txtar CLI Tool

txtar is a command-line tool for creating, inspecting, extracting, and comparing txtar archives.

• Pack a directory into a txtar archive
• Pack files from a Git repository snapshot or changed files
• Unpack archives to the filesystem with overwrite safeguards
• List archive contents
• Diff two archives, or diff a directory against an archive

Install with Go:

go install github.com/phlv/txtar@latest

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/phlv/txtar.git
cd txtar
make build

The binary will be written to build/txtar.

txtar [--config FILE] <command> [flags]

Global flag:

• --config: use a specific config file instead of the default search path

Config lookup:

• $HOME/.config/txtar/config.yaml
• ./config.yaml

Create a txtar archive from a directory or a Git-backed file set.

txtar pack [DIR] [flags]

If DIR is omitted, the current directory is used.

Flags:

• -o, --output: output file path, - means stdout. Default: -
• -i, --include: include glob pattern, repeatable
• -e, --exclude: exclude glob pattern, repeatable
• --git: enable Git-aware packing
• --diff: pack files from the current Git diff, including staged, unstaged, and untracked files; requires --git
• --commit: pack a specific commit snapshot, requires --git
• --since: pack files changed across the last N commits, requires --git
• --staged: pack staged files from the working tree, requires --git
• --worktree: pack modified worktree files, requires --git
• --strip-prefix: remove a path prefix from archived file names
• --dry-run: print the files that would be packed instead of writing an archive
• --ignore-binary: skip files detected as binary
• --txtarignore: ignore file name to load from DIR. Default: .txtarignore

Behavior notes:

• Without --git, pack walks the filesystem under DIR.
• With --git and no extra Git selector flags, pack archives the current HEAD commit snapshot.
• --diff, --commit, --since, --staged, and --worktree are mutually exclusive Git selection modes.
• --git --diff packs the current working tree diff: staged files, unstaged files, and untracked files.
• .gitignore is only loaded in --git mode.
• .txtarignore is loaded from DIR when present.
• In --dry-run mode, the file list is printed to stdout.
• Deleted files may appear in Git status but are skipped because there is no file content to archive.

Examples:

txtar pack . -o archive.txtar
txtar pack . -e '*.log' -e 'node_modules/**' -o archive.txtar
txtar pack . -i 'cmd/**' -i 'internal/**' -o src.txtar
txtar pack . --git --commit HEAD~1 -o head-minus-1.txtar
txtar pack . --git --since 3 -o recent-changes.txtar
txtar pack . --git --diff -o working-tree.txtar
txtar pack . --git --staged -o staged.txtar
txtar pack . --git --worktree --ignore-binary --dry-run
txtar pack . --strip-prefix internal/ -o internal.txtar

Extract a txtar archive to a directory.

txtar unpack [ARCHIVE] [flags]

If ARCHIVE is omitted or set to -, data is read from stdin.

Flags:

• -C, --dir: output directory. Default: .
• --backup: rename an existing file to *.bak before overwriting
• --dry-run: print planned writes without creating files
• --no-overwrite: fail if a target file already exists

Behavior notes:

• --backup and --no-overwrite are mutually exclusive.
• Archive entries using absolute paths or .. path traversal are rejected.
• When --backup is enabled and file.bak already exists, a timestamped backup name is used.

Examples:

txtar unpack archive.txtar
txtar unpack archive.txtar -C out
txtar unpack archive.txtar --backup -C out
txtar unpack archive.txtar --no-overwrite -C out
cat archive.txtar | txtar unpack - -C out
txtar unpack archive.txtar --dry-run -C out

Print the file paths stored in an archive.

txtar list [ARCHIVE]

If ARCHIVE is omitted or set to -, data is read from stdin.

Examples:

txtar list archive.txtar
cat archive.txtar | txtar list

Compare two archives, or compare a directory to an archive.

txtar diff [LEFT] [RIGHT] [flags]

Flags:

• --dir: treat LEFT as a directory instead of an archive
• -c, --content: show content differences for modified files

Output markers:

• +: file exists only in RIGHT
• -: file exists only in LEFT
• M: file exists in both sides but contents differ

Examples:

txtar diff left.txtar right.txtar
txtar diff left.txtar right.txtar --content
txtar diff --dir ./workspace archive.txtar
txtar diff --dir ./workspace archive.txtar --content

Optional config file: ~/.config/txtar/config.yaml

Supported keys:

pack:
  output: "-"
  default_exclude:
    - "*.log"
    - "node_modules/**"
  ignore_binary: true

unpack:
  backup: false
  dir: "./out"

Notes:

• pack.default_exclude is prepended to CLI --exclude values.
• pack.ignore_binary is used only when --ignore-binary is not set explicitly.
• unpack.backup and unpack.dir are used only when the matching CLI flags are not set explicitly.

Available make targets:

• make build
• make test
• make fmt
• make vet
• make lint
• make install

MIT