Where does .eslintignore go?

It lives at your project root next to the ESLint config. ESLint reads it automatically when using the legacy config format, applying each pattern relative to the root.

Is .eslintignore still used with flat config?

Flat config in newer ESLint versions ignores the .eslintignore file and uses a global ignores entry instead. This builder still helps because you can paste the same patterns into that ignores array.

Why ignore node_modules?

Linting third-party dependencies is slow and meaningless since you do not control that code. ESLint ignores node_modules by default, but listing it makes the intent explicit and avoids surprises.

What glob syntax does it use?

Patterns use the same gitignore-style globbing ESLint supports: a trailing slash matches a directory, an asterisk matches within a path segment, and two asterisks match across segments.

Can I un-ignore a file?

Yes. Prefix a pattern with an exclamation mark to negate a previous ignore, for example to lint one generated file inside an otherwise ignored folder. Order matters, so place negations after the broad rule.

.eslintignore Builder

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Keep ESLint focused on the code that matters

Linting node_modules, build output, or generated bundles wastes time and floods the report with irrelevant errors. An .eslintignore file tells ESLint which paths to skip. This builder assembles a sensible default set plus your own patterns so the linter only checks code you actually maintain.

How it works

The file is a plain list of gitignore-style glob patterns, one per line, evaluated relative to the project root. Each preset group adds its conventional paths: dependencies add node_modules/, build output adds dist/ and build/, coverage adds coverage/, and generated files add things like *.min.js and *.d.ts. Custom patterns are appended verbatim. A trailing slash restricts a pattern to directories, and a leading ! negates an earlier rule so you can re-include a specific file. Blank lines and # comments are preserved for readability.

Tips and example

Enable the dependencies, build, and coverage presets to cover the common cases, then add project-specific lines such as public/vendor/** or src/generated/. If you need to lint one file inside an ignored folder, add a negation like !src/generated/keep.js after the broad rule. For flat-config projects, copy these patterns into the ignores array of a global config object instead of a separate file.