Support exclude paths in manual context management (#774)

e2e-tests/context_manage.spec.ts

@@ -74,3 +74,64 @@ test("manage context - smart context - auto-includes only", async ({ po }) => {
 
   await po.snapshotServerDump("request");
 });
+
+test("manage context - exclude paths", async ({ po }) => {
+  await po.setUp();
+  await po.importApp("context-manage");
+
+  const dialog = await po.openContextFilesPicker();
+  await po.snapshotDialog();
+
+  // Add some include paths first
+  await dialog.addManualContextFile("src/**/*.ts");
+  await dialog.addManualContextFile("manual/**");
+
+  // Add exclude paths
+  await dialog.addExcludeContextFile("src/components/**");
+  await dialog.addExcludeContextFile("manual/exclude/**");
+  await po.snapshotDialog();
+  await dialog.close();
+
+  await po.sendPrompt("[dump]");
+  await po.snapshotServerDump("all-messages", { name: "exclude-paths-basic" });
+
+  // Test that exclude paths take precedence over include paths
+  const dialog2 = await po.openContextFilesPicker();
+  await dialog2.removeExcludeContextFile(); // Remove src/components/**
+  await dialog2.addExcludeContextFile("src/**"); // This should exclude everything from src
+  await po.snapshotDialog();
+  await dialog2.close();
+
+  await po.sendPrompt("[dump]");
+  await po.snapshotServerDump("all-messages", {
+    name: "exclude-paths-precedence",
+  });
+});
+
+test("manage context - exclude paths with smart context", async ({ po }) => {
+  await po.setUpDyadPro();
+  await po.selectModel({ provider: "Google", model: "Gemini 2.5 Pro" });
+  await po.importApp("context-manage");
+
+  const dialog = await po.openContextFilesPicker();
+  await po.snapshotDialog();
+
+  // Add manual context files
+  await dialog.addManualContextFile("src/**/*.ts");
+  await dialog.addManualContextFile("manual/**");
+
+  // Add smart context auto-includes
+  await dialog.addAutoIncludeContextFile("a.ts");
+  await dialog.addAutoIncludeContextFile("exclude/**");
+
+  // Add exclude paths that should filter out some of the above
+  await dialog.addExcludeContextFile("src/components/**");
+  await dialog.addExcludeContextFile("exclude/exclude.ts");
+  await po.snapshotDialog();
+  await dialog.close();
+
+  await po.sendPrompt("[dump]");
+  await po.snapshotServerDump("all-messages", {
+    name: "exclude-paths-with-smart-context",
+  });
+});

e2e-tests/helpers/test_helper.ts

@@ -47,6 +47,18 @@ export class ContextFilesPickerDialog {
       .first()
       .click();
   }
+
+  async addExcludeContextFile(path: string) {
+    await this.page.getByTestId("exclude-context-files-input").fill(path);
+    await this.page.getByTestId("exclude-context-files-add-button").click();
+  }
+
+  async removeExcludeContextFile() {
+    await this.page
+      .getByTestId("exclude-context-files-remove-button")
+      .first()
+      .click();
+  }
 }
 
 class ProModesDialog {

e2e-tests/snapshots/context_manage.spec.ts_manage-context---exclude-paths-1.aria.yml

+- dialog:
+  - heading "Codebase Context" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: Select the files to use as context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "src/**/*.tsx"
+  - button "Add"
+  - paragraph: Dyad will use the entire codebase as context.
+  - heading "Exclude Paths" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: These files will be excluded from the context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "node_modules/**/*"
+  - button "Add"
\ No newline at end of file

e2e-tests/snapshots/context_manage.spec.ts_manage-context---exclude-paths-2.aria.yml

