project

A command-line tool for displaying directory structures with various filtering and formatting options.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Usage
• Options
• Examples
• Features
• Configuration
• Error Handling

Installation

To install SSP, you need to have Rust installed on your system. Clone the repository and build the project:

git clone <repository-url>
cd ssp
cargo build --release

The executable will be located at target/release/ssp.

Usage

ssp [OPTIONS] [DIRECTORY]

If no directory is specified, SSP will display the structure of the current working directory.

Options

Flag	Long Form	Description	Example
-i	--ignore	Ignore specified folder	ssp -i node_modules
-of	--only-folders	Show only directories	ssp -of
-l	--lines	Show line count for files	ssp -l
-e	--extension	Filter by file extension	ssp -e rs
-d	--depth	Limit display depth	ssp -d 2
-h	--help	Show help message	ssp -h

Detailed Option Descriptions

--ignore / -i

Ignores specified folders when displaying the directory structure. You can specify multiple folders by using the flag multiple times.

Default ignored folders: .git, node_modules, __pycache__

--only-folders / -of

Displays only directories, excluding all files from the output.

--lines / -l

Shows the number of lines in each file alongside the filename. This is particularly useful for code analysis.

--extension / -e

Filters files to show only those with the specified extension. For example, -e rs will show only Rust files.

--depth / -d

Limits the depth of directory traversal. For example, -d 2 will show only up to 2 levels deep.

--help / -h

Displays the help message with usage instructions.

Examples

Basic Usage

# Display current directory structure
ssp

# Display specific directory structure
ssp /path/to/project

Filtering Examples

# Show only folders
ssp -of

# Show only .rs files with line counts
ssp -l -e rs

# Ignore multiple folders
ssp -i node_modules -i target -i .git

# Limit depth to 2 levels
ssp -d 2

# Combine multiple options
ssp -of -d 3 -i build

Sample Output

Basic output:

project/
├── src
│   ├── main.rs
│   └── utils.rs
├── tests
│   └── integration.rs
├── Cargo.toml
└── README.md

With line counts:

project/
├── src
│   ├── main.rs (150)
│   └── utils.rs (75)
├── tests
│   └── integration.rs (200)
├── Cargo.toml (25)
└── README.md (50)

Only folders with limited depth:

project/
├── src
│   ├── main
│   └── utils
└── docs
    ├── api
    └── guides

Features

Tree Structure Display

SSP displays directory structures using Unicode tree characters for clear visualization:

• ├── for items with siblings below
• └── for the last item in a directory
• │ for vertical continuation lines

Automatic Sorting

Entries are automatically sorted with directories appearing first, followed by files, both in alphabetical order.

Default Ignore Patterns

SSP automatically ignores common development folders:

• .git - Git metadata
• node_modules - Node.js dependencies
• __pycache__ - Python cache files

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.

Configuration

SSP currently doesn't require any configuration files. All settings are passed through command-line arguments.

Error Handling

SSP provides clear error messages for common issues:

Path Errors

• Non-existent path: Error: Path 'nonexistent' does not exist
• Not a directory: Error: 'file.txt' is not a directory

Argument Errors

• Missing argument: Error: --ignore flag requires an argument
• Invalid depth: Error: --depth flag requires a numeric value
• Unknown flag: Unknown flag: --invalid

File Access Errors

• Permission denied: Appropriate system error messages
• Read errors: Failed to read directory with details

Performance Considerations

• SSP reads directory entries only when needed for display
• Large directories with many files may take longer to process
• Line counting for the --lines option requires reading entire files

Limitations

• Does not follow symbolic links to avoid infinite loops
• Unicode tree characters may not display properly in all terminals
• Line counting is based on newline characters and may not match IDE counts exactly

Contributing

To contribute to SSP:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

Version History

v1.0.0

• Initial release
• Basic directory structure display
• Support for filtering options
• Line counting functionality
• Depth limiting
• Cross-platform support

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Tree characters not displaying correctly:

• Ensure your terminal supports Unicode
• Check your locale settings

Performance issues with large directories:

• Use --depth to limit traversal
• Use --ignore to skip large dependency folders

Permission errors:

• Run with appropriate permissions
• Use --ignore to skip inaccessible directories

Getting Help

For additional help, use the --help flag or check this documentation. For bug reports, please open an issue on the project repository.

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE file for details.