I Got Tired of AI Files Messing Up My Repos — So I Built This CLI

Source: Dev.to

The Problem

When using AI tools while coding, many projects accumulate a variety of temporary or AI‑generated files:

notes.md
final-notes.md
prompt-final-final.md
temp.md

These files can be useful, but they don’t belong in the repository. Ignoring them makes the repo messy, and committing them clutters the history. The result is either a noisy repository or lost useful notes.

Introducing ccv (Claude Code Vault)

ccv is a small CLI that stores all private, AI‑related files in a single vault outside the repository.

• Repository‑free storage: ~/.ccv/
• Project‑specific subfolders: ~/.ccv/projects/<project-name>/
• Transparent access via symlinks inside the project

Example Layout

.project-docs/notes.md → ~/.ccv/projects/my-project/notes.md

Features

• Separate storage for AI‑generated notes, prompt collections, debugging experiments, architecture drafts, etc.
• Keeps the repository clean while retaining all useful files.
• Works across multiple projects.
• Files remain local and are still version‑controlled with Git if desired.
• Simple command set:

# Initialize a vault for the current project
ccv init

# Add a file to the vault (creates a symlink in the project)
ccv add notes.md

# Push changes to the vault (optional sync step)
ccv push

Why It Helps

• Eliminates a constant annoyance in the workflow.
• Provides a clean separation between actual code and auxiliary AI files.
• Allows AI tools (Claude or others) to read the files without them being part of the repo.

Get Started

• Repository:
• Free to use.

If the tool saves you time or improves your workflow, consider supporting the author:

Nothing fancy—just a practical way to keep your daily workflow cleaner.