Dir Tree Index
Generate a STRUCTURE.md in every directory, listing its contents with one-line summaries. This helps LLMs orient themselves quickly, improves discovery in large codebases, and is especially effective for documentation-first or knowledge repository workflows.
Input
Optional argument: target directory (defaults to repo root).
Algorithm
Process directories bottom-up (deepest first) so child indexes exist before parents need them.
Step 1: Discover directories
Replace <target> with the resolved path (repo root if no argument given):
find <target> -type d -not -path '*/.*' | sort -rProcess the output in order (deepest first).
Step 2: For each directory, gather contents
List immediate children. Replace <dir> with the directory being processed.
Subdirectories (excluding hidden):
find <dir> -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -not -name '.*' | sortFiles (excluding hidden and STRUCTURE.md):
find <dir> -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type f -not -name '.*' -not -name 'STRUCTURE.md' | sortSkip binary files, images, and other non-text files silently.
Step 3: Build entries
The files and folders from Step 2 are authoritative. If a STRUCTURE.md already exists, parse it as a summary cache (entry name to summary), but only to avoid re-summarizing unchanged items.
For each child found in Step 2:
- File, cached: reuse existing summary.
- File, new: read first 30 lines, write a one-line summary.
- Subdir, cached: reuse existing summary.
- Subdir, new: summarize from its
STRUCTURE.md(already generated in this pass). If none exists, summarize from folder name.
Remove any entry from the cache that no longer exists on disk.
Step 4: Write STRUCTURE.md
Write using the format below. Skip the write if content is identical to the existing file (avoid unnecessary git diffs).
After completion, report which directories were created or updated.
Output Format
# {directory name, or "Structure" for root}
*Auto-generated by the `dir-tree-index` skill. Do not edit manually.*
## Folders
- [`subfolder/`](subfolder/) - One-line summary
## Files
- [`README.md`](README.md) - One-line summary
- [`other.md`](other.md) - One-line summary- Use relative markdown links for all entries.
- Always include the auto-generated notice line.
- Omit
## Foldersor## Filesif that category is empty. - Sort alphabetically, but put
README.mdfirst among files. - Summaries: under 80 chars, sentence fragments, no leading articles, no trailing periods.