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Comments on Python script using `gitignore_parser` doesn't respect `.gitignore` rules
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Python script using gitignore_parser doesn't respect .gitignore rules
[closed]
Closed as not constructive by Karl Knechtel on Oct 26, 2025 at 20:34
This question cannot be answered in a way that is helpful to anyone. It's not possible to learn something from possible answers, except for the solution for the specific problem of the asker.
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I'm using a Python script to merge code files:
python codemerge.py --filters "*.py" --output merged_code.txt .
The script uses gitignore_parser to skip files in .gitignore. My .gitignore excludes venv/. However, the merged output still includes files from venv and other ignored files. No errors are shown.
I wonder if gitignore_parser requires absolute paths, or if I'm missing something else in the integration.
How can I make the script respect .gitignore?
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import argparse
import fnmatch
import sys
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Callable, List, Optional
from gitignore_parser import parse_gitignore
def merge_files(
paths: List[str],
includes: Optional[List[str]],
ignores: Optional[List[str]],
ignore_matcher: Callable[[Path], bool],
recursive: bool = True,
) -> str:
merged_content: List[str] = []
def process_file(file_path: Path) -> None:
if should_include(file_path, includes, ignores, ignore_matcher):
merged_content.append(f"# File: {file_path}\n")
merged_content.append(file_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
merged_content.append("\n\n")
for path_str in paths:
path = Path(path_str)
if not path.exists():
continue
if path.is_file():
process_file(path)
elif path.is_dir() and recursive:
for file in path.rglob("*"):
if file.is_file():
process_file(file)
return "".join(merged_content)
def should_include(
file_path: Path,
includes: Optional[List[str]],
ignores: Optional[List[str]],
ignore_matcher: Callable[[Path], bool],
) -> bool:
if ignore_matcher(file_path):
return False
str_path = str(file_path)
if ignores:
for pattern in ignores:
if fnmatch.fnmatch(str_path, pattern):
return False
if not includes:
return True
for pattern in includes:
if fnmatch.fnmatch(str_path, pattern):
return True
return False
def parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Merge code files into one output")
parser.add_argument("merge_paths", nargs="+", help="Directories or files to merge")
parser.add_argument("-i", "--ignores", nargs="*", help="Glob patterns to ignore")
parser.add_argument(
"-f", "--filters", nargs="*", default=["*"], help="Glob patterns to include"
)
parser.add_argument(
"--format", default="text", choices=["text"], help="Output format"
)
parser.add_argument("--output", help="File to save merged content; default stdout")
parser.add_argument(
"--no-recursive",
action="store_true",
help="Disable recursive directory traversal",
)
return parser.parse_args()
def main() -> None:
args = parse_args()
gitignore_path = Path(".gitignore")
ignore_matcher: Callable[[Path], bool] = (
parse_gitignore(gitignore_path) if gitignore_path.exists() else lambda x: False
)
merged: str = merge_files(
paths=args.merge_paths,
includes=args.filters,
ignores=args.ignores,
ignore_matcher=ignore_matcher,
recursive=not args.no_recursive,
)
if args.output:
Path(args.output).write_text(merged, encoding="utf-8")
else:
sys.stdout.write(merged)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
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