meta.txt

A local doc browser and Claude chat for your repo.

Status: alpha. Pre-1.0, so expect breaking changes between minor versions and rough edges in the UI. Feedback and bug reports welcome via GitHub issues.

Point npx meta.txt at one or more directories and read your docs in a fast, focused viewer with tabs, split view, full-text search, and an optional Claude side-panel that can take the open doc as context.

The artifact stays the markdown in your repo. The tool is an optional local viewer — nothing is built, exported, or sent anywhere except the chat prompts you type yourself.

Features

Browsing

• Multiple roots. Point at any number of directories; each becomes a section in the sidebar.
• Markdown, text, and HTML with Mermaid diagrams rendered inline. HTML pages render in reader mode when possible.
• File tree + Outline in one sidebar — file tree on top, heading outline of the current doc below it. Click a heading to scroll. Both panels are always visible; the outline shows an empty state when a doc has no headings.
• Handles large repos — file tree and outline are built in O(N), so 40k-file trees (Unity docs, llvm, etc.) open without jank. The outline appears instantly even on large markdown; the full parse happens in the background.
• Live reload — edits show up without refreshing.

Search

• ⌘K command palette searches both filenames and file contents in one list, with line numbers and highlighted snippets.

Chat (via Claude)

• Side panel toggled with ⌘J, focused on the input the moment it opens.
• Uses your existing claude login — no API keys to manage.
• Open doc as context — a checkbox attaches the current file to your prompt.
• Streaming responses rendered as markdown, with persistent chat history.

Tabs & split view

• Tabs per pane with ⌘[ / ⌘] to cycle, middle-click or × to close.
• Horizontal split for reading two docs side-by-side.
• Drag-to-split — drag any tab toward the right edge of the viewer and drop it on the highlighted zone to create a new pane.
• Drag between panes to rearrange. Close the secondary pane with its ×.
• Tabs survive reload along with the split layout and active doc.

Layout & status

• Resizable 3-zone layout (sidebar / viewer / chat) with ⌘B to toggle the sidebar and ⌘J for chat.
• Status bar shows the current git branch (sha) → path, file size, exact token count, reading time, and zoom controls for the active pane. Click the version to read the changelog.
• Auto / Light / Dark theme — follows your system by default, one click to pick a specific mode. HTML pages recolour with the theme.
• Customisable keyboard shortcuts — press ? (or click the keyboard icon in the status bar) to browse every shortcut and rebind any of them.

Usage

npx meta.txt                 # current directory
npx meta.txt ./docs          # specific folder
npx meta.txt ./docs ./api    # multiple folders
npx meta.txt -d docs -d api  # same, via flags
npx meta.txt -p 4000         # custom port
npx meta.txt --open          # open browser on start

Bun users:

bunx meta.txt

Default port is 4242 (override with -p or META_PORT).

Shortcuts

Every global shortcut is rebindable — press ? in the app to browse and customise them.

Keys	Action
⌘K / Ctrl+K	open command palette (files + content)
⌘J / Ctrl+J	toggle chat panel
⌘B / Ctrl+B	toggle sidebar
⌘W / Ctrl+W	close active tab
⌘[ / ⌘]	cycle tabs in the active pane
⌘= / ⌘-	zoom active pane in / out
⌘0	reset active pane zoom
?	open the keyboard shortcuts dialog
↑ / ↓	navigate palette results
↵	open selected result / send chat message
⇧↵	newline in chat input
Esc	close palette / dialog

Caveats

meta.txt is a local-only developer tool. The server binds to 127.0.0.1 and is meant to be run against your own repo on your own machine.

• HTML can run scripts. Articles render in safe reader mode, but pages that aren't article-shaped fall back to an iframe with scripts and network enabled. Don't point meta.txt at directories containing untrusted HTML.
• Chat goes to Anthropic. Prompts you send travel to Claude via your local claude login, just as they would from Claude Code.

See CHANGELOG.md for what's new, and CLAUDE.md for the development layout, build flow, and embedding notes.