Getting Started
File Architect allows you to create file and folder structures from simple text outlines. It's simple, but gives you many options.
Key Features
- 📁 Simple indentation-based syntax for structure design
- ⚡ Fast and efficient structure creation
- ↔ Copy or move existing files and folders into your structure
- 📄 Templates for common project structures
- 📎 Easily shareable, reusable, and readable plain text format
How It Works
You can create structures with a simple syntax like this:
project-X
src
components
Header.js
Footer.js
pages
Home.js
About.js
public
images
[/Users/You/dev_logo.png]
(/Users/You/client-name_logo.png)
[path/to/project-docs]
README.md
This will give you this structure:
project-X
src
components
Header.js
Footer.js
pages
Home.js
About.js
public
images
dev_logo.png
company-logo.png
README.md
project-docs
file-copied-from-docs.docx
Quick syntax guide
| Syntax | Action | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain text | Creates a folder | project |
| Text with extension | Creates a file | index.js |
| Bracketed file path | Copies existing file | [/Users/You/logo.png] |
| Bracketed folder path | Copies entire folder | [path/to/folder] |
| Parentheses file path | Moves existing file | (/Users/You/logo.png) |
| Tab indentation | Creates nested structure | parent child |
Syntax
Indentations
Tab indentation is used to determine the structure and nesting level. Tabs are visually represented by the character | in the editor to help you see the structure, but you only need to use Tab when creating your own.
Folder
By default, if a line does not have an extension (.js, .png, etc.) or a path separator (/), it will be treated as a folder name.
File
If a line has an extension, it will be treated as a file name, and will be created as an empty file.
Note
When files are empty, plain text files (eg. .js, .vue, .css, .html, etc.) will be behave normally and be editable, but binary data files like .png, .psd, .pdf, might not work or open in your usual software. They can still be useful as placeholders to be replaced.
File path copy
If a string has a path separator / (eg. /Users/You/logo.png), it will be treated as an existing file to copy to the new structure.
Folder path copy
If a string has a path inside of brackets, it will be treated as a full folder copy path (eg. [path/to/folder]). The folder with all of its content will be copied into the current project structure.
Next Steps
Now that you're familiar with the basics of File Architect, explore our advanced features and integrations to further enhance your development workflow.