+- dialog:
+  - heading "Codebase Context" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: Select the files to use as context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "src/**/*.tsx"
+  - button "Add"
+  - text: /src\/\*\*\/\*\.ts 4 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - text: /manual\/\*\* 3 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - heading "Exclude Paths" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: These files will be excluded from the context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "node_modules/**/*"
+  - button "Add"
+  - text: /src\/components\/\*\* 2 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - text: manual/exclude/** 0 files, ~0 tokens
+  - button:
+    - img
\ No newline at end of file

e2e-tests/snapshots/context_manage.spec.ts_manage-context---exclude-paths-3.aria.yml

+- dialog:
+  - heading "Codebase Context" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: Select the files to use as context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "src/**/*.tsx"
+  - button "Add"
+  - text: /src\/\*\*\/\*\.ts 4 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - text: /manual\/\*\* 3 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - heading "Exclude Paths" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: These files will be excluded from the context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "node_modules/**/*"
+  - button "Add"
+  - text: manual/exclude/** 0 files, ~0 tokens
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - text: /src\/\*\* 7 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
\ No newline at end of file

e2e-tests/snapshots/context_manage.spec.ts_manage-context---exclude-paths-with-smart-context-1.aria.yml

+- dialog:
+  - heading "Codebase Context" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: Select the files to use as context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "src/**/*.tsx"
+  - button "Add"
+  - paragraph: Dyad will use Smart Context to automatically find the most relevant files to use as context.
+  - heading "Exclude Paths" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: These files will be excluded from the context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "node_modules/**/*"
+  - button "Add"
+  - heading "Smart Context Auto-includes" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: These files will always be included in the context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "src/**/*.config.ts"
+  - button "Add"
\ No newline at end of file

e2e-tests/snapshots/context_manage.spec.ts_manage-context---exclude-paths-with-smart-context-2.aria.yml

+- dialog:
+  - heading "Codebase Context" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: Select the files to use as context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "src/**/*.tsx"
+  - button "Add"
+  - text: /src\/\*\*\/\*\.ts 4 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - text: /manual\/\*\* 3 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - heading "Exclude Paths" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: These files will be excluded from the context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "node_modules/**/*"
+  - button "Add"
+  - text: /src\/components\/\*\* 2 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - text: /exclude\/exclude\.ts 1 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - heading "Smart Context Auto-includes" [level=3]
+  - paragraph:
+    - text: These files will always be included in the context.
+    - img
+  - textbox "src/**/*.config.ts"
+  - button "Add"
+  - text: /a\.ts 1 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
+  - text: /exclude\/\*\* 2 files, ~\d+ tokens/
+  - button:
+    - img
\ No newline at end of file

src/components/ContextFilesPicker.tsx

@@ -16,29 +16,33 @@ import {
 } from "./ui/tooltip";
 import { useSettings } from "@/hooks/useSettings";
 import { useContextPaths } from "@/hooks/useContextPaths";
+import type { ContextPathResult } from "@/lib/schemas";
 
 export function ContextFilesPicker() {
   const { settings } = useSettings();
   const {
     contextPaths,
     smartContextAutoIncludes,
+    excludePaths,
     updateContextPaths,
     updateSmartContextAutoIncludes,
+    updateExcludePaths,
   } = useContextPaths();
   const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);
   const [newPath, setNewPath] = useState("");
   const [newAutoIncludePath, setNewAutoIncludePath] = useState("");
+  const [newExcludePath, setNewExcludePath] = useState("");
 
   const addPath = () => {
     if (
       newPath.trim() === "" ||
-      contextPaths.find((p) => p.globPath === newPath)
+      contextPaths.find((p: ContextPathResult) => p.globPath === newPath)
     ) {
       setNewPath("");
       return;
     }
     const newPaths = [
-      ...contextPaths.map(({ globPath }) => ({ globPath })),
+      ...contextPaths.map(({ globPath }: ContextPathResult) => ({ globPath })),
       {
         globPath: newPath,
       },
@@ -49,21 +53,25 @@ export function ContextFilesPicker() {
 
