https://github.com/dhaoloth/code-explorer
Local Code Explorer: Desktop application built with Electron for browsing local directories, visualizing code structure, viewing files with syntax highlighting, basic editing, and exporting project summaries (MD, XML, TXT).
https://github.com/dhaoloth/code-explorer
code-documentation code-explorer desktop-app developer-tools electron file-viewer local-development markdown-export repository-viewer
Last synced: 9 months ago
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Local Code Explorer: Desktop application built with Electron for browsing local directories, visualizing code structure, viewing files with syntax highlighting, basic editing, and exporting project summaries (MD, XML, TXT).
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/dhaoloth/code-explorer
- Owner: dhaoloth
- Created: 2025-03-30T17:11:33.000Z (9 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-04-02T18:53:10.000Z (9 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-04-02T19:38:51.946Z (9 months ago)
- Topics: code-documentation, code-explorer, desktop-app, developer-tools, electron, file-viewer, local-development, markdown-export, repository-viewer
- Language: JavaScript
- Homepage:
- Size: 258 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Code Explorer
Code Explorer is a desktop application built with Electron for browsing local directory structures, viewing and editing files, and exporting project contents in various formats. It aims to provide a simple interface for quickly understanding and documenting local codebases.
## Features
* **Directory Structure Viewer**: Interactive tree-style display of files and folders for local projects.
* **File Content Viewing**: View text-based files within the application.
* **Syntax Highlighting**: Supports highlighting for numerous programming languages using Highlight.js.
* **Basic File Editing**: Edit text files directly within the app (enable by double-clicking a file). Save changes with `Ctrl+S` or the "Save" button, discard with `Esc`.
* **Multi-Format Project Export**: Export the structure and content of the loaded local project (filtered by extension and ignoring specified items like `node_modules`, binaries, etc.) as:
* Markdown (`.md`)
* XML (`.xml`)
* Text File Structure (`.txt`)
* **Folder History**: Quickly access the last 5 opened local folders via a dropdown menu initiated by the "History" button. Includes an option to clear the history.
* **Git Repository Finder**: Scan a selected parent directory to find local `.git` repositories within it.
* **GitHub Loading (Placeholder)**: The "Open GitHub" button currently serves as a placeholder, indicating that direct loading from GitHub URLs is planned for future updates.
* **User-Friendly**: Minimalist interface with key keyboard shortcuts (`Ctrl+O` for Open Local, `Ctrl+E` for Export, `Ctrl+S` for Save).
## Installation
### Build from Source (Recommended for Developers)
1. Ensure you have Node.js (v18+) and npm installed.
2. **(Optional but Recommended for Windows Build):** Install Windows build tools:
```bash
npm install --global --production windows-build-tools
# or install Visual Studio Build Tools manually
```
3. Clone the repository:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/dhaoloth/code-explorer.git
```
4. Navigate to the project directory:
```bash
cd code-explorer
```
5. Install dependencies:
```bash
npm install
```
6. Run the application locally:
```bash
npm start
```
### Prebuilt Release
You can download ready-to-use Windows versions (if provided) from the [Releases](https://github.com/dhaoloth/code-explorer/releases) section of this repository.
## Usage
1. **Open Local Folder**: Click "Open Local" or use `Ctrl+O`. Select a local project folder.
2. **Open GitHub**: Clicking "Open GitHub" currently shows a placeholder message; direct loading is planned for future updates.
3. **Browse Files**: Click a file in the tree to view its contents.
4. **Edit File**: **Double-click** a file in the tree to enable editing mode.
* Save changes with `Ctrl+S` or the "Save" button.
* Discard changes and exit editing mode by pressing `Esc`.
5. **Export Project**: Click "Export" (`Ctrl+E`), choose a save location and format (`.md`, `.xml`, `.txt`). This works for the currently loaded local project.
6. **History**: Click the "History" button to see and open recent local folders. Use "Clear History" within the dropdown to reset it.
7. **Scan Home**: Click "Scan Home", select a parent directory, and the file tree will be replaced with a list of found local Git repositories. Click a result to open it.
## Build Instructions (Windows 10+ x64)
After following the "Build from Source" steps (including installing dependencies):
* **Build for 64-bit Windows (NSIS Installer):**
```bash
npm run build
```
The installer (`Code-Explorer-Setup-1.1.3-x64.exe`) will be located in the `dist` directory.
## Technologies
* **Electron**: For cross-platform desktop application development.
* **Highlight.js**: For syntax highlighting.
* **Font Awesome**: For interface icons.
* **electron-store**: For persistent history storage.
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
---
For questions or suggestions, please open an [Issue](https://github.com/dhaoloth/code-explorer/issues) or contact me.