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Repo Scan Errors

Repository scan errors usually come from permissions, ignored paths, unreadable files, symlinks, binary files, or very large repositories.

Quick steps​

  1. Confirm the repository path still exists.
  2. Select the repository again through PastePrompt.
  3. Check macOS folder permissions.
  4. Review .gitignore and .pastepromptignore.
  5. Check whether the file is a symlink, binary, too large, or unreadable.
  6. Narrow selection to a smaller folder if the repo is very large.
  7. Restart the app if file permissions were changed outside PastePrompt.

Permission errors​

If PastePrompt cannot read a repo:

  1. Confirm your macOS user can open the folder in Finder.
  2. Re-select the repo through PastePrompt instead of relying on a stale workspace preset.
  3. Grant folder permissions if macOS asks.
  4. Check whether the repo moved to an external drive, cloud-synced folder, or restricted system path.

Ignored files​

PastePrompt respects .gitignore and .pastepromptignore by default. If an expected file is missing:

  1. Search for the file by name.
  2. Check whether an ignore rule hides it.
  3. Confirm whether the file should actually be included in LLM context.
  4. If the file is intentionally needed, add a narrow workspace include ignored paths pattern, such as vendor/package/src/**.
  5. Refresh the repository scan.
  6. Prefer .pastepromptignore for PastePrompt-specific exclusions instead of changing project .gitignore rules.

Do not include ignored files that contain secrets, local config, private deployment data, or client-only material unless you intentionally reviewed the risk.

PastePrompt should treat symlinks, nested repositories, hidden files, binary files, and very large files as explicit edge cases.

  • Symlinks that escape the selected repo root may be blocked.
  • Nested Git repositories may need to be selected as their own repo.
  • Binary files may be hidden, skipped, or represented as non-previewable.
  • Very large files can slow scanning or dominate token budgets.

Expected behavior​

PastePrompt should show clear errors rather than silently skipping files that affect output.

Safe support report​

Include the app version, macOS version, repo type, rough repo size, and sanitized error message. Do not send source files, private paths that reveal client names, generated context bundles, or secrets.