Flort

VSCode extension for preparing your codebase for AI analysis. Concatenates project files into AI-ready format for ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, etc.

Why Use This?

AI assistants need complete context to provide good code analysis, but dumping entire projects wastes tokens, reduces conversation length, and slows responses. Flort helps you be precise - select only relevant files while maintaining clear file structure so AI knows exactly what each piece of code is.

Quick Start

1. Install extension from VSCode marketplace
2. Extension will prompt to install flort command automatically if not found
3. Right-click files/folders → "Cherry Pick" (only selected files) or "Flort - Active Profile" (uses current profile)
4. Copy output → paste into AI

Features

• Automatic Installation: Extension detects missing flort command and offers to install it
• Smart Profiles: Pre-configured profiles for different languages and use cases
• Cherry Pick Mode: Select only the files you need - no directory scanning
• Visual Configuration: Manage settings through VSCode's sidebar UI
• Debug Mode: Built-in debug output for troubleshooting

Profiles

Installation

Automatic Installation (Recommended)

1. Install the extension from VSCode marketplace
2. On first use, if flort is not found, the extension will:
   • Prompt you to install it automatically
   • Open a terminal and run the installation
   • Verify the installation succeeded

Manual Installation

# Install flort command-line tool
pip install flort --user

# Or with pip3
pip3 install flort --user

# Verify installation
flort --version

# Install VSCode extension
code --install-extension watkinslabs.flort

Note: Install flort on the system where your code runs (local machine, remote server, WSL, etc.).

Usage

Method 1: Context Menu (Recommended)

1. Right-click any file or folder in Explorer
2. Choose:
   • "Flort - Active Profile" - Uses current profile settings
   • "Flort - Cherry Pick" - Only selected files, no scanning
   • "Flort Profile" → [Profile Name] - Quick profile selection

Method 2: Command Palette

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac)
2. Type "Flort"
3. Select command

Method 3: Activity Bar

1. Click the Flort icon in the Activity Bar
2. Configure profiles and settings
3. Click run button

First Run Setup

On first installation:

1. Extension initializes default profiles automatically
2. Sets "All Files" as the default profile
3. Shows welcome message with quick actions
4. Prompts to install flort if not found

Configuration

Profile Management

• Access profiles through the Flort sidebar view
• Click profile name to activate
• Add custom profiles with the + button
• Settings auto-save to active profile

File Selection Options

• Patterns: Glob patterns like *.py, src/**/*.js
• Extensions: File extensions without dots: py, js, cpp
• Manual Files: Specific files to always include
• Exclude Patterns: Patterns to exclude like *test*, *.min.js
• Exclude Extensions: Extensions to skip like pyc, log
• Exclude Directories: Folders to ignore like node_modules, .git

Output Options

• Show Config: Display settings at output start
• Skip Directory Tree: Omit file structure visualization
• Generate Code Outline: Extract classes/functions (Python)
• File Listing Only: Show files without content
• Skip File Content: Directory tree only
• Archive Type: Create zip or tar.gz

Advanced Settings

• Debug Output: Enable detailed logging
• Include All Files: Override extension filters
• Include Hidden: Process hidden files/folders
• Include Binary: Allow binary file processing
• Max Directory Depth: Limit traversal depth
• Directory Scan Optional: For Cherry Pick profile behavior

Troubleshooting

Flort Command Not Found

• Extension will prompt to install automatically
• Or manually install: pip install flort --user
• Ensure Python is in your PATH

Cherry Pick Not Working

• Cherry Pick requires file selection first
• It won't scan directories automatically
• Use "All Files" profile for full project scanning

Debug Mode

1. Enable debug in profile settings
2. Run flort command
3. Check "Flort Debug" output panel

Python/Pip Issues

• Multiple Python versions: Extension detects python or python3
• Virtual environments: Activate before using extension
• Permission errors: Use --user flag or admin terminal

Commands

Technical Details

Command Line Integration

The extension builds commands like:

flort --include-files "file1.py,file2.js" \
      --glob "*.py,src/**/*.js" \
      --extensions py,js \
      --exclude-patterns "*test*,*cache*" \
      --exclude-extensions pyc,pyo \
      --ignore-dirs node_modules,__pycache__ \
      --output stdio \
      /path/to/project

Workspace Settings

Settings stored in .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "flort.currentProfile": "Python",
  "flort.profiles": {
    "Python": {
      "extensions": ["py"],
      "excludePatterns": ["__pycache__/*"],
      "outline": true
    }
  }
}

Requirements

• Python 3.x with pip
• VSCode ^1.74.0
• Works on Windows, macOS, Linux, WSL, Remote SSH

License

MIT License

Repository

Author

Chris Watkins - chris@watkinslabs.com

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome! Please report bugs or feature requests on the GitHub repository.