/exclude

Author

Manage which paths are excluded from Aether's scans. Excluded paths never reach the AI — not the file contents, the directory tree, or the change-detection fingerprint. Use this to keep large or irrelevant folders (generated code, vendored deps, legacy modules) out of the context, shrinking costs.

Usage

/exclude              # list what's currently excluded
/exclude <path>       # exclude a file or folder
/exclude @            # interactive path picker (type to filter, ↑↓ to move, ⏎ to select)
/exclude remove <path>    # re-include a path
/exclude remove @         # interactive picker for re-including

Storage

Exclusions are stored in .aether/settings/exclude.json in the project. Commit it to share exclusions with your team.

When to use

Large generated directories (build output, dist/, .next/)
Vendored dependencies (vendor/, third_party/)
Legacy code you don't want documented
Test fixtures or sample data that bloat context

Effect on cost

Excluded paths reduce the number of files scanned, which directly reduces:

Input tokens sent to the model
Cost estimates shown by /genesis and /sync
Generation time