MarkTree

MarkTree is a Swiss Army Knife for AI-assisted development — built for fast, clean context sharing from VS Code.
Copy structured Markdown context in seconds and keep your agent loops moving.

Directory trees • file contents • selections • tabs • symbols • Problems panel • Git diffs • token counting • chunking

What you get

MarkTree turns your workspace context into paste-ready Markdown:

• Right-click → Copy → Paste into your agent (ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini / Copilot Chat / Cursor / Continue / etc.)
• Readable, structured output with stable paths and fenced code blocks
• Local-first by default: your code stays on your machine (see Privacy)

See it in action

Copy selection as Markdown

Copy a Markdown directory tree

Copy file contents as Markdown

Copy a tree and the files under it

Live token counter (status bar)

Why MarkTree

When working with AI assistants, the slowest part is usually collecting and formatting context.

MarkTree removes that glue work:

• No more copy/paste loops across files
• No more hand-built directory trees
• No more missing file context
• No more rough token estimates

Quick start

1. Install MarkTree from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. In the Explorer, right-click a folder or file:
   • MarkTree → Copy Md Tree
   • MarkTree → Copy Md File(s)
   • MarkTree → Copy Md Tree & Files
3. Paste into your agent/chat/issue/PR.

Commands (what’s included)

Core “copy context” commands (Free)

• Copy Md Tree — copy a directory outline as Markdown
• Copy Md File(s) — copy one or many files as Markdown (with code fences)
• Copy Md Tree & Files — include the tree preview + the file contents
• Copy Selected as Markdown (editor selection; in diff editors, choose between copying the selection or the selection diff)
• Copy as Markdown (terminal selection)
• Copy Problems as Markdown (quick-pick: Copy Problems for Active File, Copy All Problems)
• Copy Symbol as Markdown (pick a function/class/etc.)
• Copy Tab(s) as Markdown (quick-pick: Copy Active Tab as Markdown, Copy all open tabs in this window, Copy tabs to the left of the active tab, Copy tabs to the right of the active tab; when diff tabs are included, choose once whether diff tabs copy as tab default, before, after, or diff)
• Add to MD Ignores / Remove from MD Ignores (quickly tweak ignore list)

AI utilities (Free)

• Select Token Counter Model — pick a model to count tokens accurately
• Clear Model Cache — refetch model metadata used by token counter

Pro features (requires a MarkTree Pro license)

• (Pro) Copy Staged Git Changes as Markdown
• (Pro) Copy Selected Git Commits (copies diffs for chosen commits)
• (Pro) Generate Structure from Clipboard Tree (scaffold folders/files from a Markdown tree)
• (Pro) Chunk Editor by Model Size (split big files/selections into model-friendly chunks)

Output format (what you paste)

MarkTree generates Markdown like:

• Optional tree preview (in a fenced block)
• Then one section per file, with a path header and a fenced code block

This keeps boundaries clear for both agents and humans.

Configuration

Open Settings and search for “MarkTree”, or add to your settings.json:

{
  "marktree.gitignore": true,
  "marktree.ignoreBinary": true,
  "marktree.followSymlinkDirectories": true,
  "marktree.additionalIgnores": [".git", ".vscode/", "pnpm-lock.yaml"],
  "marktree.showCopyingMessage": false,
  "marktree.showCopiedMessage": true,

  "marktree.showTokenCounter": true,

  "marktree.showFilePath": true,
  "marktree.showCodeLineNumbers": true,
  "marktree.showFilenameLineRanges": true,
  "marktree.showFilenameColumnRanges": true,

  "marktree.copyWorker.logLevel": "info",
  "marktree.copyWorker.logPath": ""
}

Notes:

• marktree.gitignore / marktree.additionalIgnores: keeps copied context focused.
• marktree.ignoreBinary: skips binary contents.
• marktree.followSymlinkDirectories: follows symlinked directories during tree/file copy.
• marktree.showFilePath, marktree.showCodeLineNumbers, marktree.showFilenameLineRanges, marktree.showFilenameColumnRanges: control copied Markdown headers and location metadata.
• marktree.showTokenCounter: toggles the live token counter in the status bar.
• marktree.copyWorker.*: controls copy worker logging.

MarkTree Pro

MarkTree Pro is for teams and individuals in heavy agentic loops:

• Paste staged diffs or selected commit diffs instantly
• Turn a Markdown tree into a scaffold in seconds
• Chunk large files to fit model limits (tokenizer + overlap controls)

To activate:

1. Run “MarkTree: Enter License Key”
2. Paste your key
3. Pro commands unlock automatically

Privacy & Security

MarkTree is designed to be local-first for copy/context features:

• Workspace content (paths, files, tree, selections, diagnostics, Git output) is processed on your machine
• MarkTree does not collect analytics/telemetry
• Content is copied only to your clipboard

Network access happens only for:

• Pro license validation (your license key is sent to the licensing endpoint)
• Model metadata fetch for the token counter (OpenRouter model listings)

Read the full policy in PRIVACY_POLICY.md.

Troubleshooting (common gotchas)

• “Why didn’t it copy some files?” Check marktree.gitignore and marktree.additionalIgnores.

• “Binary file: content not displayed” That is intentional when marktree.ignoreBinary is enabled.

• Token counter says “Models unavailable” The model list fetch failed (network/offline). Try again later or run Clear Model Cache.

Support

If MarkTree saves you time, consider upgrading to Pro or sharing it with your team.