Next.js Dev’s Secret Weapon

Uday Reddy
2 min readJul 24, 2024

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Photo by James Wiseman on Unsplash

As developers, we’ve all been there. You’re knee-deep in a project, navigating through a labyrinth of nested files and directories. You know the problem is lurking somewhere in the depths, but finding it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. You want to query ChatGPT for help, but explaining your code context seems like an insurmountable task.

Enter the hero of our story: a bash script that will revolutionize the way you handle your Next.js projects. With this script, you can wave goodbye to the frustration of hunting down files one by one. It’s like a magical potion that gathers all the snippets of your code into a single, easy-to-read file. Let me walk you through how it works.

First, let’s set the stage. This script, designed to work with Next.js projects, collects code from specified directories and ignores certain file types to keep things clean. The beauty of this script is its simplicity and efficiency.

The code :

Here’s how you can use it:

  1. Save the script as get_code_context.shin the root directory of your project.
  2. Make it executable by running chmod +x get_code_context.sh.
  3. Run the script with ./get_code_context.sh.

The script works its magic by traversing through your project directories — like components, pages, app, api, and more—gathering the contents of each file. It skips over unnecessary files (we’re looking at you, .png and .jpg), and writes everything into a single file named code_context.txt.

Imagine the convenience! When you’re stuck, you can now provide ChatGPT with a comprehensive view of your project without the hassle of piecing together context from multiple files. It’s like having a digital magnifying glass that brings your entire codebase into focus.

While this script is tailored for Next.js projects, its beauty lies in its flexibility. With a few simple tweaks, it can be adapted to work with virtually any repository. Whether you’re wrangling with a React, Vue, or Angular project, or even a more complex stack, this script can be customized to fit your needs. By adjusting the directory names and file type filters, you can effortlessly gather all your code into a single, manageable file, making debugging and context sharing a breeze across various development environments. So, don’t hesitate to adapt this magical tool to your favorite tech stack and enjoy a streamlined coding experience!

In conclusion, this script is your new best friend in the world of development. It saves time, reduces frustration, and makes debugging a breeze. So, give it a whirl and experience the magic for yourself. Your future self, buried in nested code, will thank you!

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