Show HN: Pixrep – Turn code repositories into PDFs for multimodal LLMs (github.com)

Pixrep has launched as a developer tool that transforms large code repositories into structured PDF formats, optimizing how data is processed by Multimodal Large Language Models (LLMs). Unlike traditional text tokenization, which often results in inefficient and cluttered inputs, Pixrep allows for a significant reduction in context window usage—up to 90% fewer tokens—by rendering code visually with syntax highlighting and heatmaps. This advancement is crucial as it not only streamlines input for sophisticated models like Claude Opus 4.6 on platforms like arena.ai but also maintains or improves performance, as evidenced by recent research validating the efficacy of visual encoding over text. The tool's capabilities include auto-generating UML/call graph summaries, and integrating linting insights, making it more intuitive for developers. It supports over 50 programming languages and offers customizable options for processing repositories, such as filtering based on .gitignore patterns. With features designed to enhance both accessibility and functionality, Pixrep marks a notable shift towards utilizing "visual perception" for code handling in the burgeoning era of multimodal AI, promising to improve the efficiency and performance of machine learning applications.