# Show HN: Crespo – Tree-sitter AST blueprints instead of raw code for LLMs > Source: > Published: 2026-06-22 03:28:11+00:00 *Stop burning your context window on raw source files.Crespo extracts what matters — and compresses everything else.* ``` pip install crespo && crespo ./myproject ``` You paste a codebase into any LLM. It hits the context limit but you problem remains unfinished. You paste one file at a time. The AI loses the big picture. You give AI the full code. The AI reads 40,000 tokens linearly and still misses the architecture. **Crespo solves this differently.** Instead of concatenating raw files, Crespo uses **Tree-sitter AST parsing** to extract only the structural DNA of your repository — imports, classes, functions, module connections — and emits a compact XML blueprint. Same architectural understanding. A fraction of the tokens. ``` # Structure mode (default) crespo ./myproject # Summary mode — requires Groq key crespo ./myproject --mode summary --groq YOUR_KEY # Save your Groq key for future runs crespo --groq YOUR_KEY # Concat mode — full source, redacted crespo ./myproject --mode concat # Analyse a GitHub repo directly crespo --git https://github.com/user/repo # Custom output filename crespo ./myproject --output blueprint.xml your repo │ ▼ walker respects .gitignore · skips tests · skips build artifacts │ ▼ tree-sitter real AST parse · 10 languages · no regex │ ▼ extractor imports · classes · functions · structs · enums │ ▼ blueprint XML compact · structured · LLM-ready ``` No heuristics. No regex scraping. Real language grammars via Tree-sitter — the same parser used by GitHub, Neovim, and Zed. | Mode | What it produces | Best for | |---|---|---| `structure` | AST skeleton — imports, classes, functions | Architecture review, onboarding, LLM context | `summary` | Structure + AI one-line descriptions per file | Deeper codebase understanding | `concat` | Full source, secrets redacted, in structured XML | Passing entire repos to LLMs safely | Python · JavaScript · TypeScript · JSX · TSX · Rust · Go · Java · C · C++ ``` cv2,mediapipe,numpy,PyQt6,fitz,groq,markdown PyQt6,fitz,render,summarise,gesture,markdown mediapipe,cv2,numpy ``` Tested on real open-source repositories. Structure accuracy evaluated by asking an LLM three questions from the blueprint alone — no access to the original source. | Repo | Components & connections | Dependencies | Entry point | Score | |---|---|---|---|---| | Axios | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 3/3 | | Express | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 3/3 | | Kara | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 3/3 | | Moodilist | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 3/3 | | Requests | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 2/3 | | | Urai | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 2/3 | | | FastAPI | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 2/3 | | | Flask | ✅ correct and specific | ✅ correct and specific | 2/3 | | Average | 2.75 / 3 | | Repo | Raw tokens | Blueprint tokens | Reduction | |---|---|---|---| | Kara | ~4,667 | ~934 | ~80% | | Moodilist | ~8,580 | ~1,396 | ~84% | | Axios | ~61,494 | ~6,989 | ~89% | | Express | ~17,222 | ~707 | ~96% | | FastAPI | ~145,606 | ~124,993 | ~14% | | Flask | ~77,402 | ~13,848 | ~82% | | Requests | ~49,556 | ~9,585 | ~81% | | Urai | ~ 17,418 | ~2,304 | ~87% | Average | ~86% | FastAPI (14% reduction) excluded from average — as a framework repo its structure IS the content. Crespo correctly preserves it rather than discarding it. Framework-heavy repos compress slightly less because the preserved structure is genuinely useful — there is less noise to discard. Token Counting is done using `tiktoken` python library. **Compression Depends on Repo Type** Crespo redacts secrets before writing any output. Patterns covered: - Quoted assignments — `api_key = "..."` ,`token: '...'` - Raw `.env` style —`GROQ_KEY=abc123` - Known key prefixes — Groq ( `gsk_` ), OpenAI (`sk-` ), Anthropic (`sk-ant-` ), GitHub (`ghp_` ), AWS (`AKIA` ), Slack (`xox` ) Summary mode uses [Groq](https://console.groq.com) to generate one-line descriptions per file and function. The free tier is more than enough. ``` # pass once — saved to ~/.crespo/config crespo --groq YOUR_KEY # all future summary runs pick it up automatically crespo ./myproject --mode summary ``` Your key is stored locally at `~/.crespo/config` and never sent anywhere except Groq's API. - Something for Humans coming soon! - More aggressive compression preset - More language support (Ruby, PHP, Swift, Kotlin) `.crespoignore` support This usually means Crespo was installed successfully, but the executable isn't on your system `PATH` . **Verify installation** ``` python -m pip show crespo ``` If Crespo appears in the output but the `crespo` command still isn't recognized, it's a `PATH` issue — follow the steps below for your OS. **Windows** Add your Python `Scripts` directory to `PATH` (typically): ``` C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python3x\Scripts ``` Restart your terminal afterwards. **macOS / Linux** Find your user scripts directory: ``` python3 -m site --user-base ``` Then add its `bin` folder to your shell configuration: ``` export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" ``` Restart your shell and try again. **Multiple Python installations** If you have multiple Python versions installed, make sure installation and execution use the same interpreter. Check which `python` /`pip` you're actually using: ``` where python # Windows which -a python3 # macOS / Linux ``` Reinstall using that same interpreter explicitly if needed: ``` python -m pip install --force-reinstall crespo ``` **Recommended: use pipx** For CLI tools, `pipx` avoids most PATH-related issues entirely: ``` pipx install crespo crespo ./myproject ``` Contributions are welcome. If you have ideas for new output modes, better parsing, or additional language support, open an issue or PR. MIT © [Hrudul Krishna K V](https://github.com/hrudulmmn)