contextzip

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/91913ad6-6161-430d-9075-b0fa76498021

Why contextzip?

Every AI coding session starts the same way. You hunt down the relevant files, skip node_modules and build output by hand, zip it all, find the zip and upload it. Next session, you do it again.

contextzip does all of that for you. Run it from your project root and it:

1. Detects your stack (Node.js, Next.js, Python, Django, FastAPI, Rust, Go, Ruby, monorepos included).
2. Excludes the noise: dependencies, build output, caches, binaries, logs, and anything in your .gitignore.
3. Keeps secrets out: .env files, private keys, cloud credentials and Terraform state are left out by default. If you include your .env on purpose, its values are redacted.
4. Puts the ZIP on your clipboard as a real file, so you can paste it straight into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or any other upload box.

When the AI sends changed files back, contextzip apply-zip writes them into your project safely, and warns you before touching anything you've edited since.

It works where you do: in the terminal, on a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket link without cloning, in your browser with nothing to install, in VS Code, and for AI agents over MCP.

Table of contents

• Installation
  • "cz is not recognized"
• Quick start
• Features
  • Smart packaging
  • Package only what changed
  • Package a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket repo
  • In your browser
  • VS Code extension
  • MCP server for AI agents
  • AI-powered file selection
  • Applying AI changes back
  • Terminal error watcher
  • Visual config UI
• Command reference
• Configuration
• What is always excluded
• Where files go
• Python API
• Privacy & security
• Platform support
• Contributing
• License

Installation

With Python (3.9 or newer):

pip install contextzip

Installing with pipx or uv keeps it isolated from your projects:

pipx install contextzip
# or
uv tool install contextzip

Without Python. These install a standalone build of the same tool:

npm install -g @contextzip/cli                 # Node.js 16+, any OS
brew install akadeepesh/tap/contextzip         # macOS / Linux (Homebrew)
scoop bucket add contextzip https://github.com/akadeepesh/scoop-bucket
scoop install contextzip                       # Windows (Scoop)

Or download an archive for your platform from the latest release, unpack it, and put the contextzip folder on your PATH. Builds are made for Windows x64, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux x64/arm64 (glibc 2.35 or newer).

In VS Code, install contextzip from the Marketplace (or run code --install-extension contextzip.contextzip). It bundles the CLI, so there's nothing else to install. See VS Code extension.

For AI agents: pip install "contextzip[mcp]" and register contextzip mcp as an MCP server (Python 3.10+). See CLI.md.

No install at all: drop a folder or paste a repo link on contextzipcli.com.

Just trying the CLI? Nothing stays installed with these:

npx @contextzip/cli          # Node.js
uvx contextzip               # uv
pipx run contextzip          # pipx

Every method installs two commands that do the same thing: contextzip and the shorter cz.

To update later, run contextzip update. It works out whether you installed with pip, pipx or uv and upgrades the right one. A standalone build tells you the npm, Homebrew or Scoop command to run instead.

"cz is not recognized" / "command not found"

pip installed contextzip, but put the cz command in a folder your terminal doesn't search. This is common with Python from the Microsoft Store or the Python install manager on Windows, and with pip install --user on macOS and Linux. Look for pip's WARNING: The scripts cz.exe and contextzip.exe are installed in '…' which is not on PATH.

Python itself always works, so run contextzip through it and let it fix PATH for you:

python -m contextzip setup-path     # macOS / Linux: python3 -m contextzip setup-path

On Windows this adds the folder to your user PATH (no admin needed). On macOS and Linux it adds one line to your shell's startup file. Open a new terminal and cz works. Until then, python -m contextzip does everything cz does.

If you installed with pipx, run pipx ensurepath. With uv, run uv tool update-shell.

Quick start

cd ~/projects/my-app
contextzip

You don't need any flags. contextzip detects your framework, excludes the noise, writes codebase.zip into .contextzip/output/codebase/ and copies it to your clipboard. Paste it into your AI tool.

