Exclusion Patterns

Overview

Exclusion patterns allow you to control which files and folders appear in your generated structure. This is essential for creating clean, focused documentation by omitting build artifacts, dependencies, and other irrelevant items.

How Exclusion Patterns Work

The extension uses glob pattern syntax to match files and folders for exclusion. Patterns are matched against the full path of each item relative to your project root.

The extension uses the fast-glob library for pattern matching, which supports standard glob syntax.

Glob Pattern Syntax

Understanding glob patterns is key to effective exclusions:

Basic Wildcards

* - Matches any characters except /

"*.log"  // Matches: error.log, debug.log

** - Matches any characters including / (recursive)

"**/node_modules"  // Matches node_modules at any depth

? - Matches exactly one character

"file?.txt"  // Matches: file1.txt, fileA.txt

Character Sets

[abc] - Matches any character in the set

"file[123].txt"  // Matches: file1.txt, file2.txt, file3.txt

[a-z] - Matches any character in the range

"[A-Z]*.js"  // Matches: App.js, Button.js, etc.

[!abc] - Matches any character NOT in the set

"file[!0-9].txt"  // Matches: fileA.txt, but not file1.txt

Brace Expansion

{a,b,c} - Matches any of the comma-separated patterns

"*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}"  // Matches JS and TS files

"**/{dist,build,out}"  // Matches dist, build, or out folders

Negation

!pattern - Includes items that match the pattern (overrides exclusions)

[
  "**/test",      // Exclude all test folders
  "!**/test/fixtures"  // But include test/fixtures
]

Negation patterns must come after the patterns they’re overriding.

Default Exclusion Patterns

The extension comes with sensible defaults that exclude common build artifacts and dependencies:

[
  "**/node_modules",
  "**/.git",
  "**/dist",
  "**/.next",
  "**/out"
]

Why These Defaults?

**/node_modules - npm/yarn dependencies (can contain thousands of files)
**/.git - Git internal files (not relevant for structure documentation)
**/dist - Compiled/built files
**/.next - Next.js build output
**/out - Common output directory name

These defaults are a starting point. You can modify or extend them based on your project’s needs.

Common Exclusion Patterns

Exclude by Folder Name

Exclude specific folders anywhere in your project:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/dist",
    "**/build",
    "**/coverage",
    "**/.vscode",
    "**/.idea",
    "**/temp",
    "**/tmp"
  ]
}

Exclude by File Extension

Exclude all files with specific extensions:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/*.log",      // Log files
    "**/*.tmp",      // Temporary files
    "**/*.cache",    // Cache files
    "**/*.lock",     // Lock files
    "**/*.map",      // Source maps
    "**/*.min.js",   // Minified JavaScript
    "**/*.min.css"   // Minified CSS
  ]
}

Exclude Specific Files

Exclude specific files by name:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/package-lock.json",
    "**/yarn.lock",
    "**/.DS_Store",
    "**/Thumbs.db",
    "**/.env",
    "**/.env.local"
  ]
}

Framework-Specific Patterns

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/.next",
    "**/out",
    "**/build",
    "**/.cache",
    "**/public/static"
  ]
}

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/.nuxt",
    "**/dist",
    "**/.output",
    "**/coverage"
  ]
}

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/dist",
    "**/.angular",
    "**/coverage",
    "**/e2e"
  ]
}

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/__pycache__",
    "**/*.pyc",
    "**/.pytest_cache",
    "**/venv",
    "**/.venv",
    "**/env",
    "**/.env",
    "**/dist",
    "**/*.egg-info"
  ]
}

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/target",
    "**/Cargo.lock"
  ]
}

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/vendor",
    "**/bin",
    "**/*.exe"
  ]
}

Advanced Pattern Examples

Exclude Multiple File Types

Use brace expansion for multiple extensions:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/*.{log,tmp,cache,swp,bak}"
  ]
}

Exclude Test Files

Exclude various test file patterns:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/*.test.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
    "**/*.spec.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
    "**/__tests__",
    "**/test",
    "**/tests"
  ]
}

Exclude Hidden Files and Folders

Exclude items starting with a dot:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/.*",           // All hidden files and folders
    "!**/.gitignore",  // But keep .gitignore visible
    "!**/.env.example" // And keep .env.example visible
  ]
}

Platform-Specific Files

Exclude OS-specific files:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/.DS_Store",      // macOS
    "**/Thumbs.db",      // Windows
    "**/desktop.ini",    // Windows
    "**/.Spotlight-V100", // macOS
    "**/.Trashes"        // macOS
  ]
}

Pattern Matching Examples

Here are some real-world examples showing what different patterns match:

Matches:
  ✓ node_modules
  ✓ packages/app/node_modules
  ✓ src/lib/node_modules
  ✗ node_modules_backup

Combining with .gitignore

When you enable the respectGitignore setting, exclusion patterns work alongside your .gitignore rules:

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/dist"
  ],
  "draw.folder.structure.respectGitignore": true
}

Files matching EITHER your exclusion patterns OR .gitignore rules will be excluded. They work additively, not as overrides.

