Excluding paths from monitoring and patching¶

Patcherly lets you control which files and folders it monitors for errors and whether it can automatically suggest or apply fixes for them. Understanding the difference helps you keep your Errors view clean and sensitive files safe.

The three layers of path protection¶

Layer	What it does	Who sets it
Always-excluded paths	Patcherly never touches these paths — not for monitoring, not for fixes. This includes system files, your database config, connector files, and common sensitive locations.	Patcherly (built-in, cannot be changed)
Monitoring exclusions	Hides errors from these paths in your Errors view. Useful for silencing noise from third-party code or build output.	You — available on all plans
Patch-only exclusions	Patcherly can still show errors from these paths, but it will never suggest or apply a fix to them. Use this for code areas where only humans should make changes.	You — Core and Pro plans

What's always excluded (built-in protection)¶

You don't need to configure these — they're automatically in effect for every target:

Database and site config files — wp-config.php, .env files, common database config files
Connector files — Patcherly's own backup folders, queue files, and plugin directory
System folders — OS-level directories (/etc/, /usr/, /bin/, etc.)
Version control — .git/, .svn/ and similar directories
Dependencies — node_modules/, vendor/ and similar package trees
Build output — dist/, build/ and similar generated folders
Web server config — .htaccess and similar server config files (where applicable)

You can see the full list for your target by opening Edit Target → Always-excluded patch paths in the dashboard (expandable, read-only).

Monitoring exclusions — reduce noise¶

These control what appears in your Errors view. If a path is in your monitoring exclusions, errors from it won't appear in your inbox.

When to use it: - Third-party plugins or libraries generating errors you don't own - Build tools, test runners, or CI artefacts - Temporary files or cache directories

How to set it: Open Dashboard → Targets, click the target row, then Edit. Enter one path pattern per line in the Monitoring exclusion paths field.

Patterns use glob syntax — for example **/vendor/** matches any vendor folder at any depth. After saving, the connector picks up the new list within a few minutes.

Patch-only exclusions — protect sensitive code (Core and Pro)¶

These prevent Patcherly from ever suggesting or applying a fix to specific paths, even if errors come from them.

When to use it: - Heavily customised files where automated changes could break things - Areas handled by a specific developer or team - Deployment scripts or infrastructure code

How to set it: Same as above — in Edit Target, enter one path pattern per line in the Patch-only exclusions field. Requires a Core or Pro plan.

Tip: If you want a path completely hidden from Patcherly (no errors, no fixes), add it to both monitoring exclusions and patch-only exclusions. Monitoring exclusions take priority when a path matches both.

Log paths — which files Patcherly reads for errors¶

Your connector automatically monitors the standard log locations for its type (for example wp-content/debug.log for WordPress). On Core and Pro plans you can add extra log files via Dashboard → Targets → Log paths.

The Log paths modal shows: - Preset paths — the standard locations Patcherly monitors for your connector type (read-only) - Custom paths — any extra log files you've added (Core and Pro)

Troubleshooting¶

Errors still appear from a path I excluded

The connector refreshes exclusion rules every few minutes. Restart the connector for an immediate update.
Check that the path pattern in the dashboard matches how the error path looks — for example, absolute vs relative.
Make sure you saved the right target.

I can see the error but Patcherly won't fix it

Check whether the path is in your patch-only exclusions.
The path might also be in the always-excluded list — open Edit Target to see the full list.