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meaghanlewis merged 5 commits into from
Dec 11, 2025
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Document DefaultItemExcludes for dotnet watch file exclusion #50550

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Initial plan
Copilot Dec 11, 2025
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Add DefaultItemExcludes documentation to dotnet watch
Copilot Dec 11, 2025
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Clarify DefaultItemExcludes reference in documentation
meaghanlewis Dec 11, 2025
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Improve clarity on DefaultItemExcludes usage
meaghanlewis Dec 11, 2025
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address review feedback
meaghanlewis Dec 11, 2025
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3 changes: 3 additions & 0 deletions docs/core/project-sdk/msbuild-props.md
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Expand Up @@ -879,6 +879,9 @@ Use the `DefaultItemExcludes` property to define glob patterns for files and fol
</PropertyGroup>
```

> [!NOTE]
> The `DefaultItemExcludes` property excludes files and folders from being watched by `dotnet watch`. For more information, see [Ignore specified folders and files from `dotnet watch`](/dotnet/core/tools/dotnet-watch#ignore-specified-files-and-folders).

### DefaultItemExcludesInProjectFolder

Use the `DefaultItemExcludesInProjectFolder` property to define glob patterns for files and folders in the project folder that should be excluded from the include, exclude, and remove globs. By default, folders that start with a period (`.`), such as *.git* and *.vs*, are excluded from the glob patterns.
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30 changes: 27 additions & 3 deletions docs/core/tools/dotnet-watch.md
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Expand Up @@ -189,9 +189,11 @@ More files can be watched by adding items to the `Watch` group. For example, the
</ItemGroup>
```

## Ignore specified files
## Ignore specified files and folders

`dotnet watch` will ignore `Compile` and `EmbeddedResource` items that have the `Watch="false"` attribute, as shown in the following example:
Use the `Watch="false"` attribute to ignore specified files. Use the `DefaultItemExcludes` property to ignore folders or files from being watched.

To prevent `dotnet watch` from watching files, use the `Compile` and `EmbeddedResource` items with the `Watch="false"` attribute, as shown in the following example:

```xml
<ItemGroup>
Expand All @@ -200,14 +202,36 @@ More files can be watched by adding items to the `Watch` group. For example, the
</ItemGroup>
```

`dotnet watch` will ignore project references that have the `Watch="false"` attribute, as shown in the following example:
`dotnet watch` ignores project references that have the `Watch="false"` attribute, as shown in the following example:

```xml
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectReference Include="..\ClassLibrary1\ClassLibrary1.csproj" Watch="false" />
</ItemGroup>
```

Starting in .NET 10, use the `DefaultItemExcludes` property to exclude entire folders or file patterns from being watched by `dotnet watch`. This approach is useful when you want to exclude files that aren't relevant to compilation or files that trigger unwanted restarts or reloads.

For example, files in the `App_Data` folder of ASP.NET Core applications might change while the app runs, causing unnecessary page reloads. Exclude this folder from being watched:

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
<DefaultItemExcludes>$(DefaultItemExcludes);**/App_Data/**</DefaultItemExcludes>
</PropertyGroup>
```

Exclude multiple patterns by separating them with semicolons:

```xml
<PropertyGroup>
<DefaultItemExcludes>$(DefaultItemExcludes);**/App_Data/**;**/temp/**;**/*.log</DefaultItemExcludes>
</PropertyGroup>
```

The `DefaultItemExcludes` property affects all default item types, like `Compile` and `EmbeddedResource`. The `Watch="false"` attribute provides finer control over specific files or project references.

For more information, see the [DefaultItemExcludes reference](../project-sdk/msbuild-props.md#defaultitemexcludes).

## Advanced configuration

`dotnet watch` performs a design-time build to find items to watch. When this build is run, `dotnet watch` sets the property `DotNetWatchBuild=true`. This property can be used as shown in the following example:
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