Excluding Files, Folders, or Branches with Filters

Customize which files, folders, and Git branches are reviewed when the Agent triggers automatically on pull requests.

The AI Code Review Agent offers powerful filters to exclude specific files and folders from code reviews and gives you precise control over which Git branches are included in automated reviews.

These filters can be configured at the Agent instance level, overriding the default behavior.

Exclude Files and Folders filter

A list of files/folders that the AI Code Review Agent will not review if they are present in the diff. You can specify the files/folders to exclude from the review by name or glob/regex pattern. The Agent will automatically skip any files or folders that match the exclusion list.

This filter applies to both manual reviews initiated through the /review command and automated reviews triggered via webhook.

By default, these files are excluded: *.xml, *.json, *.properties, .gitignore, *.yml, *.md

Examples

Note:

• Patterns are case sensitive.

• Don’t use double quotes, single quotes or comma in the pattern.

• Users can pass both types of patterns - Unix files system based glob pattern or regex.

Exclusion Rule for Files & Folders	Applicable Pattern	Matched Examples	Not Matched Examples
Exclude all properties files in all folders and subfolders	*.properties	resource/config.properties, resource/server/server.properties	resource/config.yaml, resource/config.json
Exclude all files, folders and subfolders in folder starting with resources	resources/	resources/application.properties, resources/config/config.yaml	app/resources/file.txt, config/resources/service.properties
Exclude all files, folders and subfolders in folder src/com/resources	src/com/resources/	resources/application.properties, resources/config/config.yaml	app/resources/file.txt, config/resources/service.properties
Exclude all files, folders and subfolders in subfolder resource and in parent folder src	src/*/resource/*	src/com/resource/main.html, src/com/resource/script/file.css, src/com/resource/app/script.js	src/resource/file.txt, src/com/config/file.txt, app/com/config/file.txt
Exclude non-css files from folder src/com/resource/ and subfolders	^src\/com\/resource\\/(?!.*\\.css$).*$	src/com/resource/main.html, src/com/resource/app/script.js, src/com/config/file.txt	src/com/resource/script/file.css
Exclude specific file controller/webhook_controller.go	controller/webhook_controller.go	controller/webhook_controller.go	controller/controller.go, controller/webhook_service.go
Exclude non-css files from folder starting with config and its subfolders	^config\\/(?!.*\\.css$).*$	config/server.yml, config/util/conf.properties	config/profile.css, config/styles/main.css
Exclude all files & folders	*	resource/file.txt, config/file.properties, app/folder/	-
Exclude all files & folders starting with name bito in module folder	module/bito*	module/bito123, module/bitofile.js, module/bito/file.js	module/filebito.js, module/file2.txt, module/util/file.txt
Exclude single-character folder names	*/?/*	src/a/file.txt, app/b/folder/file.yaml	folder/file.txt, ab/folder/file.txt
Exclude all folders, subfolders and files in those folders except folder starting with service folder	^(?!service\\/).*$	config/file.txt, resources/file.yaml	service/file.txt, service/config/file.yaml
Exclude all files in all folders except .py, .go, and .java files	^(?!.*\\.(py|go|java)$).*$	config/file.txt, app/main.js	main.py, module/service.go, test/Example.java
Exclude non-css files from folder src/com/config and its subfolders	^config\\/(?!.*\\.css$).*$	config/server.yml, config/util/conf.properties	config/profile.css, config/styles/main.css

Include Source/Target Branches filter

This filter defines which pull requests trigger automated reviews based on their source or target branch, allowing you to focus on critical code and avoid unnecessary reviews or AI usage.

By default, pull requests merging into the repository’s default branch are subject to review. To extend review coverage, additional branches may be specified using explicit branch names or valid glob/regex patterns. When the source or target branch of a pull request matches one of the patterns on your inclusion list, Bito’s AI Code Review Agent will trigger an automated review.

This filter applies only to automatically triggered reviews. Users should still be able to trigger reviews manually via the /review command.

Examples

Note:

• Patterns are case sensitive.

• Don’t use double quotes, single quotes or comma in the pattern.

• Users can pass both types of patterns - Unix files system based glob pattern or regex.

Inclusion Rules for Branch	Pattern	Matched Examples	Not Matched Examples
Include any branch that starts with name BITO-	BITO-*	BITO-feature, BITO-123	feature-BITO, development
Include any branch that does not start with BITO-	^(?!BITO-).*	feature-123, release-v1.0	BITO-feature, BITO-123
Include any branch which is not BITO	^(?!BITO$).*	feature-BITO, development	BITO
Include branches like release/v1.0 and release/v1.0.1	release/v\\d+\\.\\d+(\\.\\d+)?	release/v1.0, release/v1.0.1	release/v1, release/v1.0.x
Include any branch ending with -test	*-test	feature-test, release-test	test-feature, release-testing
Include the branch that has keyword main	main	main, main-feature, mainline	master, development
Include the branch named main	^main$	main	main-feature, mainline, master, development
Include any branch name that does not start with feature- or release-	^(?!release-|feature-).*$	hotfix-123, development	feature-123, release-v1.0
Include branches with names containing digits	.*\\d+.*	feature-123, release-v1.0	feature-abc, main
Include branches with names ending with test or testing	.*(test|testing)$	feature-test, bugfix-testing	testing-feature, test-branch
Include branches with names containing a specific substring test	*test*	feature-test, test-branch, testing	feature, release
Include branches with names containing exactly three characters	^.{3}$	abc, 123	abcd, ab
Include branch names starting with release, hotfix, or development but not starting with Bito or feature	^(?!Bito|feature)(release|hotfix|development).*$	release-v1.0, hotfix-123, development-xyz	Bito-release, feature-hotfix, main-release
Include all branches where name do not contains version like 1.0, 1.0.1, etc.	^(?!.\\b\\d+\\.\\d+(\\.\\d+)?\\b).*	feature-xyz, main	release-v1.0, hotfix-1.0.1
Include all branches which are not alphanumeric	^.[^a-zA-Z0-9].$	feature-!abc, release-@123	feature-123, release-v1.0
Include all branches which contains space	.*\\s.*	feature 123, release v1.0	feature-123, release-v1.0

Draft pull requests filter

A binary setting that enables/disables automated review of pull requests (PR) based on the draft status. Enter True to disable automated review for draft pull requests, or False to enable it.

The default value is True which skips automated review of draft PR.

How to configure the filters?

Bito Cloud (Bito-hosted Agent)

You can configure filters using the Agent configuration page. For detailed instructions, please refer to the Install/run Using Bito Cloud documentation page.

CLI or webhooks service (self-hosted Agent)

You can configure filters using the bito-cra.properties file. Check the options exclude_branches, exclude_files, and exclude_draft_pr for more details.

GitHub Actions (self-hosted Agent)

You can configure filters using the GitHub Actions repository variables: EXCLUDE_BRANCHES, EXCLUDE_FILES, and EXCLUDE_DRAFT_PR. For detailed instructions, please refer to the Install/Run via GitHub Actions documentation page.