treemd

Markdown document analysis and navigation using the treemd CLI. Use when exploring markdown structure (heading trees, section extraction), querying markdown elements via tql (treemd query language), or piping markdown content for programmatic analysis. Also use before reading or editing large markdown files to survey structure, locate relevant sections, and avoid loading entire documents into context.

treemd Skill

Skill for working with the treemd markdown viewer and query tool.

Overview

treemd is a Rust-based CLI for markdown document analysis. It handles two primary workflows:

1. Structural Navigation — Explore document hierarchy top-down
2. Query Navigation — Navigate by asking structured questions

For scripted/agent tasks, always use CLI mode. TUI mode is reserved for human interactive viewing.

Project: https://github.com/Epistates/treemd
Install: cargo install treemd or download binary from releases

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Line A: Structural Navigation

Use this when encountering an unfamiliar document. Progress from overview → locate → extract.

Step 1: Overview

Understand the document skeleton before diving in.

bash

treemd --tree FILE.md              # Visual tree with box-drawing characters
treemd --count FILE.md             # Heading count by level (h1–h6 breakdown + total)
treemd -l FILE.md | head -20       # Quick scan of all headings

Step 2: Locate

Pinpoint the sections relevant to your goal.

bash

treemd -l --filter "install" FILE.md        # Fuzzy heading search (case-insensitive)
treemd -l -L 2 --filter "API" FILE.md      # Narrow by heading level + keyword
treemd --at-line 150 FILE.md               # "Which heading covers line 150?"

Step 3: Extract

Pull entire sections or pipe content for downstream processing.

bash

treemd -s "Full Heading Text" FILE.md     # Extract heading + content (must match full heading text exactly)
cat FILE.md | treemd -s "Full Heading Text" -  # Pipe stdin, extract from stream

Important: -s requires the exact full heading text (including emoji and parentheses). Partial/fuzzy matches like treemd -s "Installation" will return Section 'Installation' not found. The -o flag has no effect in -s mode — output is always plain markdown.

Output Format Options

Attach -o to --list or --tree only (not -s):

• -o plain: Human-readable text (default)
• -o json: JSON array for scripting/parsing (works with --list and --tree)
• -o tree: Box-drawing tree structure (--tree only; using with --list returns an error)

For tql (-q) queries, use --query-output instead of -o. Available formats:

• --query-output plain: Human-readable text (default)
• --query-output json: Compact JSON
• --query-output json-pretty: Pretty-printed JSON
• --query-output jsonl: Line-delimited JSON
• --query-output md: Raw markdown rendering
• --query-output tree: Box-drawing tree structure

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Line B: Query Navigation

Use this when you already know what to look for. Jump directly to answers via the tql (treemd query language) — a jq-like markdown DOM traversal engine.

Element Selectors

Query syntax mirrors CSS/JQuery selectors operating on markdown AST:

bash

treemd -q '.h2' FILE.md                # All h2 headings
treemd -q '.code[rust]' FILE.md        # Rust code block elements
treemd -q '.link | url' FILE.md        # All link URLs (pipe extraction)
treemd -q '.h2 | text' FILE.md         # Strip markdown syntax, get plain text

Hierarchy & Filters

Navigate parent-child relationships and apply predicate filters:

bash

treemd -q '.h1[Features] > .h2' FILE.md           # Direct child h2 under "Features"
treemd -q '.h1 >> .code' FILE.md                  # Code blocks anywhere under h1
treemd -q '.h | select(contains("API"))' FILE.md  # Headings containing "API"
treemd -q '[.h2] | limit(5)' FILE.md              # First 5 h2 elements

Aggregation & Document Statistics

bash

treemd -q 'stats' FILE.md              # Document metrics (headings, links, code blocks)
treemd -q 'levels' FILE.md             # Heading count per level
treemd -q 'langs' FILE.md              # Code block language distribution
treemd -q '[.h2] | count' FILE.md      # Total h2 count

Note: Aggregation functions (stats, levels, langs, types) do not require . | prefix — use them directly as shown above.

tql Query Output Formats

Use --query-output for tql results:

bash

treemd -q '.h2 | text' --query-output json FILE.md      # Compact JSON
treemd -q '.h2 | text' --query-output json-pretty FILE.md # Pretty-printed JSON
treemd -q '.link' --query-output jsonl FILE.md          # Line-delimited JSON
treemd -q '.h2 | text' --query-output md FILE.md       # Markdown rendering
treemd -q '.h1' --query-output tree FILE.md              # Box-drawing tree

Full tql syntax reference: references/query-language.md.

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Stdin & Directory Input

bash

cat README.md | treemd -l -            # Read markdown from stdin
treemd ./docs/                         # File picker in directory
treemd *.md                            # Multi-file picker

TUI Mode

Reserved for human interactive sessions only. Not usable by agents.

bash

treemd FILE.md          # Launch dual-pane interactive viewer

Keybindings: vim-style (j/k for up/down, h/l for collapse/expand, / for search, q for quit).

Themes: --theme <OceanDark|Nord|Dracula|Solarized|Monokai|Gruvbox|TokyoNight|CatppuccinMocha>

Integration Patterns

Pattern: Extract Section for Analysis

bash

SECTION=$(treemd -s "Full Heading Text (with emoji)" README.md)  # Must use exact full heading

Pattern: Extract Heading Section Content (tql)

bash

treemd -q '.h1["API Reference"] | content' FILE.md   # Full section under heading

Pattern: Heading Tree as JSON

bash

treemd --tree -o json FILE.md | jq '.'

Pattern: Find Specific Headings

bash

# Structural line
treemd -l --filter "Config" FILE.md

# Query line (equivalent)
treemd -q '.h | select(contains("Config"))' FILE.md

Pattern: Document Statistics Pipeline

bash

treemd -q 'stats' --query-output json FILE.md | jq '.code_blocks'
treemd -q 'levels' --query-output json FILE.md | jq '.h1'

Note: Aggregation queries output plain text by default. Always add --query-output json when piping to jq.

Error Handling

• Missing section: treemd -s "NonExistent" FILE.md exits with code 1 and prints Section 'NonExistent' not found to stderr. Check for non-zero exit code to detect missing sections.
• Invalid tql syntax: Exits with a non-zero code and an error message on stderr.
• Unsupported --query-output value: Exits with error "Unknown output format" — use supported values only (plain, json, json-pretty, jsonl, md, tree).

Notes

• File picker filters to .md / .markdown extensions only
• tql supports element selectors, hierarchy operators (>, >>), pipes (|), and collection/string/filter/aggregation functions
• JSON output is compatible with jq pipelines
• Run treemd --query-help for the complete built-in tql reference (same content as references/query-language.md)