From 27f3820d30bf1105d8c7b8514eb6162a637ba5e6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: sneak <sneak@sneak.berlin>
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2026 01:42:14 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Make a leading **/ in an exclude pattern match at the top
 level (closes #303)

An unanchored exclude pattern such as **/node_modules or **/*.pyc
needed a / before the name, so it excluded sub/node_modules and
sub/y.pyc but backed up node_modules/ and x.pyc directly under the
snapshot path. An unanchored pattern already matches at every depth,
so the leading **/ is now dropped when the pattern is compiled and,
as in gitignore, the pattern matches the top level too.

Judgement call: an anchored /**/x is left as it was; the issue covers
patterns that start with **/.

Model: opus-5-5
---
 TODO.md                           |  9 ++++++
 internal/snapshot/exclude_test.go | 47 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 internal/snapshot/scanner.go      |  8 ++++++
 3 files changed, 64 insertions(+)

diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 018c80c..ab96770 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -22,6 +22,15 @@ the tag exists and is exercised; what is left is merging `next` to
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-13: Made an exclude pattern starting with `**/` also match
+  directly under the snapshot path
+  ([issue #303](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/303)).
+  `**/node_modules` and `**/*.pyc`, the patterns `config.example.yml`
+  uses, excluded `sub/node_modules` and `sub/y.pyc` but backed up
+  `node_modules/` and `x.pyc` at the top of the path, since the pattern
+  required a `/` before the name. As in gitignore, such a pattern now
+  matches at every depth, the top included.
+
 - 2026-10-12: Rejected a retention duration longer than about 292 years
   ([issue #289](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/289)). The
   number given to `--older-than` or `--keep-newer-than` was multiplied
diff --git a/internal/snapshot/exclude_test.go b/internal/snapshot/exclude_test.go
index 9870018..48deb70 100644
--- a/internal/snapshot/exclude_test.go
+++ b/internal/snapshot/exclude_test.go
@@ -531,3 +531,50 @@ func TestExcludePatterns_UnanchoredPatternFile(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Equal(t, 1, result.FilesScanned,
 		"Unanchored pattern for file should match anywhere")
 }
+
+func TestExcludePatterns_DoubleStarDirectoryAtEveryDepth(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// As in gitignore, a leading **/ also matches directly under the source dir
+	fs := setupAnchoredTestFS(t)
+
+	scanner, repos, cleanup := createTestScanner(t, fs, []string{"**/projectname"})
+	defer cleanup()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	createSnapshotRecord(ctx, t, repos, "test-snapshot")
+
+	result, err := scanner.Scan(ctx, "/backup", "test-snapshot")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// **/projectname should exclude BOTH:
+	// - /backup/projectname/file.txt
+	// - /backup/otherproject/projectname/file.txt
+	// Total files: 4, excluded: 2
+	require.Equal(t, 2, result.FilesScanned,
+		"**/ directory pattern should match at the top level and nested")
+}
+
+func TestExcludePatterns_DoubleStarFileAtEveryDepth(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// As in gitignore, a leading **/ also matches directly under the source dir
+	fs := setupAnchoredTestFS(t)
+
+	scanner, repos, cleanup := createTestScanner(t, fs, []string{"**/*.txt"})
+	defer cleanup()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	createSnapshotRecord(ctx, t, repos, "test-snapshot")
+
+	result, err := scanner.Scan(ctx, "/backup", "test-snapshot")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// **/*.txt should exclude ALL .txt files:
+	// - /backup/file.txt
+	// - /backup/projectname/file.txt
+	// - /backup/otherproject/projectname/file.txt
+	// Total files: 4, excluded: 3
+	require.Equal(t, 1, result.FilesScanned,
+		"**/ file pattern should match at the top level and nested")
+}
diff --git a/internal/snapshot/scanner.go b/internal/snapshot/scanner.go
index c810278..9ee4937 100644
--- a/internal/snapshot/scanner.go
+++ b/internal/snapshot/scanner.go
@@ -2013,6 +2013,14 @@ func compileExcludePatterns(patterns []string) []compiledPattern {
 		// Remove trailing slash if present (directory indicator)
 		pattern = strings.TrimSuffix(pattern, "/")
 
+		// A leading "**/" demands a "/" before the name and so misses an
+		// entry directly under the source path. An unanchored pattern
+		// already matches at every depth, so drop the prefix: as in
+		// gitignore, "**/x" then also matches a top-level "x".
+		if !anchored {
+			pattern = strings.TrimPrefix(pattern, "**/")
+		}
+
 		// Compile the glob pattern
 		// For patterns without path separators, we need to match them as components
 		// e.g., ".git" should match ".git" anywhere in the path