mktree is a simple tool for creating directory trees in one shot. It's
somewhat similar to what you can do with mkdir and brace expansion, but with
an easier syntax and better usability.
Arch users can simply run the following command from the project directory:
makepkg -si
Anyone else can use pip:
pip install --user mktree
mktree allows you to create complex directory trees with a simple syntax
$ mktree -P this/is,a.bunch,of/directories
.
├── this
│ ├── is
│ └── a
├── bunch
└── of
└── directories
Th -P flag makes sure we are given a preview of the directory tree without
actually creating any directory. For a simpler list-like preview, use the -p
flag instead. A confirmation prompt is also available by using the -i flag.
You can find a complete list of all the available options here.
Now let's take a look at the string we've passed as argument. Notice how the
argument string is made up of directories names separated by one of these three
special characters: /, , and ..
Let's start with a very basic example
$ mktree -P A
.
└── A
This will simply create a directory A inside the current directory.
What if you want to create a folder B inside the folder A?
$ mktree -P A/B
.
└── A
└── B
That's the purpose of the / character: it tells mktree to create the
following directories inside the previous one.
Now a little more advanced example
$ mktree -P A/B,C
.
└── A
├── B
└── C
This will create the directories B and C inside the directory A. The ,
character tells mktree to create the following directory at the same level of
the previous one.
Continuing the above example, suppose that after you type C you need to
create a folder D at the same level of the folder A. Remember that you've
used the / character to move one level down the directory tree and now you
want go back. That's when the . character comes in: it tells mktree to
create the following directories one level up the directory tree
$ mktree -P A/B,C.D
.
└── A
│ ├── B
│ └── C
└── D
You can use many . characters in sequence to move up multiple levels, but you
won't be able to move outside the current working directory
$ mktree -P A/B/C,D..E/F...H
.
├─ A
│ └─ B
│ ├─ C
│ └─ D
├─ E
│ └─ F
└─ H
Since mktree can take many tree descriptions as arguments, to avoid using .
multiple times in sequence to reach the root directory, you can simply start
another argument. The above example can in fact be rewritten as:
$ mktree -P A/B/C,D E/F H
.
├─ A
│ └─ B
│ ├─ C
│ └─ D
├─ E
│ └─ F
└─ H
Note: you can escape . or , if you'll ever need to use them as part of a directory name:
$ mktree -P A\\,B,C
.
├─ A,B
└─ C
See LICENSE.txt.