Scoping the folder

Shared agent memory works better when it’s curated. A folder holding node_modules/ and build output costs sync bandwidth, buries the documents that matter, and gives agents thousands of irrelevant paths to wander into.

Two mechanisms control it: an include list that narrows the project to a subfolder, and .bdriveignore that opts individual paths out. Both are applied symmetrically — the same filter governs what’s read from disk and what’s written back to it.

Sync only a subfolder

bdrive init --shared wiki

This is the right shape inside a code repository: sync wiki/ or docs/ and leave the source tree alone. The agent gets a knowledge folder; the code stays in git where it belongs. The interactive bdrive init asks the same question.

The result lands in .bdrive/config.json as an include list:

{ "id": "m-5a10b713", "volume": "notes",
  "remote": "https://drive.example.com/p/p-7f3a2c91", "include": ["wiki/"] }

Tip

A --shared mount is also where the two-file AGENTS.md pattern earns its keep — the synced map lives in wiki/, and the repo root gets a pointer to it.

Opt files out

.bdriveignore sits at the mount root and works like .gitignore:

# comments
node_modules/
*.log
build/
!build/keep.txt
/only-at-root

Supported: # comments, *, **, ?, a trailing / for directories, a leading (or any) / for root-anchoring, and ! to re-include.

It syncs like a normal file, so every device shares the same rules — one person excluding *.tmp fixes it for the whole team.

bdrive init seeds a starter one covering node_modules, build directories, caches, and .env*.

Opting out is non-destructive

When a pattern starts matching an already-synced file, the file stops syncing but is deleted nowhere. The path is dropped from the local cache without a delete op, so opting out on your machine never removes the file from anyone else’s.

What never syncs

Regardless of configuration:

• .git directories — per-file last-writer-wins would corrupt a repository. If git is the content you want synced, you want git, not BearDrive.
• .DS_Store.
• The .bdrive/ settings directory — and it holds no credentials; the session token stays in ~/.bdrive.
• BearDrive’s own temp files (.bdrive-tmp-*).
• Nested mounts — a subdirectory with its own .bdrive/config.json syncs only through its own project. The parent never scans into it, writes over it, or propagates deletes for it.
• Empty directories — not tracked, the same as git.

A note on secrets

.bdriveignore is the mechanism for keeping .env* and key material out, and the seeded default covers the common cases. But treat it as hygiene, not a security control: any org member can mint a public link for any synced file. Secrets belong in a secret manager, not in a folder you hand to agents.