SOP-016: Ignore Files Configuration

Document Control

• Version: 1.0
• Last Updated: 2024
• Category: Context & Rules

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Purpose

Configure .cursorignore files to control which files Cursor can access for security and performance optimization.

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Scope

This SOP covers configuring ignore files for:

• Security (protecting sensitive files)
• Performance (excluding large directories)
• Global and project-level ignore patterns

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Prerequisites

• Cursor installed and running
• Access to project root directory
• Understanding of glob patterns

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Procedure

Step 1: Understand What Gets Ignored

Cursor reads .cursorignore files to block access from:

Feature	Affected
Codebase indexing	Yes
Tab autocomplete	Yes
Agent	Yes
Inline Edit	Yes
@ mentions	Yes
Terminal/MCP tools	No (cannot block)

Step 2: Create .cursorignore File

Create a .cursorignore file in your project root:

# Create the file
touch .cursorignore

Step 3: Add Ignore Patterns

Use .gitignore syntax for patterns:

# Specific files
config.json
secrets.yaml

# Directories
dist/
node_modules/
.git/

# File extensions
*.log
*.key
*.pem

# Nested directories
**/logs
**/temp

# Negation (include despite other rules)
!app/

Step 4: Configure Global Ignores

Set patterns that apply to ALL projects:

1. Open Cursor Settings
2. Navigate to Features > Editor
3. Find Global Cursor Ignore List
4. Add patterns that should always be ignored

Default global patterns include:

• **/.env, **/.env.* (environment files)
• **/credentials.json, **/secrets.json
• **/*.key, **/*.pem, **/id_rsa (keys)

Step 5: Use Hierarchical Ignore (Optional)

Enable searching parent directories for .cursorignore:

1. Open Cursor Settings
2. Navigate to Features > Editor
3. Enable Hierarchical Cursor Ignore

This is useful for monorepos where you want different rules per subdirectory.

Step 6: Limit Indexing Only

Use .cursorindexingignore to exclude from indexing but keep accessible:

# These files won't be indexed but can still be referenced
large-data/
generated/

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Common Patterns

Security-Focused

# Environment and secrets
.env
.env.*
*.secret
secrets/
credentials/

# Keys and certificates
*.key
*.pem
*.p12
*.pfx
id_rsa*

# Database files
*.sqlite
*.db

Performance-Focused

# Dependencies
node_modules/
vendor/
.venv/

# Build outputs
dist/
build/
out/
target/

# Large files
*.zip
*.tar.gz
*.mp4

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Pattern Limitations

Negation in Nested Directories

Negation patterns don't work for files in excluded parent directories:

# This won't work as expected:
public/*
!public/assets/style.css  # Won't be included

# Workaround - be more specific:
public/assets/*
!public/assets/style.css  # This works

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Verification Checklist

• [ ] .cursorignore created in project root
• [ ] Sensitive files are excluded
• [ ] Large directories are excluded for performance
• [ ] Global ignores configured in settings
• [ ] Patterns tested with git check-ignore -v [file]

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
File still accessible	Check pattern syntax, ensure file path matches
Pattern not working	Test with git check-ignore -v filename
Negation not working	Check if parent directory is excluded
Performance still slow	Add more exclusions, check .cursorindexingignore

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See Also

• SOP-009: Codebase Indexing
• SOP-010: Project Rules