Distill

Export your source code to LLM-optimized Markdown in seconds. Perfect for sharing project context with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI assistants.

Features

Distill transforms your codebase into a single, well-structured Markdown file that AI models can easily understand. It automatically generates:

• 📂 Project structure tree - Visual representation of your file hierarchy
• 📄 Complete source code - All files with syntax highlighting and metadata
• 🏷️ Smart metadata - File size, language detection, and modification dates
• ⚙️ Flexible filtering - GLOB-based configuration to include/exclude files

Why Distill?

When working with AI assistants, providing comprehensive project context is crucial. Distill solves this by:

• Exporting entire codebases in a format optimized for LLM token limits
• Maintaining code structure and relationships between files
• Excluding irrelevant files (node_modules, build artifacts) automatically
• Supporting custom filters through a simple configuration file

Installation

1. Open VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P
3. Type ext install marcozito.distill
4. Press Enter

Or install directly from the VS Code Marketplace.

Usage

Quick Start

1. Open your project in VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P
3. Type "distill: Export to Markdown"
4. Your ai-context.md file will be generated at the project root

Available Commands

Configuration File

Create a .aicontext file in your project root to customize which files to include or exclude:

# Distill Configuration (GLOB syntax)
# Lines without "!" = INCLUDE
# Lines with "!" = EXCLUDE

# Include TypeScript/JavaScript files
src/**/*.ts
src/**/*.tsx
src/**/*.js
package.json

# Exclude build outputs
!dist/**
!out/**

# Exclude tests
!**/*.test.ts
!**/*.spec.ts

Settings

Configure Distill through VS Code settings (Ctrl+, / Cmd+,):

Output Format

Distill generates a structured Markdown file with:

# Project Context: your-project

**Generated:** 2025-12-02T03:00:00.000Z
**Total Files:** 15
**Total Size:** 45.2 KB

## Project Structure

src
├── commands
│ ├── exportCommand.ts
│ └── configureCommand.ts
├── core
│ ├── fileCollector.ts
│ └── markdownGenerator.ts
└── extension.ts
package.json

## Files

### src/extension.ts

**Language:** typescript
**Size:** 923 Bytes
**Last Modified:** 2025-12-02T02:49:45.050Z

```typescript
import * as vscode from 'vscode';
// ... full file content
```

How It Works

1. Configuration Parsing - Reads .aicontext file and VS Code settings
2. File Collection - Scans workspace using GLOB patterns and filters
3. Smart Filtering - Excludes binaries, large files, and respects .gitignore
4. Markdown Generation - Creates structured output with syntax highlighting
5. Progress Tracking - Shows real-time progress during export

Use Cases

• 🤖 AI Pair Programming - Share full project context with ChatGPT/Claude
• 📚 Code Reviews - Generate comprehensive snapshots for review
• 📖 Documentation - Create up-to-date code references
• 🔄 Onboarding - Help new developers understand project structure
• 💾 Archiving - Preserve project state in readable format

Automatic Exclusions

Distill automatically excludes:

• node_modules/ (always)
• Hidden files starting with . (always)
• package-lock.json (always)
• Files listed in .gitignore (configurable)
• Binary files (detected automatically)
• Files exceeding size limit (configurable)

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85.0 or higher

Known Issues

No known issues. Report bugs on GitHub Issues.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Visit the GitHub repository.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Release Notes

1.0.2

Initial release featuring:

• Export project to LLM-optimized Markdown
• GLOB-based file filtering
• .gitignore integration
• Smart binary detection
• Configurable file size limits
• Progress notifications

Enjoy using Distill! 🚀

If you find this extension helpful, please consider leaving a ⭐ review on the marketplace.

For questions or support, visit the GitHub repository.