CoPa: LLM Prompting Templating

CoPa is a simple CLI tool for creating structured prompts for Large Language Models (LLMs) using file references. It offers two main functionalities:

1. Processing LLM prompt templates with file references
2. Copying file contents in an LLM-friendly format

Key Features

• Process template files with dynamic file references
• Copy an entire folder or a single file to clipboard in a LLM friendly format
• Support for Git repositories and respect for .gitignore
• Built-in token counting
• Easy-to-use CLI utility
• Inline ignore patterns for fine-grained control over included files

Usage

Use CoPa directly with npx (recommended) or install it globally.

Using npx (Recommended)

Process a template file:

npx copa t prompt.copa

Global Installation (Alternative)

Install CoPa globally:

npm install -g copa

Then use it as:

copa t prompt.copa

Template Syntax

Create a template file (e.g., prompt.copa) using {{@filepath}} to reference files or directories:

Analyze this code:
```
{{@src/main.js}}
```

And its test:
```
{{@tests/main.test.js}}
```

Review the entire 'utils' directory:
```
{{@utils}}
```

Review the 'src' directory, excluding .test.js files:
```
{{@src:-*.test.js}}
```

Review all files in the current directory, excluding markdown files and the 'subdir' directory:
```
{{@.:-*.md,-**/subdir/**}}
```

[new feature description / instructions for the LLM]

Process the template and copy to clipboard:

copa template prompt.copa
# or use the short alias
copa t prompt.copa

Inline Ignore Patterns

You can use inline ignore patterns to exclude specific files or patterns within a directory reference:

{{@directory:-pattern1,-pattern2,...}}

Examples:

• {{@src:-*.test.js}} includes all files in the 'src' directory except for files ending with '.test.js'
• {{@.:-*.md,-**/subdir/**}} includes all files in the current directory, excluding markdown files and the 'subdir' directory
• {{@.:-**/*dir/**,-*.y*}} excludes all files in any directory ending with 'dir' and all files with extensions starting with 'y'

Ignore patterns support:

• File extensions: -*.js
• Specific files: -file.txt
• Directories: -**/dirname/**
• Glob patterns: -**/*.test.js
• Hidden files and directories: -.*

Commands

• t, template <file>: Process a template file and copy to clipboard

  • Option: -v, --verbose (Display detailed file and token information)

• to <file>: Process a template file and output to stdout

  • Options:
    • -err, --errors (Output only errors like missing files, empty string if none)
    • -t, --tokens (Output only the token count)
    • -v, --verbose (Display detailed file and token information to stderr)

• c, copy [directory]: Copy files to clipboard (legacy mode)

  • Options:
    • -ex, --exclude <extensions> (Exclude file types)
    • -v, --verbose (List copied files)
    • -f, --file <filePath> (Copy a single file)

Output Format

CoPa uses a format that's easy for LLMs to understand:

Analyze this code:
```
===== src/main.js =====
File contents here...
```

And its test:
```
===== tests/main.test.js =====
...

Use Cases

• Control over what's included in a prompt
• Repeatable complex prompts with complex file imports
• Sharing project wide prompt templates
• Any task requiring code context from multiple files

Tips

1. Use relative paths in templates for better portability
2. Create a "prompts" directory in project root
3. Create a library of templates for common tasks
4. Use inline ignore patterns for fine-grained control over included files

Global Configuration

Create ~/.copa to set default exclude patterns:

ignore: jpg,png,gif

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.