DEX

Context extraction and codebase analysis for AI workflows. Generate precise, token‑efficient context, combine files, distill entire repos, and visualize APIs — all from one CLI.

Local installation via Bun
git clone · bun link · dex --help

Quick Start

# Clone and install locally
git clone https://github.com/scottbaggett/dex.git
cd dex
bun install
bun link

# Now use dex globally
dex --help

# Extract your current changes (txt by default)
dex -s --format md --clipboard

Safety Stance

Dex treats AI context generation as a trust-boundary operation. When context leaves your repository and enters a model prompt, leakage risk is real.

Dex is opinionated by design:

1. Always scan content for secrets and obvious PII before output.
2. Redact sensitive spans by default.
3. Write an audit manifest entry for every generated output.

Unsafe behavior should be an explicit override, not a hidden default.

Core Commands

Extract (default command)

Extracts Git changes and formats context for LLMs.

dex                         # Current unstaged changes
dex -s                      # Staged changes only
dex -a                      # Staged + unstaged
dex HEAD~5..HEAD            # Specific commit range
dex -p "src/**" -t ts,tsx    # Filter by path and types
dex --select                # Interactive file picker (TTY)

Key options:

• -s, --staged: Only staged changes
• -a, --all: Staged + unstaged changes
• --full : Include full files matching pattern
• --diff-only: Force diffs (disable Smart Context)
• -p, --path : Filter by file path
• -t, --type : Filter by file types (e.g. ts,tsx,js)
• -f, --format : md | json | txt (default: txt)
• -c, --clipboard: Copy output to clipboard
• -u, --include-untracked: Include untracked files
• --untracked-pattern : Pattern for untracked files
• --optimize <flags...>: aid, symbols
• --no-metadata: Omit metadata block
• --select: Interactive file selection (TTY)
• --sort-by : name | updated | size | status
• --sort-order : asc | desc
• --filter-by : all | staged | unstaged | untracked | modified | added | deleted
• --include-sensitive: Include sensitive content without redaction safeguards
• --target : claude | gpt | local | custom (recorded in audit metadata)
• --yes: Required in non-TTY usage with --include-sensitive

Outputs are saved to .dex/ by default unless --clipboard, --stdout (where available), or an explicit --output is used.

Distill

Extract clean API signatures from entire codebases, removing implementation details for token-efficient LLM context.

dex distill .                          # Distill current project
dex distill packages/api               # Distill a specific directory
dex distill src/index.ts               # Distill a single file
dex distill . --private 1              # Include private members
dex distill . --include "*.ts"         # Only TypeScript files
dex distill . --stdout                 # Print to stdout

Key options:

• -f, --format : txt | md | json (default: txt)
• -o, --output : Write to a specific file
• -c, --clipboard: Copy output to clipboard
• --stdout: Print to stdout
• -s, --select: Interactive file selection
• --include <patterns...>: Include file patterns (e.g., ".ts" "src/**/.js")
• --exclude <patterns...>: Exclude file patterns
• --comments <0|1>: Include comments (default: 0)
• --docstrings <0|1>: Include docstrings (default: 1)
• --private <0|1>: Include private members (default: 0)
• --protected <0|1>: Include protected members (default: 0)
• --internal <0|1>: Include internal members (default: 0)
• --workers : Number of worker threads (default: 1)
• --dry-run: Preview what would be processed
• --staged: Only process staged files
• --include-sensitive: Include sensitive content without redaction safeguards
• --target : claude | gpt | local | custom (recorded in audit metadata)
• --yes: Required in non-TTY usage with --include-sensitive

Combine

Create a single, LLM‑friendly document from many files.

dex combine src/auth/ src/api/         # Combine directories
dex combine file1.ts file2.ts          # Combine specific files
dex combine -s                         # Pick files interactively (TTY)
dex combine --staged -c                # Use staged files; copy to clipboard

Key options:

• -f, --format : txt | md | json (default: txt)
• --staged: Use all staged files (full contents)
• -c, --clipboard: Copy to clipboard
• -o, --output : Write to file instead of saving to .dex/
• --include <patterns...>: Include patterns, e.g. ".ts" ".js"
• --exclude <patterns...>: Exclude patterns, e.g. ".test." ".spec."
• --max-files : Limit files processed (default 1000)
• --no-gitignore: Ignore .gitignore
• -s, --select: Interactive picker (TTY)
• --stdout: Print output to stdout
• --since : Only process files changed since git ref
• --dry-run: Show what files would be processed
• --include-sensitive: Include sensitive content without redaction safeguards
• --target : claude | gpt | local | custom (recorded in audit metadata)
• --yes: Required in non-TTY usage with --include-sensitive

Scan

Run detection-only safety scans without generating context artifacts.

dex scan .                  # Human-readable summary
dex scan . --format json    # CI-friendly machine output

Key options:

• -f, --format : txt | json (default: txt)

Tree

Generate a beautiful API tree or outline for quick understanding.

dex tree src/                          # Tree view
dex tree . --outline                   # Outline view
dex tree . --group-by type --show-types --show-params

Key options:

• -o, --output : Write to file
• --stdout: Print to stdout
• -c, --clipboard: Copy to clipboard
• --exclude <pattern...>: Exclude patterns
• --include-private: Include private/internal APIs
• --show-types: Show param and return types
• --show-params: Show function parameters
• --group-by : file | type | none (default: file)

Installation

Local Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/scottbaggett/dex.git
cd dex

# Install dependencies and link globally
bun install
bun link

# Verify installation
dex --help

Alternative: Run directly from source

# With Bun (no build needed, runs TypeScript directly)
cd /path/to/dex
bun run src/cli.ts [command] [options]

DEX saves outputs to .dex/ with descriptive, timestamped filenames. Use --clipboard, --stdout (where available), or --output <file> to override.

Performance & Parallel Processing

DEX supports worker threads for CPU parallelism during distill:

# Default: sequential worker mode
dex distill .

# Sequential processing for small projects
dex distill . --workers 1

# Parallel processing for larger codebases
dex distill . --workers 4

Performance Notes:

• Default safety: Sequential mode avoids worker startup overhead in small runs
• Small projects (<100 files): Keep --workers 1
• Large projects (1000+ files): Try --workers 2 to --workers 8
• Memory-intensive: Each worker has independent parser state

Requirements

• Bun 1.0+
• Git (for change tracking)

Tips

• Use --select to interactively choose files when you don’t want to depend on Git state.
• Prefer --format txt for agents that parse structure, --format md for human review, and --format json for programmatic pipelines.
• distill supports --dry-run to preview scope and --exclude repeatedly for fine control.

Contributing

• ⭐ Star the repo: https://github.com/scottbaggett/dex
• 🐛 Issues: https://github.com/scottbaggett/dex/issues
• 🔧 PRs: https://github.com/scottbaggett/dex/pulls

License

MIT — see LICENSE