diff --git a/src/services/glob/__tests__/list-files-git-exclusion.spec.ts b/src/services/glob/__tests__/list-files-git-exclusion.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e1c982a13903
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/services/glob/__tests__/list-files-git-exclusion.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,213 @@
+// npx vitest src/services/glob/__tests__/list-files-git-exclusion.spec.ts
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest"
+import * as childProcess from "child_process"
+import * as path from "path"
+import * as os from "os"
+import * as fs from "fs"
+import { listFiles } from "../list-files"
+
+// Mock child_process module
+vi.mock("child_process", () => ({
+	spawn: vi.fn(),
+}))
+
+// Mock dependencies
+vi.mock("../../ripgrep", () => ({
+	getBinPath: vi.fn(async () => "/usr/bin/rg"),
+}))
+
+vi.mock("vscode", () => ({
+	env: {
+		appRoot: "/test/app/root",
+	},
+	workspace: {
+		getConfiguration: vi.fn(() => ({
+			get: vi.fn(() => undefined),
+		})),
+	},
+}))
+
+describe("list-files .git exclusion", () => {
+	let tempDir: string
+	let originalCwd: string
+
+	beforeEach(async () => {
+		// Create a temporary directory for testing
+		tempDir = await fs.promises.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "roo-git-exclusion-test-"))
+		originalCwd = process.cwd()
+
+		// Mock fs.promises.access to simulate files exist
+		vi.spyOn(fs.promises, "access").mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+		vi.spyOn(fs.promises, "readdir").mockImplementation(async () => [])
+	})
+
+	afterEach(async () => {
+		// Clean up temporary directory
+		await fs.promises.rm(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+		vi.restoreAllMocks()
+	})
+
+	it("should always exclude .git directories in recursive mode", async () => {
+		// Mock ripgrep spawn
+		const mockSpawn = vi.mocked(childProcess.spawn)
+		mockSpawn.mockImplementation((command: string, args: readonly string[]) => {
+			const mockProcess = {
+				stdout: {
+					on: (event: string, callback: (data: any) => void) => {
+						if (event === "data") {
+							// Simulate ripgrep output
+							setTimeout(() => callback(`${path.join(tempDir, "src", "index.ts")}\n`), 10)
+						}
+					},
+				},
+				stderr: {
+					on: vi.fn(),
+				},
+				on: (event: string, callback: (code: number | null) => void) => {
+					if (event === "close") {
+						setTimeout(() => callback(0), 20)
+					}
+				},
+				kill: vi.fn(),
+			} as any
+			return mockProcess
+		})
+
+		// Call listFiles in recursive mode
+		const [files, limitReached] = await listFiles(tempDir, true, 100)
+
+		// Verify ripgrep was called with the .git exclusion pattern
+		expect(mockSpawn).toHaveBeenCalled()
+		const [rgPath, args] = mockSpawn.mock.calls[0]
+
+		// Check that the arguments include the .git exclusion pattern
+		expect(args).toContain("-g")
+		expect(args).toContain("!**/.git/**")
+	})
+
+	it("should exclude .git directories even when explicitly targeting a hidden directory", async () => {
+		// Create a hidden directory path
+		const hiddenDirPath = path.join(tempDir, ".hidden-dir")
+
+		// Mock ripgrep spawn
+		const mockSpawn = vi.mocked(childProcess.spawn)
+		mockSpawn.mockImplementation((command: string, args: readonly string[]) => {
+			const mockProcess = {
+				stdout: {
+					on: (event: string, callback: (data: any) => void) => {
+						if (event === "data") {
+							// Simulate ripgrep output
+							setTimeout(() => callback(`${path.join(hiddenDirPath, "file.ts")}\n`), 10)
+						}
+					},
+				},
+				stderr: {
+					on: vi.fn(),
+				},
+				on: (event: string, callback: (code: number | null) => void) => {
+					if (event === "close") {
+						setTimeout(() => callback(0), 20)
+					}
+				},
+				kill: vi.fn(),
+			} as any
+			return mockProcess
+		})
+
+		// Call listFiles targeting a hidden directory
+		const [files, limitReached] = await listFiles(hiddenDirPath, true, 100)
+
+		// Verify ripgrep was called with the .git exclusion pattern
+		expect(mockSpawn).toHaveBeenCalled()
+		const [rgPath, args] = mockSpawn.mock.calls[0]
+
+		// Even when targeting a hidden directory, .git should still be excluded
+		expect(args).toContain("-g")
+		expect(args).toContain("!**/.git/**")
+
+		// But the command should have the special flags for hidden directories
+		expect(args).toContain("--no-ignore-vcs")
+		expect(args).toContain("--no-ignore")