Some other common runs:

contextzip --dry-run --verbose              # preview every included/excluded file, write nothing
contextzip --git-changes                    # only what you've changed
contextzip --prompt "fix the login redirect bug"   # let AI pick the relevant files
contextzip include src/ app/                # only these folders
contextzip include src/ .env                # .env too, values redacted
contextzip --here                           # only the folder you're in (monorepos)
contextzip github.com/user/repo             # a GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket repo, without cloning it
contextzip exclude tests/ '*.snap'          # everything except these
contextzip apply-zip                        # write the AI's changes back

Features

Smart packaging

contextzip scans your project and recognises its stack from marker files such as package.json, next.config.*, pyproject.toml, manage.py, Cargo.toml, go.mod and Gemfile. It looks a couple of levels deep, so a monorepo with a Next.js frontend and a FastAPI backend gets both rule sets applied.

On top of the stack rules, contextzip also:

• respects your .gitignore files, including ones in subfolders like apps/web/.gitignore (turn this off with --no-gitignore),
• flags large files (1 MB or more by default) and binary files before packaging,
• skips dangling symlinks and unreadable files, and tells you why,
• writes a plain-text report next to every ZIP listing what went in and what was left out,
• estimates the token count of what it packed (≈ 46k tokens), so you know whether it'll fit before you upload.

Package only what changed

contextzip --git-changes

This packages only the files git reports as staged, modified or untracked. It's ideal for code review or "here's what I changed, what's wrong?" prompts. Deleted files, submodules and monorepo roots are handled for you, and the secret-exclusion rules still apply to files git tracks.

Package a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket repo

contextzip github.com/pallets/click
contextzip https://github.com/pallets/click/tree/main/src     # one branch, one folder
contextzip gh:you/private-repo --ref dev
contextzip gitlab.com/group/project                           # or gl:group/project
contextzip bitbucket.org/team/repo                            # or bb:team/repo

No clone and no git needed: contextzip downloads one commit through the host's API into a local cache and packages it like any other project, with the same stack detection, exclusions and redaction. include and exclude work as usual, and a link to a branch's folder packages just that folder.

• Private repos: set GITHUB_TOKEN (or sign in with gh auth login), GITLAB_TOKEN or BITBUCKET_TOKEN. A token is only ever sent to its own host's API.
• Send the reply back as a pull request: for a GitHub repo, contextzip apply-zip reply.zip --pr commits the AI's changes on top of the commit you packaged and opens a pull request, forking first if you can't push. No clone needed.
• Cache: a commit is downloaded once and reused. Override the location with CONTEXTZIP_CACHE_DIR; downloads over 250 MB are refused unless you raise CONTEXTZIP_REMOTE_MAX_MB.

In your browser

contextzipcli.com runs contextzip in your browser, with the same rules as the CLI:

• Drop a folder (or choose one) and it's packaged right in the page. Your files never leave your machine.
• Paste a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket link to package a public repository. Shortcut: put contextzipcli.com/ in front of a repo URL, as in contextzipcli.com/github.com/user/repo.
• Apply the AI's reply to your folder (Chrome and Edge): pick the folder and the ZIP, review the plan, and the safe changes are written for you.

VS Code extension

contextzip for VS Code bundles the CLI, so it works without Python.

• Package for AI from the Explorer's right-click menu, the status bar or the command palette: the whole project, selected files and folders, git changes, the files for a task, or a GitHub repo. The ZIP goes on your clipboard.
• Apply the reply: when an AI's ZIP lands in your Downloads, the extension offers to apply it. Every file's status shows in the AI Changes view, safe changes apply in one step, and conflicts open in VS Code's three-way merge editor.

MCP server for AI agents

pip install "contextzip[mcp]"      # Python 3.10+

Then register it in your MCP client:

{"mcpServers": {"contextzip": {"command": "contextzip", "args": ["mcp"]}}}

An agent can then package a project or a repository, preview and apply a reply, list snapshots and open a pull request. Each tool returns the same JSON as --json. See CLI.md for every tool.

