Configure ignore patterns in GrepAI. Use this skill when excluding files and directories from indexing.

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: 1. .grepai/config.yaml Custom patterns you define 2. .gitignore Automatically respected Configuration Location Pattern Syntax Directory Patterns 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 1. Start with defaults: Add patterns as needed 2. Exclude dependencies: Always ignore node modules , vendor , etc. 3. Exclude build outputs: dist , build , target 4. Exclude lock files: Large, not useful for search 5. Consider boosting vs ignoring: Penalize instead of exclude for test files 6. Quote special characters: " .min.js" not .min.js Re indexing After Changes After modifying ignore patterns: Output Format After configuring ignore patterns:

grepai-ignore-patterns