Ignore files

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Overview

Cursor reads and indexes your project’s codebase to power its features. Control which directories and files Cursor can access using a .cursorignore file in your root directory.

Cursor blocks access to files listed in .cursorignore from:

• Codebase indexing
• Code accessible by Tab, Agent, and Inline Edit
• Code accessible via @ symbol references

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Why ignore files?

Security: Restrict access to API keys, credentials, and secrets. While Cursor blocks ignored files, complete protection isn’t guaranteed due to LLM unpredictability.

Performance: In large codebases or monorepos, exclude irrelevant portions for faster indexing and more accurate file discovery.

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Global ignore files

Set ignore patterns for all projects in user settings to exclude sensitive files without per-project configuration.

Default patterns include:

• Environment files: **/.env, **/.env.*
• Credentials: **/credentials.json, **/secrets.json
• Keys: **/*.key, **/*.pem, **/id_rsa

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Configuring .cursorignore

Create a .cursorignore file in your root directory using .gitignore syntax.

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Pattern examples

config.json      # Specific file
dist/           # Directory
*.log           # File extension
**/logs         # Nested directories
!app/           # Exclude from ignore (negate)

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Hierarchical ignore

Enable Cursor Settings > Features > Editor > Hierarchical Cursor Ignore to search parent directories for .cursorignore files.

Notes: Comments start with #. Later patterns override earlier ones. Patterns are relative to file location.

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Limit indexing with .cursorindexingignore

Use .cursorindexingignore to exclude files from indexing only. These files remain accessible to AI features but won’t appear in codebase searches.

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Files ignored by default

Cursor automatically ignores files in .gitignore and the default ignore list below. Override with ! prefix in .cursorignore.

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Troubleshooting

Test patterns with git check-ignore -v [file].