Excluding files

About exclusion

By default, all files in your project are included in your output (regardless of whether they’re listed in the sidebar_doc.yml file or not). To exclude files, note them in the exclude section in the configuration file. Here’s a sample:

exclude: 
  - mydoc_writers_*
  - bower_components
  - Gemfile

If you have different outputs for your site, you’ll want to customize the exclude sections in your various configuration files.

Exclude strategies

Here’s the process I recommend. Put all files in the root directory of your project. Suppose one project’s name is alpha and the other is beta. Then name each file as follows:

• alpha_sample.html
• beta_sample.html

In your exclude list for your beta project, specify it as follows:

exclude: 
- alpha_*

In your exclude list for your alpha project, specify it as follows:

exclude:
- beta_*

If you have more sophisticated exclusion, add another level to your file names. For example, if you have different programming languages you want to filter by, add this:

• alpha_java_sample.html
• alpha_cpp_sample.html

Then you exclude files for your Alpha C++ project as follows:

exclude: 

- alpha_java_*
- beta_*

And you exclude files for your Alpha Java project as follows:

exclude:

- alpha_cpp_*
- alpha_beta_*

When you exclude folders, include the trailing slash at the end of the folder name:

exclude:
- images/alpha/

There isn’t a way to automatically exclude anything. By default, everything is included unless you explicitly list it under the exclude section.

Excluding draft content

If you’re working on a draft, put it inside the _drafts folder or add published: false in the frontmatter. The _drafts folder is excluded by default, so you don’t have to specify it in your exclude list.

Limitations

What if a file should appear in two projects but not the third? This can get tricky. For some files, rather than using a wildcard, you may need to manually specify the entire filename that you’re excluding instead of excluding it by way of a wildcard pattern.