file-inventory

file-inventory is a Go command-line tool to:

• List all files in a directory (including subdirectories) and output the list to a text file (create command)
• Compare two inventory files and show the diff in a clean table format (diff command)

Features

• Fast file discovery: Recursively scans directories to find all files
• Clean output: Outputs file paths one per line for easy processing
• Professional diff display: Shows differences in a formatted table with clear indicators
• Cross-platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Flexible filtering: Include/exclude files using glob patterns
• Path options: Support for relative paths and hidden files
• Sorted output: Optional alphabetical sorting of file paths
• Robust error handling: Graceful handling of permission errors and invalid inputs
• No external dependencies for basic functionality

Usage

Create inventory file

file-inventory create DIR_PATH [flags]

Flags:

• -o, --output string: Output file name (default: file-inventory.txt)
• --sort: Sort file paths alphabetically in output
• --full: Use full absolute paths (default: relative paths from scan directory)
• --hidden: Include hidden files and directories
• --include strings: Include only files matching these glob patterns
• --exclude strings: Exclude files matching these glob patterns

Examples:

# Basic usage (uses relative paths by default)
file-inventory create ./mydir -o inventory1.txt

# Sort output and use full absolute paths
file-inventory create ./mydir --sort --full -o inventory1.txt

# Include only text files, including hidden ones
file-inventory create ./mydir --include "*.txt" --hidden -o inventory1.txt

# Exclude all .log and .tmp files
file-inventory create ./mydir --exclude "*.log" --exclude "*.tmp" -o inventory1.txt

Diff two inventory files

file-inventory diff FILE1 FILE2

Compares two inventory files and displays differences in a clean table format. The output shows:

• file_path: The path of files that differ between the inventories
• FILE1 column: Shows + if file exists only in FILE1, - if missing from FILE1
• FILE2 column: Shows + if file exists only in FILE2, - if missing from FILE2

Example:

file-inventory diff inventory1.txt inventory2.txt

Sample diff output:

 file_path        │ inventory1.txt │ inventory2.txt
──────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────
 docs/readme.txt  │ +              │ -
 src/main.go      │ -              │ +
 tests/unit.go    │ +              │ -

Example Output (inventory file)

testdir/file1.mp3
testdir/subdir/file2.txt
testdir/subdir/nested/file3.doc

Dependencies

• cobra - CLI framework
• tablewriter - Table formatting for diff output

Testing

The project includes comprehensive test coverage organized by functionality:

• cmd_test.go - Tests for CLI commands and cobra integration
• fileutils_test.go - Tests for file discovery and writing utilities
• diff_test.go - Tests for diff functionality and table output

Running Tests

Run all tests:

go test -v ./...

Run specific test categories:

# Test CLI commands and integration
go test -v -run "TestRun|TestCobra"

# Test file utilities and configuration
go test -v -run "TestFind|TestWrite|TestConfig"

# Test diff functionality
go test -v -run "TestShowDiff|TestReadFileLines"

Build

Build the executable:

go build -o file-inventory .

Or install directly:

go install

Project Structure

├── cmd.go           # CLI command definitions and main entry point
├── fileutils.go     # File discovery and I/O utilities
├── diff.go          # Diff logic and table formatting
├── cmd_test.go      # CLI command tests
├── fileutils_test.go # File utility tests
└── diff_test.go     # Diff functionality tests