   const removePath = (pathToRemove: string) => {
     const newPaths = contextPaths
-      .filter((p) => p.globPath !== pathToRemove)
-      .map(({ globPath }) => ({ globPath }));
+      .filter((p: ContextPathResult) => p.globPath !== pathToRemove)
+      .map(({ globPath }: ContextPathResult) => ({ globPath }));
     updateContextPaths(newPaths);
   };
 
   const addAutoIncludePath = () => {
     if (
       newAutoIncludePath.trim() === "" ||
-      smartContextAutoIncludes.find((p) => p.globPath === newAutoIncludePath)
+      smartContextAutoIncludes.find(
+        (p: ContextPathResult) => p.globPath === newAutoIncludePath,
+      )
     ) {
       setNewAutoIncludePath("");
       return;
     }
     const newPaths = [
-      ...smartContextAutoIncludes.map(({ globPath }) => ({ globPath })),
+      ...smartContextAutoIncludes.map(({ globPath }: ContextPathResult) => ({
+        globPath,
+      })),
       {
         globPath: newAutoIncludePath,
       },
@@ -74,11 +82,36 @@ export function ContextFilesPicker() {
 
   const removeAutoIncludePath = (pathToRemove: string) => {
     const newPaths = smartContextAutoIncludes
-      .filter((p) => p.globPath !== pathToRemove)
-      .map(({ globPath }) => ({ globPath }));
+      .filter((p: ContextPathResult) => p.globPath !== pathToRemove)
+      .map(({ globPath }: ContextPathResult) => ({ globPath }));
     updateSmartContextAutoIncludes(newPaths);
   };
 
+  const addExcludePath = () => {
+    if (
+      newExcludePath.trim() === "" ||
+      excludePaths.find((p: ContextPathResult) => p.globPath === newExcludePath)
+    ) {
+      setNewExcludePath("");
+      return;
+    }
+    const newPaths = [
+      ...excludePaths.map(({ globPath }: ContextPathResult) => ({ globPath })),
+      {
+        globPath: newExcludePath,
+      },
+    ];
+    updateExcludePaths(newPaths);
+    setNewExcludePath("");
+  };
+
+  const removeExcludePath = (pathToRemove: string) => {
+    const newPaths = excludePaths
+      .filter((p: ContextPathResult) => p.globPath !== pathToRemove)
+      .map(({ globPath }: ContextPathResult) => ({ globPath }));
+    updateExcludePaths(newPaths);
+  };
+
   const isSmartContextEnabled =
     settings?.enableDyadPro && settings?.enableProSmartFilesContextMode;
 
@@ -100,7 +133,10 @@ export function ContextFilesPicker() {
         <TooltipContent>Codebase Context</TooltipContent>
       </Tooltip>
 
-      <PopoverContent className="w-96" align="start">
+      <PopoverContent
+        className="w-96 max-h-[80vh] overflow-y-auto"
+        align="start"
+      >
         <div className="relative space-y-4">
           <div>
             <h3 className="font-medium">Codebase Context</h3>
@@ -153,7 +189,7 @@ export function ContextFilesPicker() {
           <TooltipProvider>
             {contextPaths.length > 0 ? (
               <div className="space-y-2">
-                {contextPaths.map((p) => (
+                {contextPaths.map((p: ContextPathResult) => (
                   <div
                     key={p.globPath}
                     className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2 rounded-md border p-2"
@@ -197,6 +233,91 @@ export function ContextFilesPicker() {
             )}
           </TooltipProvider>
 
