Output Formats

Every output format can be printed to the terminal with --stdout while also being saved with --out:

lsw --type json --stdout --out inventory.json

Use --stdout-only when no file should be created:

lsw --type json --stdout-only

For application integration, prefer --stdout-only and parse stdout. JSON produces one complete JSON document; JSONL produces one object per line. Diagnostic messages are kept on stderr.

See the dedicated stdout and stderr integration guide for subprocess examples and stream contracts.

HTML

HTML is the default. It contains an interactive tree, search, grouping, expand/collapse controls, path copying, printing, a theme toggle, and analytics. See HTML report guide.

The output filename receives a .html suffix if needed. Unless --no-browser is active, the generated file is opened with Python's webbrowser module.

TXT

The text output begins with . and uses ├── and └── tree connectors. Hidden entries and configured ignore rules are omitted. Pass --txt-icons to add the script's MIME icon mapping.

python lsw.py --type txt --out tree.txt --txt-icons

The current text generator does not receive the extension set from --ext; use a structured export or HTML when extension filtering is required.

CSV

CSV contains one row per selected file or directory with these columns:

path,name,type,size,mtime_str

Directory size is the immediate stat size field, not a recursive aggregate. CSV uses UTF-8 and includes a header row.

JSON

JSON is an indented array of item objects. Each item contains:

{
  "path": "...",
  "name": "example.py",
  "type": "file",
  "size": 1234,
  "mtime": 1760000000.0,
  "mtime_str": "2025-10-09 12:00:00"
}

The mtime value is a Unix timestamp. The exact value is platform and timezone dependent.

JSONL

JSONL writes one JSON object per line with the same item structure as JSON. It is convenient for streaming or line-oriented processing.

Markdown

Markdown contains a Directory Tree heading followed by a table with path, type, size, and modified columns. File sizes are human-readable; directories display - in the size column. Paths are wrapped in Markdown code spans but are not escaped for embedded pipe characters.

Export errors

CSV, JSON, JSONL, and Markdown export functions catch their own exceptions and print an error message. The CLI does not otherwise validate that the output directory exists, so create parent directories before running with a nested output path.