Scaf, for Scaffolding

I wanted a clean cli tool to easily get the structure of folders and files on my stuff. There are a few, but no one quite the way I’d like it. So I developed scaf, for scaffolding. It’s both minimal, for quick use, but also has some really nice settings for a more nerdy analysis.

I also made it node-based, because I wanted something cross-platform. To install it globally in your machine, you’ll need node and some package manager of your choice, like npm. See bellow.

How to use

1. Install It

npm install -g @dandesdev/scaf

You absolutely don’t need to use npm, feel free to use any other package manager you like.

2. Run it

Decide from where you want your scaffolding, then, in your terminal, get to that location and simply run

scaf

You should see the entire scaffolding unfolding into your very eyes. It can be blazingly fast thou, so focus not to miss it.

3. Do more

From that point, you can use flags to do all sorts of stuff; I asked an AI friend of mine, and It gave us these awesome tables to explain it better:

Complete scaf Flags Table

Input and Output

Flag	Description	Example	Default
`-p, --path <dir>`	Target directory to scan	`scaf -p ./src`	Current directory
`-md, --maxdepth <n>`	Maximum folder depth to scaf (0 = infinite)	`scaf -md 3`	Infinity
`-o <file>`	Save output to file, it can be text or json. Format is auto-detected by extension (.txt, .json).	`scaf -o mystuff.json`	No output file, it displays to console
`-b, --buffered`	Use buffered mode for text output (builds complete scaffolding before displaying) WARNING: It can crash your computer on large structures.	`scaf -b -o out.txt`	Streaming mode, it prints as it reads, this way there’s a low cap in memory usage.

File and Directory Filtering

Flag	Description	Example	Default
`-i, --ignore <...>`	Patterns to ignore (space-separated)	`scaf -i node_modules dist config.yml *.log`	Nothing, except what is specified in .gitignore, .dockerignore or .scafignore files, see more bellow.
`-ti, --typed-ignore`	Enable typed ignore mode, where files don’t need their extensions specified and folders must have trailing slashes (see table below).	`scaf -ti -i node_modules/ dist/ config`	false
`-n, --only <...>`	Show only files matching patterns (directories always shown for navigation)	`scaf -n .ts .tsx`	[]
`-d, --dirs-only`	Display only directories, hiding files	`scaf -d`	false
`--gitignore [true\|false]`	Respect .gitignore rules. Accepts optional boolean value	`scaf --gitignore false`	true
`--dockerignore`	Respect .dockerignore rules	`scaf --dockerignore`	true
`-a, --show-hidden`	Show hidden files and folders (dotfiles)	`scaf -a`	false

Display and Format

Flag	Description	Example	Default
`--size`	Display size of each file	`scaf --size`	false
`--sort <type>`	Sort entries by: name, size, date	`scaf --sort size`	name
`-q, --quiet`	Suppress informational messages (useful for pipelines)	`scaf -q`	false

Statistics

Flag	Description	Example	Default
`--stats [mode]`	Display basic statistics. Modes: console, include (in file), all (both)	`scaf --stats include -o out.txt`	console
`--stats-only [mode]`	Display only detailed statistics. Modes: strict (honors filters) or all (ignores filters)	`scaf --stats-only all`	strict

General

Flag	Description	Example	Default
`-h, --help`	Display help message and exit	`scaf --help`	-

Typed Ignore Mode (-ti)

When -ti is enabled, patterns in -i behave differently:

Pattern	Effect	Example
`name`	Ignores files with that basename (any extension)	`scaf -ti -i index` ignores index.js, index.ts
`folder/`	Ignores folders with that name	`scaf -ti -i bin/` ignores folder bin/
`*.`	Ignores all files (leaves only folders)	`scaf -ti -i *.`
`*/`	Ignores all folders (shows only files in root)	`scaf -ti -i */`

Important: In typed mode, -ti and -i are meant to be used together, and patterns must come immediately after -i.

Automatic Ignore Files

Scaf always loads these files if present in the root:

File	Loaded by default?	Comment
`.scafignore`	✅ Always	Create your custom patterns
`.gitignore`	✅ With —gitignore (default: true)
`.dockerignore`	✅ With —dockerignore (default: true)

Tip: Use scaf —help to see practical examples and common use cases.

Get in touch

If you have any ideas, critics, love or hate towards scaf, please get in touch. <3