DirLister — Fast and Simple Directory Listing ToolDirLister is a lightweight, open-source utility designed to quickly generate organized listings of files and folders on your computer or server. Built with speed and simplicity in mind, DirLister targets developers, system administrators, and power users who need a reliable way to inspect, export, or share directory contents without the overhead of a full graphical file manager.
What DirLister does
DirLister scans a directory tree and produces a clean, readable output showing files, subdirectories, sizes, and timestamps. Outputs can be customized and exported in multiple formats (plain text, CSV, JSON, and HTML), making the tool useful for:
- Inventorying files on a server
- Creating index pages for static websites
- Exporting file lists for backups or audits
- Feeding directory data into other scripts or pipelines
Key features
- Fast recursive scanning optimized for modern filesystems
- Multiple output formats: plain text, CSV, JSON, and HTML
- Configurable depth limits and include/exclude patterns
- Optional human-readable sizes and timestamp formats
- Filter by file type, size, or modification date
- Lightweight binary with minimal dependencies
- Cross-platform support: Linux, macOS, and Windows (via native builds or WSL)
- Command-line friendly for easy scripting and automation
Installation
DirLister can be distributed as a precompiled binary or installed from source. Typical installation methods include:
- Downloading a release binary and placing it in your PATH
- Installing via a package manager (if available for your platform)
- Cloning the Git repository and building from source using the project’s build tool (for example, Go, Rust, or Node — depending on implementation)
Example (generic steps):
- Download the latest binary for your OS.
- Make it executable: chmod +x dirlister
- Move to a directory in your PATH: sudo mv dirlister /usr/local/bin/
Basic usage
A typical command to list a directory:
dirlister /path/to/directory
Common flags:
- -r, –recursive — traverse subdirectories
- -o, –output
— write results to a file - -f, –format
- -d, –depth
— limit recursive depth - -e, –exclude
— ignore matching files or dirs
Example: produce a JSON file of the current directory, up to two levels deep:
dirlister . -r -d 2 -f json -o listing.json
Advanced usage and examples
Filter by extension and size: dirlister /var/log -r -e “*.gz” –min-size 1M -f csv -o logs.csv
Generate an HTML index for a static site: dirlister public/ -r -f html -o public/index.html
Integrate into a CI pipeline to verify artifacts: dirlister build/artifacts -r -f json | jq ‘.[] | select(.size > 1000000)’
Performance considerations
DirLister is optimized for minimal I/O and low CPU usage. For very large directory trees:
- Use depth limits or exclude patterns to reduce work
- Prefer streaming output formats (plain text, CSV) when piping to other tools
- Run on systems with fast storage (SSD) for best scan speed
Security and privacy
- Runs locally; no network access required unless you explicitly export results to a remote location.
- Carefully handle exported listings that may contain sensitive filenames or paths. Consider redaction or filtering before sharing.
Extensibility and integrations
DirLister is script-friendly and designed to fit into larger workflows:
- Pipe JSON output into tools like jq or Python scripts for further processing
- Use HTML output as a basis for static indexes with CSS styling
- Integrate with backup scripts to verify presence/absence of expected files
Example real-world workflows
- Server audit: schedule DirLister via cron to snapshot directory structures daily and store JSON for diffs.
- Documentation: generate a downloadable CSV of dataset files for collaborators.
- Website: automatically build an HTML file index for a static site’s downloadable assets.
Alternatives and comparison
| Tool | Strengths | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| DirLister | Fast, simple, multi-format output | Quick audits, scripting, static site indexes |
| find (Unix) | Extremely flexible, built-in | Complex filtering on Unix systems |
| tree | Visual directory trees | Human-readable CLI visualization |
| custom scripts | Fully customizable | Project-specific needs |
Contributing and community
Contributions are welcome: bug reports, feature requests, documentation improvements, and pull requests. Typical contribution workflow:
- Fork the repo
- Create a feature branch
- Add tests and documentation
- Open a pull request for review
Conclusion
DirLister fills a niche between simple built-in tools and heavy file-management applications by providing a focused, high-performance way to list and export directory contents. Its combination of speed, flexible output formats, and scriptability make it a practical utility for developers and administrators who need reliable directory inventories.
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