+          <div className="pt-2">
+            <div>
+              <h3 className="font-medium">Exclude Paths</h3>
+              <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+                <TooltipProvider>
+                  <Tooltip>
+                    <TooltipTrigger asChild>
+                      <span className="flex items-center gap-1 cursor-help">
+                        These files will be excluded from the context.{" "}
+                        <InfoIcon className="ml-2 size-4" />
+                      </span>
+                    </TooltipTrigger>
+                    <TooltipContent className="max-w-[300px]">
+                      <p>
+                        Exclude paths take precedence - files that match both
+                        include and exclude patterns will be excluded.
+                      </p>
+                    </TooltipContent>
+                  </Tooltip>
+                </TooltipProvider>
+              </p>
+            </div>
+
+            <div className="flex w-full max-w-sm items-center space-x-2 mt-4">
+              <Input
+                data-testid="exclude-context-files-input"
+                type="text"
+                placeholder="node_modules/**/*"
+                value={newExcludePath}
+                onChange={(e) => setNewExcludePath(e.target.value)}
+                onKeyDown={(e) => {
+                  if (e.key === "Enter") {
+                    addExcludePath();
+                  }
+                }}
+              />
+              <Button
+                type="submit"
+                onClick={addExcludePath}
+                data-testid="exclude-context-files-add-button"
+              >
+                Add
+              </Button>
+            </div>
+
+            <TooltipProvider>
+              {excludePaths.length > 0 && (
+                <div className="space-y-2 mt-4">
+                  {excludePaths.map((p: ContextPathResult) => (
+                    <div
+                      key={p.globPath}
+                      className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2 rounded-md border p-2 border-red-200"
+                    >
+                      <div className="flex flex-1 flex-col overflow-hidden">
+                        <Tooltip>
+                          <TooltipTrigger asChild>
+                            <span className="truncate font-mono text-sm text-red-600">
+                              {p.globPath}
+                            </span>
+                          </TooltipTrigger>
+                          <TooltipContent>
+                            <p>{p.globPath}</p>
+                          </TooltipContent>
+                        </Tooltip>
+                        <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                          {p.files} files, ~{p.tokens} tokens
+                        </span>
+                      </div>
+                      <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
+                        <Button
+                          variant="ghost"
+                          size="icon"
+                          onClick={() => removeExcludePath(p.globPath)}
+                          data-testid="exclude-context-files-remove-button"
+                        >
+                          <Trash2 className="size-4" />
+                        </Button>
+                      </div>
+                    </div>
+                  ))}
+                </div>
+              )}
+            </TooltipProvider>
+          </div>
+
           {isSmartContextEnabled && (
             <div className="pt-2">
               <div>
@@ -247,7 +368,7 @@ export function ContextFilesPicker() {
               <TooltipProvider>
                 {smartContextAutoIncludes.length > 0 && (
                   <div className="space-y-2 mt-4">
-                    {smartContextAutoIncludes.map((p) => (
+                    {smartContextAutoIncludes.map((p: ContextPathResult) => (
                       <div
                         key={p.globPath}
                         className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2 rounded-md border p-2"

src/hooks/useContextPaths.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,12 @@ export function useContextPaths() {
   } = useQuery<ContextPathResults, Error>({
     queryKey: ["context-paths", appId],
     queryFn: async () => {
-      if (!appId) return { contextPaths: [], smartContextAutoIncludes: [] };
+      if (!appId)
+        return {
+          contextPaths: [],
+          smartContextAutoIncludes: [],
+          excludePaths: [],
+        };
       const ipcClient = IpcClient.getInstance();
       return ipcClient.getChatContextResults({ appId });
     },
@@ -25,9 +30,17 @@ export function useContextPaths() {
   const updateContextPathsMutation = useMutation<
     unknown,
     Error,
-    { contextPaths: GlobPath[]; smartContextAutoIncludes?: GlobPath[] }
+    {
+      contextPaths: GlobPath[];
+      smartContextAutoIncludes?: GlobPath[];
+      excludePaths?: GlobPath[];
+    }
   >({
-    mutationFn: async ({ contextPaths, smartContextAutoIncludes }) => {
+    mutationFn: async ({
+      contextPaths,
+      smartContextAutoIncludes,
+      excludePaths,
+    }) => {
       if (!appId) throw new Error("No app selected");
       const ipcClient = IpcClient.getInstance();
       return ipcClient.setChatContext({
@@ -35,6 +48,7 @@ export function useContextPaths() {
         chatContext: {
           contextPaths,
           smartContextAutoIncludes: smartContextAutoIncludes || [],
+          excludePaths: excludePaths || [],
         },
       });
     },
@@ -46,28 +60,63 @@ export function useContextPaths() {
   const updateContextPaths = async (paths: GlobPath[]) => {
     const currentAutoIncludes =
       contextPathsData?.smartContextAutoIncludes || [];
+    const currentExcludePaths = contextPathsData?.excludePaths || [];
     return updateContextPathsMutation.mutateAsync({
       contextPaths: paths,
-      smartContextAutoIncludes: currentAutoIncludes.map(({ globPath }) => ({
-        globPath,
-      })),
+      smartContextAutoIncludes: currentAutoIncludes.map(
+        ({ globPath }: { globPath: string }) => ({
+          globPath,
+        }),
+      ),
+      excludePaths: currentExcludePaths.map(
+        ({ globPath }: { globPath: string }) => ({
+          globPath,
+        }),
+      ),
     });
   };
 