+	})
+
+	it("should exclude .git directories in non-recursive mode", async () => {
+		// Mock ripgrep spawn
+		const mockSpawn = vi.mocked(childProcess.spawn)
+		mockSpawn.mockImplementation((command: string, args: readonly string[]) => {
+			const mockProcess = {
+				stdout: {
+					on: (event: string, callback: (data: any) => void) => {
+						if (event === "data") {
+							// Simulate ripgrep output for non-recursive
+							setTimeout(() => callback(`${path.join(tempDir, "file.ts")}\n`), 10)
+						}
+					},
+				},
+				stderr: {
+					on: vi.fn(),
+				},
+				on: (event: string, callback: (code: number | null) => void) => {
+					if (event === "close") {
+						setTimeout(() => callback(0), 20)
+					}
+				},
+				kill: vi.fn(),
+			} as any
+			return mockProcess
+		})
+
+		// Call listFiles in non-recursive mode
+		const [files, limitReached] = await listFiles(tempDir, false, 100)
+
+		// Verify ripgrep was called with the .git exclusion patterns
+		expect(mockSpawn).toHaveBeenCalled()
+		const [rgPath, args] = mockSpawn.mock.calls[0]
+
+		// Check that the arguments include the .git exclusion patterns for non-recursive mode
+		expect(args).toContain("-g")
+		expect(args).toContain("!.git")
+		expect(args).toContain("!.git/**")
+	})
+
+	it("should exclude .git even when it's the target directory", async () => {
+		// Create a .git directory path
+		const gitDirPath = path.join(tempDir, ".git")
+
+		// Mock ripgrep spawn
+		const mockSpawn = vi.mocked(childProcess.spawn)
+		mockSpawn.mockImplementation((command: string, args: readonly string[]) => {
+			const mockProcess = {
+				stdout: {
+					on: (event: string, callback: (data: any) => void) => {
+						if (event === "data") {
+							// Simulate empty output (no files found)
+							setTimeout(() => callback(""), 10)
+						}
+					},
+				},
+				stderr: {
+					on: vi.fn(),
+				},
+				on: (event: string, callback: (code: number | null) => void) => {
+					if (event === "close") {
+						setTimeout(() => callback(0), 20)
+					}
+				},
+				kill: vi.fn(),
+			} as any
+			return mockProcess
+		})
+
+		// Call listFiles targeting .git directory
+		const [files, limitReached] = await listFiles(gitDirPath, true, 100)
+
+		// Verify ripgrep was called with the .git exclusion pattern
+		expect(mockSpawn).toHaveBeenCalled()
+		const [rgPath, args] = mockSpawn.mock.calls[0]
+
+		// .git should still be excluded even when it's the target
+		expect(args).toContain("-g")
+		expect(args).toContain("!**/.git/**")
+	})
+})
diff --git a/src/services/glob/list-files.ts b/src/services/glob/list-files.ts
index 5366bbb84b46..ebe13e209574 100644
--- a/src/services/glob/list-files.ts
+++ b/src/services/glob/list-files.ts
@@ -260,14 +260,23 @@ function buildRecursiveArgs(dirPath: string): string[] {
 		args.push("-g", "**/*")
 	}
 
+	// CRITICAL: Always exclude .git directories for performance reasons
+	// This must come before other exclusions to ensure it's always applied
+	args.push("-g", "!**/.git/**")
+
 	// Apply directory exclusions for recursive searches
 	for (const dir of DIRS_TO_IGNORE) {
+		// Skip .git since we already handled it above
+		if (dir === ".git") {
+			continue
+		}
+
 		// Special handling for hidden directories pattern
 		if (dir === ".*") {
 			// If we're explicitly targeting a hidden directory, don't exclude hidden files/dirs
 			// This allows the target hidden directory and all its contents to be listed
 			if (!isTargetingHiddenDir) {
-				// Not targeting hidden dir: exclude all hidden directories
+				// Not targeting hidden dir: exclude all hidden directories (except .git which is already excluded)
 				args.push("-g", `!**/.*/**`)
 			}
 			// If targeting hidden dir: don't add any exclusion for hidden directories
@@ -305,8 +314,17 @@ function buildNonRecursiveArgs(): string[] {
 	// Respect .gitignore in non-recursive mode too
 	// (ripgrep respects .gitignore by default)
 
+	// CRITICAL: Always exclude .git directories for performance reasons
+	args.push("-g", "!.git")
+	args.push("-g", "!.git/**")
+
 	// Apply directory exclusions for non-recursive searches
 	for (const dir of DIRS_TO_IGNORE) {
+		// Skip .git since we already handled it above
+		if (dir === ".git") {
+			continue
+		}
+
 		if (dir === ".*") {
 			// For hidden directories in non-recursive mode, we want to show the directories
 			// themselves but not their contents. Since we're using --maxdepth 1, this