This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Hitesh Sachdeva
Introduction
This feature was inspired by Repomix, a repository analysis tool that allows users to examine their codebases with various built-in features, including file exclusion based on .gitignore files. Repomix demonstrated how powerful this feature could be in streamlining repository analysis, and I wanted to bring similar functionality to share-my-repo. By supporting .gitignore, users of share-my-repo can now avoid unnecessary files from their analysis, just as Repomix does.
What Is the .gitignore Support Feature?
The .gitignore support in share-my-repo is designed to automatically skip files that are ignored by Git during repository analysis. When processing a repository, share-my-repo will now check for the .gitignore file and exclude any files or directories listed there from being included in the output. This is particularly useful when working with large repositories that contain irrelevant or non-code files that don't need to be analyzed.
How It Works
-
Detecting
.gitignore: The tool checks for.gitignorefiles at the root and any subdirectories of the repository. -
Reading the Patterns:
It reads the patterns inside
.gitignoreand matches them against the files and directories in the repository to exclude them from the analysis. -
Excluding Ignored Files:
Files and directories that match the
.gitignorepatterns are automatically excluded from the output, ensuring that the repository analysis focuses only on relevant code files.
What Problem Does It Solve?
When analyzing large repositories, developers often face the issue of unnecessary files (such as log files, build artifacts, or temporary files) cluttering the analysis output. By supporting .gitignore, this feature ensures that only relevant files are processed, making repository analysis faster, more focused, and more efficient. It saves developers time and allows them to focus on what truly matters, the code. issue-10
What I Did Similarly to Repomix
The main aspect I took from Repomix was respecting .gitignore rules automatically.
Previously, my tool would process all files in a repository, including files that are meant to be ignored. Now, it follows a two-step approach:
Detect Ignored Files First: The script reads
.gitignorein the repository root (and optionally in subdirectories) and parses the patterns.Filter Files: During file discovery, any files matching the
.gitignorepatterns are automatically excluded before further processing.
This is similar to how Repomix avoids processing ignored files to keep the dataset clean and relevant.
What I Did Differently
The main difference lies in the flexibility and integration with other features. Repomix automatically respects .gitignore but does not provide additional user-level configuration.
In share-my-repo:
- Users can still provide include/exclude patterns on top of
.gitignorerules. -
.gitignoresupport is integrated with TOML configuration, so users can enable or disable it by default. - The filtering works alongside other features like file previews, line numbers, and file size limits, which Repomix does not provide in the same context.
Next Steps for the Feature
While the .gitignore support feature is functional, there are still some areas where it can be improved and expanded. Here are the next steps:
Support for Multiple
.gitignoreFiles: Currently, the tool only checks the.gitignorefile in the root directory. Adding support for multiple.gitignorefiles in subdirectories will further improve the tool's flexibility. Support multiple .gitignore filesCLI Flag to Toggle
.gitignoreSupport: Adding a flag to enable or disable.gitignoreprocessing from the command line would give users more control over their analysis. Add CLI toggle for .gitignoreError Handling Improvements: Ensuring that the tool handles malformed
.gitignorefiles gracefully will make the tool more robust.Handle malformed .gitignore files gracefully
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Hitesh Sachdeva
Hitesh Sachdeva | Sciencx (2025-10-29T04:35:37+00:00) Adding .gitignore Support to share-my-repo: A New Feature to Streamline Repository Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/10/29/adding-gitignore-support-to-share-my-repo-a-new-feature-to-streamline-repository-analysis/
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