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--max-depth / -d

The --max-depth flag limits how deep the tree will traverse into directories.
This is useful for large projects where you want a high-level overview without listing every nested file.

Usage

# Show tree with a maximum depth of 2
show-file-tree  --max-depth 2

Example

Full tree (default)

├── 📁 src
│   ├── 📁 module1
│   │   ├── file1.py
│   │   └── file2.py
│   └── 📁 module2
│       └── file3.py
├── 📁 docs
│   └── readme.md
└── LICENSE

With --max-depth 1

├── 📁 src
├── 📁 docs
└── LICENSE

With --max-depth 2

├── 📁 src
│   ├── module1
│   └── module2
├── 📁 docs
└── LICENSE

Tips

  • Combine with --count or --size for a summarized view of folders at each depth.
  • Combine with --format md to generate Markdown documentation for only the top levels of a project.
  • Useful for quick project overviews, documentation snapshots, or CI-friendly output.