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Directory / Folder Tree Generator (ASCII)

DeveloperText

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INPUT

Auto Process

OUTPUT

Client Side

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Guide

Directory / Folder Tree Generator

Turn a plain indented file list or a set of slash-separated paths into a clean ASCII directory tree with proper box-drawing characters. Perfect for READMEs, technical documentation, blog posts, and code reviews where a visual project structure communicates more than a flat list of file paths.

How to Use

Paste an indented file list (spaces or tabs) or a list of slash-separated paths (one per line) into the input box.
Pick an input format — leave it on Auto-detect for most cases.
Choose a tree style: Unicode box-drawing, plain ASCII, or pure-space indent.
Toggle file/folder icons, trailing slash on folders, or compact mode as needed.
Click the Copy button to grab the generated tree, or Download it as a tree.txt file.

Features

Two input formats – Indented list or slash-separated paths, with automatic detection.
Three render styles – Unicode box-drawing (├── └── │), pure ASCII (|– `– |), or plain indentation.
Icon toggle – Prepend 📁 and 📄 markers to distinguish folders from files at a glance.
Trailing slash option – Mark folders with a trailing slash for unambiguous output.
Compact mode – Tighter horizontal spacing for deeply nested trees.
Auto-folder detection – Any path that contains children is rendered as a folder; leaves become files unless you append a trailing slash.
Instant client-side rendering – No upload, no server round-trip, no data ever leaves your browser.

Common Use Cases

README documentation – Show project layout so contributors can navigate the codebase quickly.
Tutorials and blog posts – Illustrate file structure before introducing code examples.
Code review & design docs – Communicate proposed folder structure for new features.
Onboarding materials – Help new engineers understand monorepo or microservice layouts.
Issue reports & bug reproductions – Paste a minimal repo layout when filing GitHub issues.

 FAQ

What are box-drawing characters?

Box-drawing characters are Unicode glyphs (range U+2500–U+257F) designed to draw boxes, lines, and tree connectors with monospace text. The directory tree style uses ├ (U+251C), └ (U+2514), ─ (U+2500), and │ (U+2502) to render branching structures without bitmap graphics. They render reliably in any UTF-8 environment, including code editors, Markdown previews, and terminals.
When should I use ASCII style instead of Unicode box-drawing?

Use plain ASCII (|-- and `--) when the target environment may not render Unicode correctly: legacy terminals, certain log aggregators, plain-text emails, or systems with strict ASCII-only constraints. Box-drawing characters look cleaner in modern editors, GitHub READMEs, and most documentation platforms.
How does the tool tell folders from files?

In slash-separated input, any path component that has children below it is treated as a folder, while leaf names are treated as files. You can override the heuristic by appending a trailing slash (for example my-project/empty-folder/) to force a node to render as a folder even when it has no children. In indented input the same leaf-vs-parent rule applies.
Why use a monospace font for tree output?

Tree connectors only line up vertically when each character occupies the same horizontal width. Proportional fonts compress narrow glyphs like the vertical bar, breaking the alignment between parent and child rows. Always paste the output into a monospace context such as a code block, terminal, or pre-formatted Markdown.