When you opt in to sharing your project context with the agent,
you can control which files specifically from the codebase are shared using
`.aiexclude` files. AI features in Android Studio cannot access files outside of
the current project and the Version Control System (VCS) roots attached to it.
With this in mind, you can place `.aiexclude` files anywhere within the project
and its VCS roots to control which files AI features are allowed to access.

Much like a `.gitignore` file, an `.aiexclude` file tracks files that shouldn't
be shared with the agent. This includes the chat experience as
well as AI features that operate in the editor, like [code completion](https://developer.android.com/studio/gemini/code-completion). An
`.aiexclude` file operates on files at or below the directory that contains it.
![An example `.aiexclude` file in Android Studio.](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/gemini-aiexclude.png) An example of an \`.aiexclude\` file in Android Studio.

## How to write `.aiexclude` files

An `.aiexclude` file follows the same syntax as a
[`.gitignore` file](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitignore).

## Examples

Here are example `.aiexclude` file configurations:

- The pattern `KEYS` blocks all files called "KEYS" with no file extension in the directory containing the `.aiexclude` file, or in its subdirectories.

    KEYS

- The pattern `KEYS.*` blocks all files called "KEYS" with any file extension in the directory containing the `.aiexclude` file, or in its subdirectories.

    KEYS.*

- The pattern `*.kt` blocks all Kotlin files in the directory containing the `.aiexclude` file, or in its subdirectories.

    *.kt

- The pattern `/*.kt` blocks all Kotlin files in the `.aiexclude` directory, but not in its subdirectories.

    /*.kt

- The pattern `my/sensitive/dir/` blocks all files in the `my/sensitive/dir` directory and its subdirectories. The path is relative to the directory that contains the `.aiexclude` file.

    my/sensitive/dir/

- The pattern `my/sensitive/dir/**/.txt` blocks all TXT files in the `my/sensitive/dir/` directory or its subdirectories.

    my/sensitive/dir/**/.txt

- The pattern `my/sensitive/dir/*.txt` blocks all TXT files in the directory `my/sensitive/dir`, but not in sub-directories.

    my/sensitive/dir/*.txt