grepai-ignore-patterns

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)
  -

File Patterns

Path Patterns

Glob Patterns

Default Ignore Patterns

GrepAI's default configuration includes:

Common Ignore Configurations

JavaScript/TypeScript Project

Go Project

Python Project

Rust Project

Java/Kotlin Project

Monorepo

Excluding Test Files

To focus search on production code:

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

Excluding Generated Code

Excluding Documentation

Verifying Ignore Patterns

Check what's being indexed:

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:

❌ 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:

Output Format

After configuring ignore patterns: