A minimalist but powerful Bash/Zsh alias that quickly copies the content of files or directories (Python, MDC, Shell scripts) directly to your clipboard with file headers for easy pasting into editors or ChatGPT prompts. Perfect when you need a fast and straightforward solution without installing any additional packages or dependencies.

cc-clipboard-alias.sh

# cc: pbcopy on steroids for file or directory
function cc() {
  local target="$1"

  if [[ -z "$target" ]]; then
    echo "Usage: cc <file-or-directory>"
    return 1
  fi

  # Resolve to absolute path
  local abs_path
  abs_path=$(realpath "$target" 2>/dev/null) || {
    echo "Invalid path: $target"
    return 1
  }

  # Check if it's a regular file
  if [[ -f "$abs_path" ]]; then
    {
      echo "### File: $abs_path"
      cat "$abs_path"
    } | pbcopy
    echo "Copied file '$abs_path' to clipboard."
    return 0
  fi

  # Check if it's a directory
  if [[ -d "$abs_path" ]]; then
    local output=""
    while IFS= read -r -d '' file; do
      output+="### File: $(realpath "$file")"$'\n'
      output+="$(cat "$file")"$'\n\n'
    done < <(find "$abs_path" -type f \( -name "*.py" -o -name "*.mdc" -o -name "*.sh" \) ! -name "__init__.py" -print0 | sort -z)

    print -rn -- "$output" | pbcopy
    echo "Copied content from directory '$abs_path' to clipboard."
    return 0
  fi

  echo "Error: '$target' is neither a file nor a directory."
  return 1
}

1. Add the function to your shell config file (~/.zshrc)
2. Reload it ( source ~/.zshrc)
3. Copy a single file: cc example.py
4. Copy all files recursively from a directory: cc src/
5. Paste it ( cmd+v)
6. The alias handles .py, .sh, and .mdc files recursively, excluding init.py files (add more extension as you like)

### File: /Users/username/my_scripts/setup.py
# setup.py content

def setup():
    print("Setting up...")

### File: /Users/username/my_scripts/util/run.sh
#!/bin/bash
echo "Running script"