---
id: "0017"
date: 2026-06-17
status: Accepted
supersedes:
superseded-by:
affected-paths: []
affected-components: []
migration_confidence: medium
migration_source: "docs/memory-system/03-architecture-decisions.md### ADR-017 — Project graph onboarding assesses the repo and writes `.graphifyignore` before extracting"
---

# 0017 — Project graph onboarding assesses the repo and writes `.graphifyignore` before extracting

## Context

The `/os-vault:onboard-project` skill's onboarding flow ran `graphify extract . --backend ollama --model qwen2.5-coder:7b` directly. graphify does NOT honor `.gitignore`; it uses a separate `.graphifyignore` file (same syntax — see `docs/graphify/02-installation-setup.md`). With no `.graphifyignore`, onboarding `viking-warrior-training-log` (135 tracked files) walked `node_modules/` (5,858 files / 161MB) and routed every non-code file there through the Ollama doc pass. The run was killed after ~1 hour with no `graph.json` produced. Cost driver: only non-code files hit the Ollama LLM; code uses the free tree-sitter AST pass.

## Decision

Onboarding is now assessment-first. Before running `graphify extract`, the skill surveys the repo, classifies directories and file types into include/exclude (weighing non-code file count since only non-code files cost LLM time), confirms the proposed ignore list with the user, writes `.graphifyignore` at the repo root, ensures `graphify-out/` is in the project's `.gitignore`, then runs extract. The ignore list is generated per-project — what counts as noise varies by stack — not from a static template.
- **Rationale**: graphify's `.gitignore` blindness is by design; the correct lever is `.graphifyignore`, not a workaround. Assessment before extraction surfaces borderline dirs (migrations, seeds, fixtures, sample data) that need a human call. Per-project generation avoids the false safety of a shared template that silently mismatches a new stack.

## Consequences

Project onboarding now surveys the repo and writes a per-project .graphifyignore before running graphify extract, since graphify does not honor .gitignore and previously walked huge directories like node_modules, routing every non-code file through the costly Ollama LLM pass and causing a run to be killed after an hour with no output. Borderline directories require human confirmation rather than being auto-excluded, and onboarding now also uses a 16k-context model build to reduce chunk counts.

## Alternatives rejected

**Static `.graphifyignore` template** — rejected; dependency/build/cache dirs vary by project stack; a template would both over-exclude (suppressing wanted source) and under-exclude (missing stack-specific dirs) for any given project. **Auto-write without user confirmation** — rejected; borderline directories (e.g. migrations, seeds, fixtures) require human judgment; mechanical exclusion would silently drop legitimate content. **AST-only mode (skip doc pass entirely)** — deferred; the `--backend ollama` flag stays; the ignore list is the correct cost lever, not backend switching.