How to generate and save a folder structure in YAML/JSON/text format using Node.js?

I created a Node.js script that:

• Recursively scans a directory and lists all files and folders.

• Excludes unnecessary directories like node_modules, .git, dist, etc.

• Outputs the structure in different formats (text, JSON, and YAML).

• Uses separate scripts for each format instead of one script handling all.

I created three separate Node.js scripts to generate and save the folder structure in TXT, JSON, and YAML formats:

1. Save Folder Structure as text (generate_txt.js)

    import { readdirSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
    import { join } from "path";
   
    const EXCLUDED_DIRS = new Set(["node_modules", ".git", "dist", "build", "out"]);
   
    /**
     * Recursively retrieves folder structure and formats it as a TXT hierarchy.
     */
    function getFolderStructure(dir, prefix = "") {
      let structure = "";
      const items = readdirSync(dir).filter(
        (item) => !EXCLUDED_DIRS.has(item) && !item.startsWith(".")
      );
   
      items.forEach((item, index) => {
        const fullPath = join(dir, item);
        const isDir = statSync(fullPath).isDirectory();
        const isLast = index === items.length - 1;
   
        structure += `${prefix}${isLast ? "└── " : "├── "}${item}${
          isDir ? "\\" : ""
        }\n`;
   
        if (isDir) {
          structure += getFolderStructure(
            fullPath,
            prefix + (isLast ? "    " : "│   ")
          );
        }
      });
   
      return structure;
    }
   
    // Get directory to scan
    const rootDir = process.argv[2] || process.cwd();
    const outputFile = process.argv[3] || "folder_structure.txt";
   
    // Generate structure and save
    const folderStructure = getFolderStructure(rootDir);
    writeFileSync(outputFile, folderStructure, "utf8");
    console.log(`Folder structure saved to ${outputFile}`);
   

2. Save Folder Structure as JSON (generate_json.js)

    import { readdirSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
    import { join } from "path";
   
    const EXCLUDED_DIRS = new Set(["node_modules", ".git", "dist", "build", "out"]);
   
    /**
     * Recursively retrieves folder structure as a JSON object.
     */
    function getFolderStructure(dir) {
      let structure = {};
      const items = readdirSync(dir).filter(
        (item) => !EXCLUDED_DIRS.has(item) && !item.startsWith(".")
      );
   
      items.forEach((item) => {
        const fullPath = join(dir, item);
        const isDir = statSync(fullPath).isDirectory();
        structure[item] = isDir ? getFolderStructure(fullPath) : null;
      });
   
      return structure;
    }
   
    // Get directory to scan
    const rootDir = process.argv[2] || process.cwd();
    const outputFile = process.argv[3] || "folder_structure.json";
   
    // Generate structure and save
    const folderStructure = getFolderStructure(rootDir);
    writeFileSync(outputFile, JSON.stringify(folderStructure, null, 2), "utf8");
    console.log(`Folder structure saved to ${outputFile}`);
   

3. Save Folder Structure as YAML (generate_yaml.js)

    import { readdirSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
    import { join } from "path";
   
    const EXCLUDED_DIRS = new Set(["node_modules", ".git", "dist", "build", "out"]);
   
    /**
     * Recursively retrieves folder structure and converts it to YAML format.
     */
    function getFolderStructure(dir, depth = 0) {
      let structure = "";
      const items = readdirSync(dir).filter(
        (item) => !EXCLUDED_DIRS.has(item) && !item.startsWith(".")
      );
   
      items.forEach((item) => {
        const fullPath = join(dir, item);
        const isDir = statSync(fullPath).isDirectory();
   
        structure += `${"  ".repeat(depth)}${item}: ${isDir ? "" : "null"}\n`;
   
        if (isDir) {
          structure += getFolderStructure(fullPath, depth + 1);
        }
      });
   
      return structure;
    }
   
    // Get directory to scan
    const rootDir = process.argv[2] || process.cwd();
    const outputFile = process.argv[3] || "folder_structure.yaml";
   
    // Generate structure and save
    const folderStructure = getFolderStructure(rootDir);
    writeFileSync(outputFile, folderStructure, "utf8");
    console.log(`Folder structure saved to ${outputFile}`);
   

How to Use These Scripts?

1. Save each script separately as:

   • generate_txt.js

   • generate_json.js

   • generate_yaml.js

2. Run them using the terminal:

    node generate_txt.js /path/to/directory output.txt
    node generate_json.js /path/to/directory output.json
    node generate_yaml.js /path/to/directory output.yaml
   

   • If no directory is specified, it defaults to the current working directory.

   • If no output file is specified, it defaults to folder_structure.{format}.

Example Outputs:

• Text Output (folder_structure.txt)

    app\
        about\
            page.tsx
        admin\
            customers\
                page.tsx
  

• JSON Output (folder_structure.json)

    {
      "app": {
        "about": {
          "page.tsx": null
        },
        "admin": {
          "customers": {
            "page.tsx": null
          }
        }
      }
    }
  

• YAML Output (folder_structure.yaml)

    app:
      about:
        page.tsx: null
      admin:
        customers:
          page.tsx: null