[ENHANCEMENT] Exclude certain folders or files from indexing

[zooplibob]

Problem (one or two sentences)

For code indexing, I would like to specify only certain folders/directories to be included in the index, as the entire project is too large.

I cannot use .rooignore because then Roo wont be able to access the non-indexed files for other purposes, which I need it to.

Context (who is affected and when)

All users when indexing

Desired behavior (conceptual, not technical)

Perhaps create a .rooindexignore to specify files to skip for indexing

Constraints / preferences (optional)

No response

Request checklist

• I've searched existing Issues and Discussions for duplicates
• This describes a specific problem with clear context and impact

Roo Code Task Links (optional)

No response

Acceptance criteria (optional)

No response

Proposed approach (optional)

No response

Trade-offs / risks (optional)

No response

[roomote]

I'm exploring a potential fix for this enhancement to add a .rooindexignore file for selective code indexing. This would allow excluding specific folders/files from indexing while keeping them accessible for other Roo operations. I'll open a PR to share progress.

[roomote]

I've opened PR #8572 with an implementation of the .rooindexignore feature: #8572

The implementation adds support for a new .rooindexignore file that allows excluding specific folders/files from code indexing while keeping them accessible for other Roo operations. It uses the same gitignore syntax as .rooignore for consistency.

There are currently some CI test failures that need to be addressed - the platform unit tests are failing on both Ubuntu and Windows. The core functionality is working (all new tests pass locally), but there may be some integration issues to resolve.

Feedback and guidance are welcome!

[hannesrudolph]

When roo uses the codebase_search tool it assumes that it has access to the entire code space. What you are suggesting would break Roo's understanding as it would still be able to access these files with list_files, search_files, and read_file. The best practice when using indexing would be to isolate your code spaces to only the area you will be working on with Roo.

[hyprbased]

When roo uses the codebase_search tool it assumes that it has access to the entire code space. What you are suggesting would break Roo's understanding as it would still be able to access these files with list_files, search_files, and read_file. The best practice when using indexing would be to isolate your code spaces to only the area you will be working on with Roo.

is this to say that roo cannot work inside a code space that handles big json files? indexing wouldnt work 10MB+ files, yet there are many common uses for dumping/retrieving info from for an agent. it seems kind of weird to keep these files outside of the main code space