GrepAI Ignore Patterns

This skill covers how to configure ignore patterns to exclude files and directories from GrepAI indexing.

When to Use This Skill

• Excluding test files from search results

• Ignoring generated or vendored code

• Reducing index size by excluding unnecessary files

• Customizing which files GrepAI indexes

How Ignore Patterns Work

GrepAI uses two sources for ignore patterns:

• **.grepai/config.yaml** - Custom patterns you define

• **.gitignore** - Automatically respected

Configuration Location

# .grepai/config.yaml

ignore:

  - pattern1

  - pattern2

Pattern Syntax

Directory Patterns

ignore:

  # Exact directory name (matches anywhere)

  - node_modules

  - vendor

  - __pycache__

  # With trailing slash (explicit directory)

  - dist/

  - build/

  - coverage/

File Patterns

ignore:

  # Exact filename

  - package-lock.json

  - yarn.lock

  # Wildcard patterns

  - "*.min.js"

  - "*.min.css"

  - "*.map"

  - "*.lock"

Path Patterns

ignore:

  # Paths containing substring

  - /tests/

  - /spec/

  - /__tests__/

  # Specific paths

  - src/generated/

  - api/swagger/

Glob Patterns

ignore:

  # Double star (recursive)

  - "**/test/**"

  - "**/mock/**"

  # Single star (single level)

  - "*.test.js"

  - "*.spec.ts"

  - "*_test.go"

Default Ignore Patterns

GrepAI's default configuration includes:

ignore:

  # Version control

  - .git

  - .svn

  - .hg

  # GrepAI itself

  - .grepai

  # Package managers

  - node_modules

  - vendor

  - .npm

  - .yarn

  # Build outputs

  - target

  - dist

  - build

  - out

  # Cache directories

  - __pycache__

  - .pytest_cache

  - .mypy_cache

  - .cache

  # Framework outputs

  - .next

  - .nuxt

  - .output

Common Ignore Configurations

JavaScript/TypeScript Project

ignore:

  - node_modules

  - dist

  - build

  - coverage

  - .nyc_output

  - "*.min.js"

  - "*.bundle.js"

  - "*.map"

  - package-lock.json

  - yarn.lock

  - pnpm-lock.yaml

Go Project

ignore:

  - vendor

  - bin

  - "*.pb.go"       # Protobuf generated

  - "*_mock.go"     # Mocks

  - "mocks/"

  - go.sum

Python Project

ignore:

  - __pycache__

  - .pytest_cache

  - .mypy_cache

  - .venv

  - venv

  - env

  - "*.pyc"

  - "*.pyo"

  - .eggs

  - "*.egg-info"

  - dist

  - build

Rust Project

ignore:

  - target

  - Cargo.lock

  - "*.rlib"

Java/Kotlin Project

ignore:

  - target

  - build

  - .gradle

  - "*.class"

  - "*.jar"

  - "*.war"

Monorepo

ignore:

  # Common

  - node_modules

  - dist

  - build

  - coverage

  # Specific packages to exclude

  - packages/legacy/

  - packages/deprecated/

  # Generated

  - "**/generated/**"

  - "**/__generated__/**"

Excluding Test Files

To focus search on production code:

ignore:

  # Test directories

  - tests/

  - test/

  - __tests__/

  - spec/

  # Test files by pattern

  - "*.test.js"

  - "*.test.ts"

  - "*.spec.js"

  - "*.spec.ts"

  - "*_test.go"

  - "test_*.py"

  - "*_test.py"

Alternative: Use search boosting instead to penalize (not exclude) tests:

search:

  boost:

    penalties:

      - pattern: /tests/

        factor: 0.5

      - pattern: _test.

        factor: 0.5

Excluding Generated Code

ignore:

  # Generated markers

  - "**/generated/**"

  - "*.generated.*"

  - "*.gen.*"

  # Specific generators

  - "*.pb.go"           # Protobuf

  - "*.graphql.ts"      # GraphQL codegen

  - "*.d.ts"            # TypeScript declarations

  - "swagger_*.go"      # Swagger

  - "openapi_*.ts"      # OpenAPI

Excluding Documentation

ignore:

  - docs/

  - documentation/

  - "*.md"

  - "*.mdx"

  - "*.rst"

Verifying Ignore Patterns

Check what's being indexed:

# Check index status

grepai status

# Output shows file count

# If too high, add more ignore patterns

Common Issues

❌ Problem: Index is too large

✅ Solution: Add more ignore patterns for dependencies and generated files

❌ Problem: Search returns vendor/test code

✅ Solution: Either ignore or use boosting penalties

❌ Problem: Pattern not working

✅ Solution: Check syntax - use quotes for patterns with special characters:

ignore:

  - "*.min.js"  # Correct

  - *.min.js    # May cause YAML parsing issues

❌ Problem: Need to include previously ignored files

✅ Solution: Remove from ignore list and re-run grepai watch

Best Practices

• Start with defaults: Add patterns as needed

• Exclude dependencies: Always ignore node_modules, vendor, etc.

• Exclude build outputs: dist, build, target

• Exclude lock files: Large, not useful for search

• Consider boosting vs ignoring: Penalize instead of exclude for test files

• Quote special characters: "*.min.js" not *.min.js

Re-indexing After Changes

After modifying ignore patterns:

# Stop existing daemon

grepai watch --stop

# Clear index and restart

rm .grepai/index.gob

grepai watch

Output Format

After configuring ignore patterns:

✅ Ignore Patterns Configured

   Patterns: 15 configured

   Categories:

   - Directories: node_modules, vendor, dist, build

   - File types: *.min.js, *.map, *.lock

   - Paths: /tests/, /docs/

   Also respecting: .gitignore

   Run 'grepai watch' to re-index with new patterns.