How does the tool know how deep to nest an item?

By counting leading indentation on each line: either two spaces or one tab counts as one nesting level deeper than the line above. Mixing styles across different lines is fine as long as each individual line's indentation is consistent.

What happens if a line skips an indent level?

It's rejected with an error naming the exact line, since jumping straight from a root item to a great-grandchild (skipping two intermediate levels) has no unambiguous tree interpretation.

Can I have more than one root-level item?

Yes, every un-indented line becomes its own root, printed without a connector, exactly like Unix tree does for a single root, extended here to support several parallel roots in one diagram.

Why does the vertical │ line appear under some branches but not others?

│ appears in a column only when that ancestor still has more siblings coming later in the list, it visually continues the connection down to the next sibling. Once an ancestor's last sibling has been drawn, that column switches to blank spaces instead.

ASCII Tree Drawer - Indented List to Directory Tree Diagram

Overview

Introduction

The Unix `tree` command's box-drawing output is instantly recognizable, but you don't need a real filesystem to get that look, just a plain indented list of names.

This tool takes a simple indented list and lays it out with the same ├──, └──, and │ connectors, so you can drop a readable directory-style diagram into a README or plain-text doc.

What Is ASCII Tree Drawer?

A renderer that parses 2-space or tab indentation into a nesting depth per line, then draws the classic tree connector characters based on each item's depth and whether it's the last item at its level.

It works on any hierarchical list, not just file paths, headings, org charts, or category trees all render the same way.

How ASCII Tree Drawer Works

Each line's leading whitespace is counted in units of either one tab or two spaces to determine its nesting depth, then the remaining text is trimmed and kept as the item's label.

For every item, the tool checks whether any later item shares its depth before a shallower item appears; if not, it's the last sibling and gets a └── connector, otherwise it gets ├──, with │ columns added for ancestor levels that still have siblings pending.

When To Use ASCII Tree Drawer

Use it to sketch a directory structure, org chart, or category hierarchy as readable plain text for documentation or a code comment.

It's also useful for visually double-checking a nested outline's structure before publishing it somewhere that can't render real indentation, like a plain-text chat message.

Often used alongside ASCII Table Creator and ASCII Art Generator.

Features

Advantages

Matches the visual style of the real Unix tree command exactly, instantly recognizable to anyone who's used a terminal.
Supports multiple parallel root items, not just a single top-level root.
Clear, line-specific error messages when indentation skips a level rather than silently misrendering.

Limitations

Indentation must increase by exactly one level at a time; you can't jump from a root directly to a grandchild in one line.
Treats every un-indented line as a separate root rather than requiring (or assuming) a single top-level root like the real tree command does.

Examples

A simple project layout

Input

Project
  src
    index.js
    utils.js
  README.md

Output

Project
├── src
│   ├── index.js
│   └── utils.js
└── README.md

src and README.md are both direct children of Project; index.js and utils.js nest one level deeper under src, with │ continuing past index.js since utils.js follows it.

Tab-indented list

Input

Root
	Child1
	Child2

Output

Root
├── Child1
└── Child2

A single tab per line is treated the same as two spaces, one nesting level under Root.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Stay consistent with either tabs or two-space indentation within a single list to avoid confusing depth calculations.
Keep item labels short; long labels still render correctly but make the diagram harder to scan at a glance.

Developer Notes

Depth is computed per line by counting leading tab or 2-space units before falling back to treating the rest as trimmed label text; sibling/last-sibling status is determined by scanning forward for the next item at the same or shallower depth, the same core algorithm the real `tree` command and most tree-pretty-printers use.

ASCII Tree Drawer Use Cases

Documenting a planned directory or file structure in a README before creating the actual files
Sketching an org chart or category hierarchy as portable plain text
Visualizing a nested outline's structure to catch indentation mistakes before publishing

Common Mistakes

Skipping an indent level (e.g. going straight from 0 to 2 levels deep on one line), which is rejected rather than guessed at.
Mixing tabs and spaces inconsistently within the same line, which can produce an unexpected depth for that line.

Tips

If a diagram looks wrong, check for a stray extra space or tab on the offending line, indentation errors are the most common cause of unexpected connectors.
Use the ASCII Data Table Creator instead if your data is tabular (rows and columns) rather than hierarchical.

ASCII Tree Drawer