Ignore Files

Regenerate every physical ignore file declared under ignoreFiles in nova.config.json from reviewed Nova bundles and project-owned patterns.

Why Use This Command?

Keeps the root .gitignore, root .dockerignore, and Cloudflare Astro .assetsignore files synchronized from one configuration.
Separates reusable Nova defaults from project-specific patterns.
Uses exact project-relative paths so each generated file stays at its canonical scope.

Requirements

Node.js runtime — Use any Node.js LTS release.
Project root — Run the command from the directory containing nova.config.json and the top-level package.json.

Usage

Options

Flag	Description
`-d, --dry-run`	Validate and render every configured entry without writing files.
`-r, --replace-file`	Overwrite existing files instead of creating `.nova-backup` copies.

Config Fields

Each ignoreFiles key is an exact project-relative output path beginning with ./. Nova manages Docker build-context exclusions only at ./.dockerignore; workspace-local .dockerignore paths are unsupported because Docker builds use the repository root context.

Field	Type	Description
`bundles`	`string[]`	Ordered Nova content bundles valid for that ignore-file basename.
`patterns`	`string[]`	Optional project-owned patterns appended after the bundled content.

json

{
  "ignoreFiles": {
    "./.gitignore": {
      "bundles": ["nova"],
      "patterns": ["graphify-out/"]
    },
    "./.dockerignore": {
      "bundles": ["nova"],
      "patterns": []
    },
    "./apps/site/public/.assetsignore": {
      "bundles": ["cloudflare-astro"],
      "patterns": []
    }
  }
}

Supported Files and Bundles

File basename	Bundle	What It Excludes
`.gitignore`	`nova`	Dependencies, framework state, generated output, local secrets, editors, and OS files.
`.dockerignore`	`nova`	Host-only dependencies, framework caches, builds, secrets, and source-control metadata.
`.assetsignore`	`cloudflare-astro`	Astro's `_worker.js` and `_routes.json` deployment control files.

Nova validates that each path is project-relative and that every bundle belongs to the target file type before anything is written. .gitignore and .assetsignore may be nested, while .dockerignore must be exactly ./.dockerignore.

Nova scaffolds create one .gitignore at the repository root. Nested workspaces inherit that file; a nested .gitignore is only available for an existing project that deliberately configures one.

How It Works

The command loads every configured entry, joins the selected bundles in order, appends a Project Excludes section, and then appends the entry's custom patterns. The established .gitignore section layout and ordering remain unchanged. Generated files include the same Nova header as before, updated to point back to this command and documentation.

For the root .dockerignore, the nova bundle excludes environment files, .secrets, dependency trees, build output, framework caches, platform state, and log files at both the repository root and within nested workspaces. It re-includes .env.sample and .env.example at both levels. Running nova generate must-haves ignore-files --replace-file regenerates those rules from the canonical bundle.

The Git bundle also excludes generated framework state, Cloudflare local secrets, native build caches, and signing credentials. TypeScript configs may still include generated declarations such as next-env.d.ts because type checking and source control have different responsibilities.

Nova scaffolds register the physical ignore files they create. The scaffold root registers ./.gitignore; a Docker-enabled repository registers ./.dockerignore; and a server-rendered Cloudflare Astro workspace registers public/.assetsignore.