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Aguara provides multiple ways to exclude files from scanning: a .aguaraignore file, the ignore field in .aguara.yml, and automatic exclusions for common directories.

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.aguaraignore File

Create a .aguaraignore file in your scan root directory to specify patterns for files that should be skipped. The syntax follows gitignore conventions.

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Example .aguaraignore

.aguaraignore
# Dependencies
vendor/
node_modules/
.venv/
__pycache__/

# Build artifacts
dist/
build/
bin/
*.exe
*.dll
*.so

# IDE and editor
.idea/
.vscode/
*.swp
*.swo

# Logs and temp
*.log
tmp/
temp/

# Test coverage
coverage/
*.cover

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Pattern Syntax

.aguaraignore supports glob patterns:
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*
pattern
Matches any characters except / (directory separator)
*.log        # Matches: debug.log, error.log
test*.md     # Matches: test.md, test-cases.md
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?
pattern
Matches exactly one character
test?.md     # Matches: test1.md, testA.md
             # Does NOT match: test10.md
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[...]
pattern
Matches any character in the brackets
test[0-9].md       # Matches: test0.md, test5.md
file[abc].txt      # Matches: filea.txt, fileb.txt
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**/
pattern
Matches directories at any depth (recursive glob)
vendor/**          # Matches anything under vendor/ at any depth
**/node_modules/   # Matches node_modules/ anywhere in tree
**/*.log           # Matches all .log files at any depth
src/**/test.md     # Matches test.md anywhere under src/

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Comments

Lines starting with # are treated as comments and ignored: 
# This is a comment
vendor/

# Another comment
*.log
Blank lines are ignored.

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Config File Ignore Patterns

You can also specify ignore patterns in .aguara.yml:
.aguara.yml
ignore:
  - "vendor/**"
  - "node_modules/**"
  - "*.log"
  - ".git/"
Patterns from both .aguaraignore and the config file are combined. This is useful when:
  • Your team shares .aguaraignore but you want personal overrides in .aguara.yml
  • You’re scanning multiple projects with different ignore rules
Always quote patterns in YAML to prevent parsing issues, especially when using wildcards.

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Automatic Exclusions

Aguara automatically skips these directories and file types without configuration:

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Always-Excluded Directories

  • .git/ - Git repository metadata
  • node_modules/ - Node.js dependencies
  • .aguara/ - Aguara state files

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Always-Excluded File Extensions

Binary and media files are automatically skipped: Executables & Libraries:
  • .exe, .dll, .so, .dylib, .o, .a
Images:
  • .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .ico, .svg
Fonts:
  • .woff, .woff2, .ttf, .eot
Archives:
  • .zip, .tar, .gz, .bz2, .xz, .7z
Media & Documents:
  • .pdf, .mp3, .mp4, .avi, .mov, .bin
You cannot override automatic exclusions. If you need to scan binary files, you must extract or decode them first.

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Pattern Matching Examples

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Match Specific Directories

# Match vendor/ at project root only
vendor/

# Match node_modules/ anywhere in project
**/node_modules/

# Match all __pycache__ directories
**/__pycache__/

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Match File Types

# All .log files anywhere
**/*.log

# All .log files in root only
*.log

# All .pyc files under src/
src/**/*.pyc

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Match Test Files

# All files starting with "test"
test*

# All files ending with "_test.md"
**/*_test.md

# All files in any "test" or "tests" directory
**/test/**
**/tests/**

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Combined Patterns

# Python virtual environments and cache
.venv/
__pycache__/
**/*.pyc
**/*.pyo

# Node.js
node_modules/
*.log
npm-debug.log*

# Build outputs
dist/
build/
out/
*.egg-info/

# IDE files
.idea/
.vscode/
*.swp

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File Size Limits

In addition to ignore patterns, Aguara skips files exceeding the maximum file size (default: 50 MB). Configure in .aguara.yml:
.aguara.yml
max_file_size: 104857600  # 100 MB in bytes
Or via CLI flag: 
aguara scan . --max-file-size 100MB
Allowed range: 1 MB to 500 MB
Large files are silently skipped. Check scan output to see how many files were scanned vs. discovered.

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Precedence

When Aguara decides whether to scan a file, it checks in this order:
  1. Automatic exclusions - Is it .git/, node_modules/, or a binary extension?
  2. File size - Does it exceed max_file_size?
  3. Ignore patterns - Does it match .aguaraignore or config ignore patterns?
If any check matches, the file is skipped.

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Debugging Ignore Patterns

To verify which files are being scanned:
  1. Check the scan summary: 
    aguara scan .
# Output shows: "Scanned 42 files in 1.2s"
  2. Use --format json to see exact file list: 
    aguara scan . --format json | jq '.findings[].file_path'
  3. Test pattern matching: 
    # If unsure whether a pattern matches, add it temporarily
# and check if scan results change
echo "suspicious-file.md" >> .aguaraignore
aguara scan .

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Creating .aguaraignore

Generate a default .aguaraignore file: 
aguara init
This creates .aguaraignore with common patterns for dependencies, build artifacts, IDE files, and logs.

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