   const updateSmartContextAutoIncludes = async (paths: GlobPath[]) => {
     const currentContextPaths = contextPathsData?.contextPaths || [];
+    const currentExcludePaths = contextPathsData?.excludePaths || [];
     return updateContextPathsMutation.mutateAsync({
-      contextPaths: currentContextPaths.map(({ globPath }) => ({ globPath })),
+      contextPaths: currentContextPaths.map(
+        ({ globPath }: { globPath: string }) => ({ globPath }),
+      ),
       smartContextAutoIncludes: paths,
+      excludePaths: currentExcludePaths.map(
+        ({ globPath }: { globPath: string }) => ({
+          globPath,
+        }),
+      ),
+    });
+  };
+
+  const updateExcludePaths = async (paths: GlobPath[]) => {
+    const currentContextPaths = contextPathsData?.contextPaths || [];
+    const currentAutoIncludes =
+      contextPathsData?.smartContextAutoIncludes || [];
+    return updateContextPathsMutation.mutateAsync({
+      contextPaths: currentContextPaths.map(
+        ({ globPath }: { globPath: string }) => ({ globPath }),
+      ),
+      smartContextAutoIncludes: currentAutoIncludes.map(
+        ({ globPath }: { globPath: string }) => ({
+          globPath,
+        }),
+      ),
+      excludePaths: paths,
     });
   };
 
   return {
     contextPaths: contextPathsData?.contextPaths || [],
     smartContextAutoIncludes: contextPathsData?.smartContextAutoIncludes || [],
+    excludePaths: contextPathsData?.excludePaths || [],
     isLoading,
     error,
     updateContextPaths,
     updateSmartContextAutoIncludes,
+    updateExcludePaths,
   };
 }

src/ipc/handlers/context_paths_handlers.ts

@@ -39,10 +39,10 @@ export function registerContextPathsHandlers() {
       const results: ContextPathResults = {
         contextPaths: [],
         smartContextAutoIncludes: [],
+        excludePaths: [],
       };
-      const { contextPaths, smartContextAutoIncludes } = validateChatContext(
-        app.chatContext,
-      );
+      const { contextPaths, smartContextAutoIncludes, excludePaths } =
+        validateChatContext(app.chatContext);
       for (const contextPath of contextPaths) {
         const { formattedOutput, files } = await extractCodebase({
           appPath,
@@ -76,6 +76,23 @@ export function registerContextPathsHandlers() {
           tokens: totalTokens,
         });
       }
+
+      for (const excludePath of excludePaths || []) {
+        const { formattedOutput, files } = await extractCodebase({
+          appPath,
+          chatContext: {
+            contextPaths: [excludePath],
+            smartContextAutoIncludes: [],
+          },
+        });
+        const totalTokens = estimateTokens(formattedOutput);
+
+        results.excludePaths.push({
+          ...excludePath,
+          files: files.length,
+          tokens: totalTokens,
+        });
+      }
       return results;
     },
   );

src/ipc/utils/context_paths_utils.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ export function validateChatContext(chatContext: unknown): AppChatContext {
     return {
       contextPaths: [],
       smartContextAutoIncludes: [],
+      excludePaths: [],
     };
   }
 