When to Use Each

Exclusion Patterns:

Project structure standards
Build artifacts
Documentation-specific exclusions

.gitignore Integration:

Version control exclusions
Environment-specific files
Generated code

See the Advanced Usage guide for more details on combining these features.

Testing Your Patterns

To test if your patterns work as expected:

Configure your exclusion patterns
Right-click on a folder in VS Code
Select “Generate Markdown structure”
Review the generated output
Adjust patterns as needed

Start with broad patterns and refine them based on the output. It’s easier to remove exclusions than to add them iteratively.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the ** prefix

Wrong: "node_modules"This only matches node_modules at the root.Correct: "**/node_modules"This matches node_modules at any level.

Using backslashes on Windows

Wrong: "**\\dist"Always use forward slashes in glob patterns.Correct: "**/dist"Forward slashes work on all platforms.

Negation pattern order

Wrong:

[
  "!**/important.log",
  "**/*.log"
]

Correct:

[
  "**/*.log",
  "!**/important.log"
]

Negation patterns must come after what they’re overriding.

Excluding too much

Be careful not to exclude important project files:Too broad: "**/src"This excludes your entire source directory!Better: "**/src/generated"Be specific about what you want to exclude.

Configuration Templates

Minimal (Keep Defaults)

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/.git",
    "**/dist",
    "**/.next",
    "**/out"
  ]
}

Comprehensive Web Project

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/.git",
    "**/dist",
    "**/build",
    "**/.next",
    "**/out",
    "**/coverage",
    "**/.cache",
    "**/*.log",
    "**/.DS_Store",
    "**/Thumbs.db",
    "**/.vscode",
    "**/.idea",
    "**/*.min.js",
    "**/*.min.css",
    "**/*.map"
  ]
}

Documentation-Focused

{
  "draw.folder.structure.exclude": [
    "**/node_modules",
    "**/.git",
    "**/dist",
    "**/build",
    "**/*.test.{js,ts}",
    "**/*.spec.{js,ts}",
    "**/__tests__",
    "**/coverage",
    "**/.vscode",
    "**/*.log",
    "**/package-lock.json",
    "**/yarn.lock"
  ]
}

Next Steps

Configuration

Learn about all configuration options

Advanced Usage

Combine exclusions with other advanced features

Styling Options

Customize the visual appearance of your structure

Get Started

Guides

Examples

Overview

How Exclusion Patterns Work

Glob Pattern Syntax

Default Exclusion Patterns

Why These Defaults?

Common Exclusion Patterns

Exclude by Folder Name

Exclude by File Extension

Exclude Specific Files

Framework-Specific Patterns

Advanced Pattern Examples

Exclude Multiple File Types

Exclude Test Files

Exclude Hidden Files and Folders

Platform-Specific Files

Pattern Matching Examples

Combining with .gitignore

When to Use Each

Testing Your Patterns

Common Mistakes

Configuration Templates

Minimal (Keep Defaults)

Comprehensive Web Project

Documentation-Focused

Next Steps

Configuration

Advanced Usage

Styling Options

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Guides

Examples

​Overview

​How Exclusion Patterns Work

​Glob Pattern Syntax

​Default Exclusion Patterns

​Why These Defaults?

​Common Exclusion Patterns

​Exclude by Folder Name

​Exclude by File Extension

​Exclude Specific Files

​Framework-Specific Patterns

​Advanced Pattern Examples

​Exclude Multiple File Types

​Exclude Test Files

​Exclude Hidden Files and Folders

​Platform-Specific Files

​Pattern Matching Examples

​Combining with .gitignore

​When to Use Each

​Testing Your Patterns

​Common Mistakes

​Configuration Templates

​Minimal (Keep Defaults)

​Comprehensive Web Project

​Documentation-Focused

​Next Steps

Configuration

Advanced Usage

Styling Options

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

How Exclusion Patterns Work

Glob Pattern Syntax

Default Exclusion Patterns

Why These Defaults?

Common Exclusion Patterns

Exclude by Folder Name

Exclude by File Extension

Exclude Specific Files

Framework-Specific Patterns

Advanced Pattern Examples

Exclude Multiple File Types

Exclude Test Files

Exclude Hidden Files and Folders

Platform-Specific Files

Pattern Matching Examples

Combining with .gitignore

When to Use Each

Testing Your Patterns

Common Mistakes

Configuration Templates

Minimal (Keep Defaults)

Comprehensive Web Project

Documentation-Focused

Next Steps