Transform any project directory into a beautiful markdown overview. Perfect for documentation, onboarding new team members, or simply understanding how a codebase is organised.

Quick Start

Get stunning project overviews in seconds with these simple prompts:

Basic Project Overview 
Can you give me an overview of this project structure? C:/my-react-app
Detailed Analysis 
Use houtini-lm to count files and analyse the structure of C:/my-project with comprehensive analysis
Architecture Documentation 
Please generate a directory tree with architectural insights for C:/enterprise-app

Instant Visual Impact

Perfect for README files, documentation, and giving stakeholders a clear picture of your project's organisation.

What It Does

count_files is like having an intelligent assistant walk through your entire project and create beautiful documentation about its structure. It goes far beyond a simple directory listing - it provides architectural insights and organisation recommendations.

Here's what makes it special:

  • Beautiful markdown trees - Perfect for pasting into README files
  • File statistics - Total counts, largest files, technology detection
  • Architecture insights - Pattern recognition and structural analysis
  • Technology identification - Automatically detects frameworks, languages, and tools
  • Organisation recommendations - Suggestions for improving project structure

Whether you're onboarding new developers, preparing documentation, or trying to understand a complex codebase, this function creates the perfect starting point for exploring any project.

Parameters

Customise your project analysis to get exactly the insights you need:

Parameter Type Required Default Description
projectPath string Yes -

Path to the project directory you want analysed

Example: "C:/my-react-app" or "/home/user/projects/api"
maxDepth number No 3

How many directory levels deep to analyse (1-5)

Start with 3, increase to 4-5 for large projects
analysisType string No "comprehensive"

Focus: "structure", "counts", "comprehensive"

"comprehensive" gives you architectural insights and recommendations
analysisDepth string No "detailed"

Analysis detail level: "basic", "detailed", "comprehensive"

"detailed" perfect for most projects, "comprehensive" for large codebases

Real-World Examples

Here's how to use count_files for different types of projects:

React Application Overview

React Project Analysis 
houtini-lm:count_files with:
- projectPath: "C:/my-react-app"
- maxDepth: 3
- analysisType: "comprehensive"

Large Enterprise Project

Deep Enterprise Analysis 
houtini-lm:count_files with:
- projectPath: "C:/enterprise-platform"
- maxDepth: 4
- analysisDepth: "comprehensive"
- analysisType: "comprehensive"

Quick Structure Check

Fast Overview 
houtini-lm:count_files with:
- projectPath: "C:/new-project"
- maxDepth: 2
- analysisDepth: "basic"

Documentation Generation

README Documentation 
houtini-lm:count_files with:
- projectPath: "C:/open-source-lib"
- maxDepth: 3
- analysisType: "structure"

What You Get Back

The analysis creates beautiful, informative output that's perfect for documentation:

📁 Beautiful Directory Trees

Example Output 
📁 my-react-app/
├── 📁 src/ (45 files)
│   ├── 📁 components/ (12 files)
│   │   ├── 📄 Header.tsx
│   │   ├── 📄 UserCard.tsx
│   │   └── 📄 Navigation.tsx
│   ├── 📁 hooks/ (8 files)
│   ├── 📁 utils/ (5 files)
│   └── 📄 App.tsx
├── 📁 public/ (3 files)
├── 📁 tests/ (15 files)
└── 📄 package.json

Statistics: 63 files, 15 directories
Technologies: React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
Largest Files: UserService.ts (2.5KB), App.tsx (1.8KB)

📊 Project Statistics

  • File counts - Total files and per-directory breakdowns
  • Directory structure - Hierarchical organisation overview
  • Technology detection - Frameworks, languages, and tools identified
  • Size analysis - Largest files and directories highlighted
  • File type distribution - TypeScript, JavaScript, CSS, etc.

🏗️ Architecture Insights

  • Pattern recognition - MVC, component-based, microservices
  • Organisation assessment - Well-structured vs needs improvement
  • Conventions analysis - Naming patterns and standards
  • Scaling considerations - Suggestions for growing projects

README Ready

The markdown output is perfectly formatted for copying directly into README files, documentation, or project wikis.

Perfect Use Cases

Here's when count_files becomes your go-to tool:

📚 Documentation & Onboarding

Create beautiful project overviews for README files, technical documentation, and new developer onboarding. Help people understand your project structure at a glance.

🔍 Codebase Exploration

Just inherited a complex project? Get your bearings quickly with a comprehensive structural overview that highlights the most important directories and files.

🏗️ Architecture Reviews

Present project structure to stakeholders, technical leads, or during architectural planning sessions. Perfect for showing how a codebase is organised.

📋 Project Audits

Assess project organisation quality, identify structural issues, and get recommendations for improvement during code reviews or technical audits.

📊 Progress Tracking

Compare project structure over time, track growth, and document how your codebase evolves as features are added.

🤝 Client Presentations

Show clients or project managers how their application is structured in a visual, easy-to-understand format that builds confidence.

Best Practices

Get the most valuable insights from your project analysis:

🎯 Choose the Right Depth

  • maxDepth: 2 - Quick overview, perfect for small projects
  • maxDepth: 3 - Standard depth, works for most projects
  • maxDepth: 4-5 - Deep analysis, use for large enterprise codebases

📖 Match Analysis to Purpose

  • "structure" + "basic" - Quick README documentation
  • "comprehensive" + "detailed" - Team onboarding and exploration
  • "comprehensive" + "comprehensive" - Architecture reviews and audits

⚡ Performance Considerations

  • Start small - Use maxDepth: 2-3 first, then increase if needed
  • Large projects - Use "basic" analysisDepth initially
  • Node modules - The tool automatically excludes common build directories

📋 Documentation Workflow

  1. Generate the structure overview with count_files
  2. Copy the markdown output to your README or docs
  3. Add project-specific context and explanations
  4. Update periodically as your project grows

Pro Tip

For the best architectural insights, use comprehensive analysis on well-organised projects. You'll get specific recommendations about patterns and improvements.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to solve them:

Output is too overwhelming or too detailed

The directory tree is too large or includes too much information.

  • Reduce maxDepth to 2 or 3 for large projects
  • Use analysisDepth: "basic" for simpler output
  • Try analysisType: "structure" for just the tree without insights
  • Consider analysing subdirectories separately
Missing files or directories in the output

Some expected files or folders aren't showing up in the analysis.

  • Increase maxDepth if files are nested deeper
  • Check file permissions - ensure read access to all directories
  • Hidden files and common build directories are automatically excluded
  • Verify the project path is correct and accessible
Analysis takes too long for large projects

The function seems to hang on very large codebases.

  • Start with maxDepth: 2 and analysisDepth: "basic"
  • Ensure your LM Studio model has sufficient memory
  • Try analysing specific subdirectories instead of the entire project
  • Close other applications to free up system resources
Architecture insights are generic or unhelpful

Not getting useful architectural recommendations or pattern recognition.

  • Use analysisDepth: "comprehensive" for detailed insights
  • Ensure you're using analysisType: "comprehensive"
  • Try with a larger model (13B+ parameters) for better analysis
  • Well-organised projects get better insights than messy ones
Path not found or permission errors

Getting errors about paths not existing or access being denied.

  • Use absolute paths: C:/project not ./project
  • Verify the path exists and you have read permissions
  • Check that the path is within your LLM_MCP_ALLOWED_DIRS
  • On Windows, use forward slashes or double backslashes in paths

Next Steps

Now that you have a beautiful project overview, dive deeper with these related functions:

Analyse Individual Files

Deep dive into specific files with expert code analysis

Security Audit

Run comprehensive security analysis across your project