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ export function validateChatContext(chatContext: unknown): AppChatContext {
     return {
       contextPaths: [],
       smartContextAutoIncludes: [],
+      excludePaths: [],
     };
   }
 }

src/lib/schemas.ts

@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ export type GlobPath = z.infer<typeof GlobPathSchema>;
 export const AppChatContextSchema = z.object({
   contextPaths: z.array(GlobPathSchema),
   smartContextAutoIncludes: z.array(GlobPathSchema),
+  excludePaths: z.array(GlobPathSchema).optional(),
 });
 export type AppChatContext = z.infer<typeof AppChatContextSchema>;
 
@@ -131,6 +132,7 @@ export type ContextPathResult = GlobPath & {
 export type ContextPathResults = {
   contextPaths: ContextPathResult[];
   smartContextAutoIncludes: ContextPathResult[];
+  excludePaths: ContextPathResult[];
 };
 
 export const ReleaseChannelSchema = z.enum(["stable", "beta"]);

src/utils/codebase.ts

@@ -472,9 +472,10 @@ export async function extractCodebase({
   }
 
   // Collect files from contextPaths and smartContextAutoIncludes
-  const { contextPaths, smartContextAutoIncludes } = chatContext;
+  const { contextPaths, smartContextAutoIncludes, excludePaths } = chatContext;
   const includedFiles = new Set<string>();
   const autoIncludedFiles = new Set<string>();
+  const excludedFiles = new Set<string>();
 
   // Add files from contextPaths
   if (contextPaths && contextPaths.length > 0) {
@@ -509,6 +510,7 @@ export async function extractCodebase({
       const matches = await glob(pattern, {
         nodir: true,
         absolute: true,
+        ignore: "**/node_modules/**",
       });
       matches.forEach((file) => {
         const normalizedFile = path.normalize(file);
@@ -518,12 +520,36 @@ export async function extractCodebase({
     }
   }
 
+  // Add files from excludePaths
+  if (excludePaths && excludePaths.length > 0) {
+    for (const p of excludePaths) {
+      const pattern = createFullGlobPath({
+        appPath,
+        globPath: p.globPath,
+      });
+      const matches = await glob(pattern, {
+        nodir: true,
+        absolute: true,
+        ignore: "**/node_modules/**",
+      });
+      matches.forEach((file) => {
+        const normalizedFile = path.normalize(file);
+        excludedFiles.add(normalizedFile);
+      });
+    }
+  }
+
   // Only filter files if contextPaths are provided
   // If only smartContextAutoIncludes are provided, keep all files and just mark auto-includes as forced
   if (contextPaths && contextPaths.length > 0) {
     files = files.filter((file) => includedFiles.has(path.normalize(file)));
   }
 
+  // Filter out excluded files (this takes precedence over include paths)
+  if (excludedFiles.size > 0) {
+    files = files.filter((file) => !excludedFiles.has(path.normalize(file)));
+  }
+
   // Sort files by modification time (oldest first)
   // This is important for cache-ability.
   const sortedFiles = await sortFilesByModificationTime([...new Set(files)]);
@@ -543,7 +569,9 @@ export async function extractCodebase({
       virtualFileSystem,
     });
 
-    const isForced = autoIncludedFiles.has(path.normalize(file));
+    const isForced =
+      autoIncludedFiles.has(path.normalize(file)) &&
+      !excludedFiles.has(path.normalize(file));
 
     // Determine file content based on whether we should read it
     let fileContent: string;