# ZigZag: The missing tool for working with LLM driven workflows

> Source: <https://zagforge.com/blogs/zigzag-the-missing-tool-for-working-with-llm-driven-workflows/>
> Published: 2026-07-14 00:23:35+00:00

## Introduction / Motivation

**We've all done it. **You open five different files, copy chunks of code into ChatGPT, and ask *"Can you figure out what's wrong with this?" . *The problem isn't the AI - it's that it doesn't have the context of your codebase. **ZigZag **fixes that automatically. Run `zigzag run --llm-report`

in your terminal and it recursively scans your project, skips the noise (`node_modules`

, `.git`

, binaries, lockfiles), and condenses everything into a single token-efficient Markdown file you can hand to any LLM.

## Why ZigZag when tools like Claude Code and CodeX exist?

Because ZigZag isn't an AI assistant; it's the middleman that sits between. It takes a sprawling codebase and turns it into a single (or chunked) token-efficient Markdown file. Where that file goes is up to you: ChatGPT's free tier, Gemini, DeepSeek, a local model, or the Claude Code subscription you already pay for. No API keys. No GPU. No monthly bill. Just a binary that reads your project and hands you the context.

## Features

**LLM report**(`--llm-report`

) — condensed, token-efficient output with per-file condensation + chunking via`--chunk-size`

.

**Binary file detection**— Ignores reading binary files automatically.** Auto-skipped directories**—`node_modules`

,`.git`

,`.turbo`

,`.nx`

,`.parcel-cache`

, etc.**Watch mode**— OS-level fs events (inotify/kqueue/ReadDirectoryChangesW), 50ms debounce** HTML dashboard**(`--html`

) — charts, virtual-scroll source viewer, syntax highlighting, live-reload**JSON output**(`--json`

) — machine-readable report**JSON config**(`zig.conf.json`

) for project-level defaults**Timezone-aware timestamps****Phase progress + rich summary**— scan/aggregate/write indicators, machine info, timings`bench`

**subcommand**— per-phase timing table

**Installation / Getting Started**

ZigZag is built on **Zig version 0.15.2**, but plans to upgrade to **0.16.0** are in the works.

**Building from source**

```
git clone https://github.com/LegationPro/zigzag.git
cd zigzag
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast
```

The executable will be available at: **zig-out/bin/zigzag**

**Basic Usage**

The recommended workflow is config-first:

```
zigzag init                    # create zig.conf.json with sane defaults
zigzag run                     # scan using the config
zigzag run --llm-report        # ...and emit a token-efficient LLM report
```

Prefer flags? Skip the subcommand and pass everything inline:

```
zigzag --help
zigzag --paths ./src,./docs --ignores ".git,node_modules,*.test.zig" --timezone "-5"
```

Common combinations:

```
zigzag run --watch --html --open       # live dashboard in your browser
zigzag run --llm-report --chunk-size 500k   # split large codebases into chunks
zigzag bench                            # per-phase timing table
```

Without a subcommand, ZigZag ignores

`zig.conf.json`

and uses CLI flags only. With`run`

, the config is the base and flags override it.

**Why Zig?**

Zig may not be a stable programming language, but it's already being adopted in large codebases such as:

**Ghostty****– a GPU-accelerated terminal**[TigerBeetle](https://tigerbeetle.com/)– a high-performance financial transactional database

Zig also excels at:

**Manual memory control**— explicit allocators, no hidden allocations, no GC pauses** First-class C interop**— import C headers directly with`@cImport`

; no bindings, no FFI layer**Comptime**— compile-time code execution replaces macros, generics, and templates with plain Zig** A build system that's just Zig**—`build.zig`

is a program, not a DSL**Cross-compilation out of the box**— target any platform from any platform, no toolchain wrangling

**Thank You for Reading! **

Thank you for taking the time to read this article! I hope it gave you a clear idea of how **ZigZag** can simplify working with your codebase and enhance your AI-assisted development workflow.

If you’d like to try it out, contribute, or share feedback, check out the repository: [GitHub - Zagforge-Org/zigzag](https://github.com/Zagforge-Org/zigzag)

Happy coding! 🚀