AI-powered file selection

contextzip --prompt "add rate limiting to the login endpoint"

Describe your task in plain language and Gemini picks only the files that matter. The ZIP also includes a prompt.txt describing the task, so the AI tool you paste it into knows what you want.

• Setup: you need a free Gemini API key. contextzip walks you through it the first time you use --prompt, or you can set the GEMINI_API_KEY environment variable.
• What is sent: only the list of file paths and sizes that already passed the exclusion rules, plus your prompt. File contents never leave your machine.
• Fallback: if Gemini is rate-limited, a local keyword-based selector takes over, so --prompt keeps working. Other errors (a bad key, no network) stop with a clear message.
• Model: gemini-2.5-flash-lite by default.

Applying AI changes back

contextzip apply-zip              # picks up a ZIP from .contextzip/inbox/
contextzip apply-zip fix.zip      # or point at one directly
contextzip apply-zip --dry-run    # preview without writing anything

AI tools return ZIPs in every shape: wrapped in an extra folder, relative to a subfolder, flattened, with Windows separators. apply-zip matches each file to its real place in your project anyway, and new files follow their siblings.

Every ZIP contextzip makes gets a local snapshot (a hash of each file, never uploaded). apply-zip picks the snapshot that best matches the returned ZIP and compares three versions of each file: what you sent, what's on disk now, and what came back.

When something needs a decision you choose: apply the safe changes now, review side by side in your browser (--review), resolve in VS Code's merge editor (--editor), or apply everything. Line endings never count as a change, redacted secrets are never overwritten with placeholders, and files are only removed with your explicit OK — never one you've changed since.

Snapshots and CONTEXTZIP.md

Every package is kept locally as a numbered snapshot (#14), so a reply can be merged against exactly what you sent, even after you've packaged again. Each ZIP also carries a short CONTEXTZIP.md for the AI: the snapshot ID, and how to reply so the answer applies cleanly (complete files, same paths, secrets left as [REDACTED], moves and deletions listed). When the reply echoes it back, apply-zip knows the exact snapshot. contextzip snapshots lists them; turn the file off with "zip_guide": false.

Terminal error watcher

contextzip watch -- npm run dev
contextzip watch -- python manage.py runserver
contextzip watch -- python -m pytest --tb=short

contextzip runs your command and watches its output. When a stack trace appears (Python, Django and Node.js/Next.js errors are recognised), it asks whether to package debug context. Press D and you get debug-context.zip containing:

• prompt.txt: an auto-generated description of the problem
• terminal-error.txt: the error output with ANSI codes and noise stripped out
• source-files.zip: the source files named in the stack trace

If you press Ctrl+C before packaging anything, you get one last chance to capture the whole session.

Visual config UI

contextzip config --ui

This opens a local browser tab where you can tick files and folders to always include or exclude, with a live preview of what the ZIP will contain. It saves to .contextzip/config.json. The server binds to 127.0.0.1 only, needs a random one-time session token and shuts itself down when you're done.

Command reference

Run flags work on contextzip, include and exclude:

Every command supports -h / --help, and contextzip --version prints the installed version.

For every flag of every subcommand (apply-zip, snapshots, watch, mcp, config, update), see CLI.md or the online CLI reference.

Configuration

contextzip has two config files, and both are optional.

Project config: .contextzip/config.json

This holds per-project settings. Edit it by hand or with contextzip config --ui. Every key is optional:

{
  "always_include": ["docs/architecture.md"],  // force-include, even if a rule or .gitignore excludes it
  "always_exclude": ["*.snap", "fixtures/"],   // a standing --exclude on every run
  "workspace_location": "git-root",            // "git-root" | "cwd" | "/some/path"
  "ai": {
    "enabled": true,
    "max_files": 10,                           // cap on files the AI may select
    "prompt_template": "We use pytest, not unittest."  // prepended to every prompt.txt
  },
  "limits": {
    "max_file_size_mb": 1,                     // threshold for "large file" warnings
    "redact_secrets": false                    // scan included files and mask secret-looking values
  },
  "applied_zip_retention": 1