File Ignore

An Obsidian plugin that controls file indexing by managing dot prefixes (hidden attributes) on files/folders, providing a .gitignore-like experience. obsidian-file-ignore.kkuk.dev

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Motivation

• I use Next.js to manage my blog, writing and publishing through Obsidian. However, /node_modules was a headache as Obsidian indexed everything, causing extremely slow startup.
• Leveraging Obsidian's default behavior of not indexing "dot-prefixed hidden files", I developed this plugin to change indexing behavior by modifying file names.
• Before using the plugin, opening the repository took about 10s; after using it, it opens almost instantly.

Related Scenarios

When your Obsidian vault contains numerous non-note files (like code repositories, attachments, caches):

• 🐢 Slow Startup & Performance Bottlenecks: Obsidian tries to index all files (including node_modules, .git, large attachment folders), leading to long startup times, high RAM and CPU usage, and sluggish operations.
• 🔍 Cluttered Workspace: Global search results get polluted by irrelevant content from node_modules, etc.; the graph view becomes crowded and hard to read due to numerous non-note files.
• ⚙️ Limited Built-in Exclusion: Obsidian's built-in "Exclude files" option often fails to truly prevent performance hits from indexing and isn't convenient to configure.

🚀 Features

• File Filtering: Specify files or folders to ignore based on rules.
• Hide Files: Add a dot (.) prefix to matched files/folders, making them invisible to Obsidian.
• Show Files: Remove the previously added dot prefix, restoring visibility.
• .gitignore-Style Patterns: Use familiar patterns for configuration.
• Index Control: Prevent Obsidian from indexing and processing irrelevant content.

⚙️ Usage

Matching Rules

Supports the following matching patterns:

• Specific file: test.md
• Root directory file: /readme.md
• Entire folder: temp/
• Wildcard matching: *test/ (e.g., /_build/, /cache*/)

Operations

After configuring rules in the plugin settings page, you can:

• Click "Hide Files": Builds a rename plan, shows a preview, and then adds a "." prefix to matching files/folders.
• Click "Show Files": Builds a rename plan, shows a preview, and then removes the "." prefix from matching files/folders.
• If a batch is interrupted, use the Recovery action in settings to undo the already-completed part safely.

How to Configure?

Configure your ignore rules in Obsidian's Settings -> Community plugins -> File Ignore settings page.

🛠️ Installation

1. Open Settings > Community plugins in Obsidian.
2. Ensure Safe mode is off.
3. Click Browse community plugins.
4. Search for "File Ignore".
5. Click Install.
6. Once installed, click Enable.

🔍 Tips

Recommended to use with the Show-Hide-Files plugin for better management (viewing or manipulating) of files hidden by this plugin.

🔒 Safety Notes

• Important: File Ignore works by renaming files and folders on disk. It is not a native Obsidian exclude API.
• Hide/Show now builds a rename plan before execution and skips protected areas such as .obsidian/, .git/, and .trash/ automatically.
• When the destination name already exists (for example, both foo.md and .foo.md are present), the plugin aborts the rename and emits an audit log instead of overwriting either file.
• Nested children are skipped when their parent directory is already scheduled for renaming, which avoids double-processing the same subtree.
• The latest batch is persisted so interrupted runs can be undone from the settings page.
• Each rename records a [file-ignore][audit] line in the developer console, making it easy to trace which paths were changed if something looks wrong.

🧪 Debugging & Troubleshooting

1. Open Settings → Community plugins → File Ignore.
2. Enable Debug logging to stream detailed diagnostics.
3. Use View → Toggle Developer Tools and inspect the Console tab; look for [file-ignore][audit] entries detailing hide/show batches, skipped items, and failures.
4. Disable the toggle after finishing—normal operation stays quiet unless a warning or error occurs.

🤝 Support

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please visit our GitHub repository to create an issue.

You can also support me by buying me a coffee: Buy Me A Coffee

📄 License

This project is open-sourced under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.