Compressed Hierarchical Overview of Directory and Ecosystems
A CLI that generates a compact, structured profile of any codebase. Run it once and every AI session starts with full orientation instead of file archaeology.
chode /path/to/repo
Produces a .chode file (~200-400 tokens) with stack, entry points, architecture shape, conventions, and purpose - no LLM required.
Requires Bun or Node.js 22.6+.
git clone https://github.com/zer0contextlost/CHODE
cd CHODE
npm install
npm install -g .chode /path/to/repo
chode https://github.com/owner/repo # clones and profiles
chode . # current directory---CHODE v2 @ a3f1c2e---
---DNA---
@STACK typescript react vite
@PKG pnpm
@TEST vitest playwright
@ENTRY src/index.ts
---CONTEXT---
@PURPOSE Authentication service handling OAuth flows for enterprise customers.
@CONVENTIONS No class components. Zod for all external data. Tests colocated.
@SETUP pnpm install && pnpm dev
--full include full directory tree (v1 format)
--force skip cache and regenerate
--stdout write to stdout instead of file
--json write structured JSON to stdout
--verify check .chode for drift without updating
--commit git commit the .chode file after writing
For AI assistants that support MCP (Claude, Cursor, etc.):
chode-mcpExposes a chode_profile tool - the assistant calls it with a repo path and gets the full profile without needing filesystem access.
npm run typecheck
npm run test:unit
npm run test
npm run build