Untree converts tree diagrams produced by tree back into directory file structures.
Let's say you have the following directory structure, created by running tree
in the root of this project:
``` . ├── Cargo.lock ├── Cargo.toml ├── inputs │ └── test1.tree ├── README.md └── src ├── macros.rs ├── main.rs ├── traits.rs └── types.rs
2 directories, 8 files ```
untree can mirror that directory structure, just based on that input:
bash
tree | untree --dir test
Here, test is the destination directory where untree is supposed to create
files. Now, if we tree the newly created directory, we can see that it has the
same structure as the repository:
``` test ├── Cargo.lock ├── Cargo.toml ├── inputs │ └── test1.tree ├── README.md └── src ├── macros.rs ├── main.rs ├── traits.rs └── types.rs
2 directories, 8 files ```
untree can also read in the tree from an input file, or you can paste it in
directly since it accepts input from standard input:
I've noticed that in the past I've had to recreate directory structures in order to answer questions or run tests on the directory. For example, this question asks about ignoring certain kinds of files, and it provides a directory structure as reference.
The files themselves aren't provided, nor do they need to be, but the directory structure itself is relevant to the question.
untree allows you to exactly replicate the directory structure, just by
pasting in the given directory tree:
Aside from allowing you to answer questions about directory structures, untree is good for quickly creating directory structures for the purpose of mocking input to other programs.
When asked about untree, my friend said:
I retroactively want that for my time trying to get Conan to work. It woulda made certain things just a little less painful.
— some guy[^1]
I'm in the progress of learning rust, so any feedback you have is greatly
appreciated! Also, if untree is useful to you, please let me know!