Import/export tool

A standalone command-line tool for unpacking .twinproj and .twinpack files to a directory tree, and for repacking a directory tree back into a binary project file. Useful for inspecting package contents, batch-editing source files outside the IDE, or integrating twinBASIC projects into version-control workflows.

Warning

There is no official support for reading or writing project files outside of the twinBASIC executable. This tool may break when the IDE is updated.

Two functionally identical, single-file implementations are provided – pick whichever runtime you already have installed:

Runtime Download
Node.js 18+ impexp.mjs
Python 3.6+ impexp.py

Neither script has any external dependencies.

Usage 

impexp import <file.twinproj|.twinpack> [output_dir]
impexp export <input_dir> <output.twinproj|.twinpack>
impexp --self-test

Import (unpack)

Reads a .twinproj or .twinpack binary and extracts its contents to a directory on disk. If output_dir is omitted, a directory named after the project root entry is created in the current working directory.

node impexp.mjs import MyPackage.twinpack

python impexp.py import MyProject.twinproj unpacked/

Export (pack)

Scans a directory tree and writes a .twinproj or .twinpack binary. The directory name becomes the root entry name in the output file. Well-known directory and file names (Sources, Resources, Settings, etc.) are tagged with the correct category values automatically.

node impexp.mjs export unpacked/ MyProject.twinproj

python impexp.py export unpacked/ MyPackage.twinpack

Self-test

Both implementations include a built-in test suite that exercises parsing, serialization, and full round-trip fidelity.

node impexp.mjs --self-test
python impexp.py --self-test

Round-trip notes

Importing and re-exporting a binary file preserves all file contents byte-for-byte. The following metadata fields are reset to defaults on a disk round-trip (they are not stored on the filesystem):

  • revision counter – directories get 0x0000; files get 0x0002.
  • flags – always written as zero (no flags set).
  • Revision trailer entries – always written as zero.
  • Entry order – directories first, then files, sorted alphabetically within each group.

The IDE regenerates these fields when the project is opened, so the round-tripped file is fully functional.

See also