How is the tree shaped?

The root sits at level one. Each non-leaf node gets a random number of children between one and your maximum branching factor, recursing until it reaches the chosen depth, where nodes become leaves. So depth controls height and branching controls width.

What is the difference between the two styles?

File-explorer style produces folder nodes with a children array and file leaves with a name and extension, mixing files into intermediate levels. Abstract style produces plain numbered nodes with a children array, useful for generic tree-visualization testing.

Why does the node count change when I regenerate?

Branching is randomized up to your maximum, so each generation picks a different number of children per node. The depth ceiling is fixed, but the total node count varies. The live count shows exactly how many nodes the current tree has.

Can I use the output with D3 or a tree component?

Yes. The JSON uses the conventional name plus children shape that D3 hierarchy, most tree-view components and file-explorer demos expect, so it loads without transformation.

Is anything sent to a server?

No. The tree is built locally in your browser from a seeded random generator. Nothing is uploaded, and the same settings reproduce the same tree.

Tree Structure Data Generator

Nested data for trees and file explorers

The Tree Structure Data Generator builds hierarchical JSON — the name/children shape used by D3 hierarchies, tree-view components and file-explorer demos. Set the depth and branching factor and it produces either a realistic folder-and-file structure or a generic node tree, with a copyable ASCII preview alongside the JSON.

How it works

The generator recurses from a root at level one. At each level it decides whether the current node is a leaf: if the level has reached your depth limit it becomes a leaf, otherwise it gets between one and your maximum branching factor children, and the function recurses one level deeper for each. A seeded pseudo-random source drives every choice so the same settings reproduce the same tree, while Regenerate advances the seed.

In file-explorer mode, non-leaf nodes are folders carrying a children array and a type of folder, leaves are files with a generated name and extension, and intermediate levels mix in some files so the structure looks realistic. In abstract mode every node is a generic numbered node with an optional children array. The ASCII preview walks the same tree to draw the familiar branch connectors, and a separate pass counts every node so you can see the total size at a glance.

Tips and example

Keep depth at three or four and branching at two or three for a tree that stays readable in a visualization.
Raise branching for wide, shallow trees (good for dashboards) or raise depth for narrow, deep trees (good for nested-data tests).
The ASCII preview is handy for pasting a sample structure straight into documentation or a README.
Because the shape is name plus children, you can pass the JSON directly to d3.hierarchy() without remapping fields.