MarkTree

MarkTree is basically a Swiss Army Knife for AI Development — built for working with any agentic coding system.
Copy clean, LLM-ready Markdown context from VS Code in seconds. It will save you countless hours.

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

What you get

MarkTree turns your workspace context into paste-perfect Markdown—and gives you a Copilot Proxy so you can reuse your GitHub Copilot seat in tools that speak OpenAI- or Anthropic-style APIs.

• Right-click → Copy → Paste into your agent (ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini / Copilot Chat / Cursor / Continue / etc.)
• Readable, structured output with paths + fenced code blocks
• Local-first by default: your code stays on your machine (see Privacy)
• Copilot Proxy (opt-in): start a local bridge and point compatible tools at it—no extra API keys required (you use your existing Copilot sign-in)

See it in action

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 (especially for AI / agentic workflows)

When you’re working with an AI assistant, the biggest time sink is always the same: collecting and formatting context.

MarkTree removes the glue work:

• No more “copy file… paste… repeat…”
• No more hand-writing directory trees
• No more “what files am I missing?”
• No more guessing token limits

And if you use GitHub Copilot: the Copilot Proxy lets you bring that same Copilot-powered experience into other tools—without juggling provider keys or accounts.

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. Done.
4. Optional: start the Copilot Proxy from the status bar or run MarkTree: Start Copilot Proxy to use your Copilot seat from OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible clients.

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 Active Tab as Markdown (includes diff views)
• Copy Selected as Markdown (editor selection)
• Copy as Markdown (terminal selection)
• Copy Problems for Active File
• Copy All Problems (workspace Problems panel)
• Copy Symbol as Markdown (pick a function/class/etc.)
• Copy all tabs as Md
• Copy tabs to the left as Md
• Copy tabs to the right as Md
• 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 the token counter)

Copilot Proxy (Free)

• Start Copilot Proxy — run a local server backed by your VS Code GitHub Copilot session
• Stop Copilot Proxy — stop the proxy (also available via the status bar toggle)

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)

Copilot Proxy

Sometimes you want Copilot’s models outside of VS Code—inside a CLI tool, a small script, or another app that already knows how to talk to “OpenAI-compatible” or “Claude-compatible” endpoints.

That’s exactly what the Copilot Proxy is for.

What it does:

• Starts a local server on your machine
• Proxies requests to your GitHub Copilot session
• Responds in familiar OpenAI/Anthropic formats, so many tools work with minimal setup

What it doesn’t do:

• It doesn’t replace Copilot. You still need an active Copilot seat and to be signed in inside VS Code.
• It doesn’t require you to buy an OpenAI/Anthropic key—your Copilot auth is what powers it.

Copilot Proxy quick start

1. Run MarkTree: Start Copilot Proxy (or click the status bar toggle).
2. Point your client at the local URL (default port is 4000) and choose a model id (for example gpt-5.1) from the Copilot model list or /models endpoints.

Example (OpenAI-style request):

curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/openai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"model":"gpt-5.1","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello!"}]}'

Tip: Some clients require an OPENAI_API_KEY / ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable even when they’re talking to a local server. The proxy doesn’t use it—set any placeholder value if your tool insists.

curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/openai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"model":"gpt-5.1","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Stream a haiku about refactoring"}],"stream":true}'

curl http://localhost:4000/openai/v1/models
curl http://localhost:4000/anthropic/v1/models

model = "gpt-5.1"
model_provider = "copilot-proxy"

[model_providers.copilot-proxy]
name = "GitHub Copilot Proxy"
base_url = "http://localhost:4000/openai"

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 makes it easy for agents (and humans) to navigate context without losing file boundaries.

Configuration

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

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

  "marktree.showTokenCounter": true,

  "marktree.showFilePath": true,
  "marktree.showCodeLineNumbers": true,
  "marktree.showFilenameLineNumbers": true,

  "marktree.copilotProxy.port": 4000,
  "marktree.copilotProxy.autoStart": false,
  "marktree.copilotProxy.logLevel": "info",
  "marktree.copilotProxy.showStatusBar": true
}

Notes:

• marktree.gitignore / marktree.additionalIgnores: keep prompts clean by respecting repo ignores and adding your own “prompt hygiene” paths.
• marktree.ignoreBinary: skips binary contents (so you don’t paste gibberish).
• marktree.showFilePath, marktree.showCodeLineNumbers, marktree.showFilenameLineNumbers: control how paths + line numbers appear in copied Markdown and Problems output.
• marktree.showTokenCounter: toggles the live token counter in the status bar.
• marktree.copilotProxy.*: controls the Copilot Proxy (port, auto-start, log level, and the status bar toggle).

MarkTree Pro

MarkTree Pro is for people who live in agentic loops and want fewer interruptions:

• Paste staged diffs or selected commit diffs instantly
• Turn a Markdown tree into a real scaffold in seconds
• Chunk large files to fit model limits (with 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 its 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 (fetched from OpenRouter model listings)
• Copilot Proxy (only if you start it): requests to the proxy are forwarded to VS Code’s Language Model API/GitHub Copilot. It now runs as a separate, high-performance local proxy process so your editor stays responsive. MarkTree is not designed to store your prompts.

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’s 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.

• Copilot Proxy won’t start Open View → Output → MarkTree and check the error. A port conflict is the most common cause. Change marktree.copilotProxy.port or stop the other process, then start the proxy again.

• Proxy returns model_not_found (or similar) Use a model id that:

  • appears in the Show Copilot Models list, or
  • is returned from /openai/v1/models or /anthropic/v1/models (for example gpt-5.1). You also need an active GitHub Copilot seat to access Copilot models.

Support

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