From c793077b427d89d84a3cb6cf0145abf7ed611373 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Andrea Mazzoleni <amadvance@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2026 09:52:00 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Update TODO

---
 TODO | 47 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 47 insertions(+)

diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index 876a3f25..38b1f42f 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -5,6 +5,53 @@ This is the list of TODO items for SnapRAID.
 
 - Next
 
+* Distributed Exclusion Support (.snapraidignore)
+See https://sourceforge.net/p/snapraid/discussion/1677233/thread/09ed63eca7/?limit=25#d058
+
+Support decentralized exclusion rules by allowing users to place ignore files 
+deeper in the directory tree. This mirrors the behavior of .gitignore but 
+maintains the strict pathing logic of SnapRAID.
+
+1. FILE NAME & PLACEMENT
+* FILENAME: .snapraidignore
+* WHY: Avoids naming conflict with Ubuntu's "snap" application ecosystem.
+* PLACEMENT: Any directory within the array.
+
+2. COMPARISON WITH .GITIGNORE
+* Anchor (/): Both anchor to the local directory where the file resides.
+* Folder Logic: SnapRAID is STRICT (must end in /). Git is AMBIGUOUS.
+* File Logic: SnapRAID is STRICT (no / targets files). Git matches both.
+* Recursive Search: Both match in current folder and all subfolders.
+* Negation (!): SnapRAID does NOT SUPPORT. Git supports.
+* Globbing: Both support *, ?, [a-z]. Git adds **.
+
+3. PATTERN RULES (INTEGRATION WITH EXISTING SYNTAX)
+Patterns inside .snapraidignore are treated as relative to the file location:
+
+  FILE          Selects any file named FILE in this directory or below.
+  DIR/          Selects any directory named DIR and its contents in this 
+                directory or below.
+  /PATH/FILE    Selects the exact specified file relative to the 
+                .snapraidignore location.
+  /PATH/DIR/    Selects the exact specified directory relative to the 
+                .snapraidignore location.
+
+4. EXAMPLES
+If .snapraidignore is placed in: /mnt/disk1/projects/
+
+  /output.bin   -> Ignores ONLY /mnt/disk1/projects/output.bin
+  build/        -> Ignores any folder named 'build' inside projects/
+  *.tmp         -> Ignores any .tmp file inside projects/ or its subfolders
+
+5. IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
+* PERFORMANCE: No significant overhead. SnapRAID already performs a full 
+  directory traversal during sync/diff; it just needs to check for the presence 
+  of .snapraidignore in the current DIR handle.
+* PRECEDENCE: Exclusions are additive. If a file is excluded by EITHER the 
+  global snapraid.conf OR any local .snapraidignore in its path, it is excluded.
+* SCOPE: A .snapraidignore file affects its parent directory and all 
+  subdirectories beneath it.
+
 * Integration with MergeFS ?
 
 * Support BTRFS subvolumes. Keep track of the subvolumeid, along with the inode, and use it when searching/comparing inodes.