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.