[ENHANCEMENT] .rooignore should be used to filter files and folders when using @ to add context

[jerrill-johnson-bitwerx]

Problem (one or two sentences)

I'm using spec-kit for development and have, for example, accumulated a lot of spec.md files, plan.md files, etc. Even if I add the individual spec folders (/specs/001-my-feature/, etc.) to .rooignore, I still see their contained files (e.g. markdown files) in the list when I type something like @plan.md to add context to a session and have to scroll through the unordered list searching for the one I want. It would be great if I could use .rooignore to filter those out as new features are created over time. I would just add the previous spec folders (for example) to the .rooignore list as I create new ones.

Context (who is affected and when)

This would benefit users of bureaucracy layers like spec-kit which creates many folders of similarly named files that are often useful to include in context for new sessions. The current list will include them all in a seemingly random order and won't scale to long term use of tools like spec-kit.

Desired behavior (conceptual, not technical)

Files and folders included in .rooignore would not appear in the files and folders lists when using @ to include them in context in sessions.

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've analyzed this issue and here's my proposed implementation plan:

Problem Analysis

The @ mention file picker (used for adding context to sessions) currently shows all files found via ripgrep, without respecting .rooignore patterns. The RooIgnoreController already exists in the codebase and is used by tools like read_file, write_to_file, and execute_command, but it's not being applied to the file search results sent to the webview.

Proposed Solution

Filter the file search results in the backend using RooIgnoreController before sending them to the webview:

1. Modify searchFiles case in webviewMessageHandler.ts (~line 1674-1712):

   • Get the RooIgnoreController from the current task (or create one if needed)
   • Filter the search results using controller.filterPaths() before sending them to the webview
   • Respect the existing showRooIgnoredFiles setting to allow users to toggle this behavior

2. No webview changes needed: The filtering happens server-side before results reach the frontend, so the webview will naturally show fewer (filtered) results.

3. Add tests: Add test coverage for the filtering behavior in the file search handler.

Key Files

• src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts: The searchFiles case that handles file search requests
• src/core/ignore/RooIgnoreController.ts: The existing controller with filterPaths() method
• src/services/search/file-search.ts: The file search service

Benefits

• Consistent behavior: .rooignore will work the same way for @ mentions as it does for other file operations
• Existing setting: The showRooIgnoredFiles setting can control whether users want to see ignored files or not
• Minimal changes: Only the backend handler needs modification

Please mention @roomote in a comment saying that you approve this plan, and I'll proceed with the implementation.

[mrubens]

@roomote sounds good

[roomote]

Thanks for the approval! I'll proceed with the implementation to filter @ mention file search results using the existing RooIgnoreController. Will open a PR shortly with the changes.

[roomote]

Opened PR #10174 with my attempt at addressing this. The implementation filters @ mention file search results using the existing RooIgnoreController, respecting the showRooIgnoredFiles setting. Feedback welcome!