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File Filtering

Default Filters​

promptext comes with intelligent default filters to exclude common non-source files and automatically detects binary files. These default filters can be controlled using the UseDefaultRules option in configuration.

Configuring Default Rules​

By default, promptext applies a set of standard filtering rules that exclude common non-source files and directories. You can control this behavior in two ways:

  1. Via configuration file:
# .promptext.yml
use-default-rules: true  # Enable default filtering rules (default)
use-default-rules: false # Process all files except explicitly excluded ones
  1. Via command line:
promptext -u=false  # Disable default rules, only use explicit excludes
promptext --use-default-rules=false  # Same as above, long form

When default rules are disabled:

  • Common directories (node_modules, vendor, etc.) will not be automatically excluded
  • Binary file detection remains active for safety
  • Your explicit excludes (via -x flag or config file) still apply
  • GitIgnore patterns (if enabled) still apply

This is useful when you need to:

  • Process files in typically excluded directories
  • Analyze dependencies or vendor code
  • Create a custom set of exclusion rules from scratch

Ignored Directories and Files​

  • System files: .DS_Store

  • Version Control:

    • .git/, .git*
    • .svn/
    • .hg/

  • Dependencies and Packages:

    • node_modules/
    • vendor/
    • bower_components/
    • jspm_packages/

  • IDE and Editor:

    • .idea/
    • .vscode/
    • .vs/
    • *.sublime-*

  • Build and Output:

    • dist/
    • build/
    • out/
    • bin/
    • target/

  • Cache Directories:

    • __pycache__/
    • .pytest_cache/
    • .sass-cache/
    • .npm/
    • .yarn/

  • Test Coverage:

    • coverage/
    • .nyc_output/

  • Infrastructure:

    • .terraform/
    • .vagrant/

  • Logs and Temp:

    • logs/
    • *.log
    • tmp/
    • temp/

Binary File Detection​

promptext automatically detects and excludes binary files using a sophisticated detection mechanism:

  1. Null Byte Detection: Files are scanned for null bytes (0x00) in their first 512 bytes, which typically indicates binary content.
  2. UTF-8 Validation: Files are validated for proper UTF-8 encoding. If a file cannot be read as valid UTF-8 text, it's considered binary.

This approach means you don't need to manually specify binary file extensions. The tool will automatically exclude:

  • Executables and libraries (e.g., .exe, .dll, .so)
  • Object files and compiled code
  • Images and media files
  • Archives and compressed files
  • Database files
  • And any other non-text content

Custom Filtering​

Pattern Matching Options​

promptext supports several pattern matching options in both configuration files and command-line arguments:

  1. Directory Patterns: Patterns ending with / match directories and their contents. These patterns are matched in two ways:

    excludes:
      - test/ # Matches both 'test/' and 'path/to/test/'
      - internal/tmp/ # Matches 'internal/tmp/' and 'path/internal/tmp/'

  2. Wildcard Patterns: Using * for flexible matching. The wildcard is matched against the base filename:

    excludes:
      - "*.generated.go" # Excludes files ending with .generated.go
      - ".aider*" # Excludes files starting with .aider

  3. Exact Matches: For specific files or paths. These can be matched in three ways:

    excludes:
      - "config.json" # Matches 'config.json' in any directory
      - "src/constants.go" # Matches exact path
      - "internal/" # Matches directory and all contents

Via Configuration File​

Create a .promptext.yml file in your project root:

excludes:
  - test/
  - "*.generated.go"
  - "internal/tmp/"
  - "docs/private/"

Via Command Line​

Use the -x or -exclude flag with comma-separated patterns:

promptext -x "test/,*.generated.go,internal/tmp/"

GitIgnore Integration​

promptext automatically respects your project's .gitignore patterns. This means any files or directories listed in your .gitignore file will also be excluded from processing. This feature can be disabled with:

promptext -gitignore=false

The tool merges patterns from multiple sources in this order:

  1. Default exclude patterns
  2. GitIgnore patterns (if enabled)
  3. Custom exclude patterns from config file or command line

All patterns are deduplicated to ensure efficient processing.