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Remove Comments CLI

A powerful command-line tool to remove comments from your code files while preserving important documentation comments.

Features​

  • Removes single-line and multi-line comments from code files
  • Preserves important documentation comments (marked with //! or /*!)
  • Supports multiple programming languages
  • Handles nested comments and edge cases
  • Preserves code formatting and structure

Installation​

You can install the package globally using npm:

npm install -g remove-comments-cli

Or use it directly with npx:

npx remove-comments-cli [options] <file>

Quick Start​

  1. Install the package globally:

    npm install -g remove-comments-cli

  2. Run it on a file:

    npx remove-comments file.js -o cleaned/

  3. Run it on a file (Output on Terminal):

    remove-comments file.js

  4. Or use it with multiple files:

    remove-comments src/**/*.ts

For more detailed usage instructions and options, check out the Usage guide.

Basic Usage​

Remove all comments from a file:

npx remove-comments input.ts > output.ts

Process multiple files using glob patterns:

npx remove-comments "src/**/*.{js,ts}" --outDir dist

Preserving Important Comments​

By default, comments starting with ! are preserved:

// This comment will be removed
//! This important comment will be preserved
/* This block comment will be removed */
/*! This important block comment will be preserved */

You can specify custom markers to preserve different types of comments:

# Preserve comments starting with # or *
npx remove-comments "src/**/*.ts" -k "#*" --outDir dist

Command Line Options​

npx remove-comments --help

Options:
  -k, --keep-markers <chars>  Characters that mark comments to preserve (default: "!")
  -o, --outDir <dir>         Output directory for processed files
  -v, --verbose             Print detailed processing information
  -h, --help                Display help information

Examples​

Process TypeScript Files​

Process all TypeScript files in the src directory and preserve comments starting with ! or #:

npx remove-comments "src/**/*.ts" -k "!#" --outDir dist

Process JSX/TSX Files​

Process React component files and preserve comments starting with *:

npx remove-comments "src/**/*.{jsx,tsx}" -k "*" --outDir dist

Process Single File​

Process a single file and output to stdout:

npx remove-comments input.js > output.js

Verbose Output​

Process files with detailed logging:

npx remove-comments "src/**/*.{js,ts}" -k "!" -o dist -v

Exit Codes​

The CLI uses the following exit codes:

  • 0: Success - all files processed successfully
  • 1: Fatal error - no files found or initialization failed
  • 2: Partial success - some files had errors but others were processed