fix(brain-repo): exclude editor and tool config dirs from mirror

[mt-alarcon]

Summary

_EXCLUDE_DIR_NAMES in dashboard/backend/brain_repo/job_runner.py already excludes language and toolchain caches (node_modules, __pycache__, .venv, dist, build, etc.) but does not exclude config directories created by editors and note-taking apps when the user opens a watched path as a workspace/vault. Those directories are per-machine UI state and must not propagate via the brain repo.

Adds four entries to the set:

Path	Created by	Why exclude
.obsidian/	Obsidian (e.g. opening memory/ as a vault)	workspace.json rewritten on every panel/tab change; plugin enablement is per-machine
.trash/	Obsidian + a few editors	User-deleted notes pre-purge; syncing resurrects deletions on other machines
.vscode/	VS Code workspace settings	Personal launch configs / breakpoints; project-shared bits belong in repo elsewhere
.idea/	JetBrains IDEs (PyCharm, IntelliJ, WebStorm, …)	Same rationale as .vscode

How we discovered it

Opened memory/ as an Obsidian vault on a production install (MTA, 2026-05-14). .obsidian/ got created with app.json, appearance.json, core-plugins.json, workspace.json. Without this fix, the next file watcher tick mirrors the entire .obsidian/ directory into the brain repo and then commits + pushes — adding noise to every operator's local copy, churning workspace.json on every panel resize, and (in the .trash/ case) potentially undoing user deletions.

The fix is a defensive widening of the existing exclude set — same mechanism, same ignore callback, no API or schema change.

Test plan

• Empirical validation — opened the brain memory/ directory as an Obsidian vault on MTA install. Touched a sentinel file (echo ... > memory/.brain-repo-obsidian-test.md) to force the watcher's 30 s debounce. After 41 s:
  • Sentinel file present in brain_repo_dir/memory/ ✓
  • .obsidian/ absent from brain_repo_dir/memory/ ✓
  • auto: file watcher sync commit pushed to remote ✓
• No-regression — pre-existing exclusions (.git, __pycache__, node_modules, .venv, etc.) still trip the same ignore callback. Adding entries to a set strictly widens exclusion; it cannot break existing skips.
• No API change, no migration — pure defensive addition to a defaults set.

Notes for reviewers

• The four entries are directory names, not paths. They match anywhere in the watched tree (the ignore callback walks names per visited dir). That's the correct behavior for these tools — they always create their config dir directly inside the workspace root the user opened.
• Non-blocking nit: a future PR could add .zed/, .fleet/, .cursor/ for completeness. Held off here to keep the diff scoped to the editors most reviewers are likely to actually have installed; trivial follow-up if anyone wants them.
• Companion fix for the same surface: fix(brain-repo): watcher must observe install_dir, not brain_repo_dir #81 (`watcher.py` was observing brain_repo_dir instead of install_dir). That fix made watcher events actually fire; this fix keeps the resulting copytree from copying garbage that the events now correctly surface.

Summary by Sourcery

Bug Fixes:

• Exclude Obsidian, VS Code, JetBrains, and similar per-machine config directories from the brain repo mirror to avoid syncing local UI state and trash across machines.

[sourcery-ai]

Reviewer's guide (collapsed on small PRs)

Reviewer's Guide

Expands the brain repo mirror's directory exclusion set to ignore per-machine editor and note-taking config directories so they are not mirrored, committed, or pushed, without changing any APIs or logic beyond the ignore list contents.

Flow diagram for updated brain repo mirror directory exclusion

flowchart TD
    A[Filesystem change in watched path] --> B[File watcher event]
    B --> C[Mirror job_runner starts]
    C --> D[Walk directory tree]
    D --> E[Check dir_name in _EXCLUDE_DIR_NAMES]
    E -->|Yes: .obsidian / .trash / .vscode / .idea| F[Skip directory and contents]
    E -->|No| G[Include in mirror copy]
    F --> H[Commit and push mirrored changes]
    G --> H[Commit and push mirrored changes]

Loading

File-Level Changes

Change	Details	Files
Widen the brain repo mirror's exclude-dir name set to skip per-machine editor and tool config directories during sync.	Extend the existing _EXCLUDE_DIR_NAMES set with four additional directory names used for local editor and note-taking configuration .obsidian .trash .vscode .idea Document in-line that these directories contain local UI state and should not be propagated via the brain repo	dashboard/backend/brain_repo/job_runner.py

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[sourcery-ai]

Hey - I've found 1 issue

Prompt for AI Agents

Please address the comments from this code review:

## Individual Comments

### Comment 1
<location path="dashboard/backend/brain_repo/job_runner.py" line_range="197-200" />
<code_context>
+    # workspace in VS Code writes .vscode/; JetBrains writes .idea/). The content
+    # is local UI state (open tabs, window geometry, plugin enablement) that
+    # should never propagate across machines via the brain repo.
+    ".obsidian",
+    ".trash",
+    ".vscode",
+    ".idea",
 }

</code_context>
<issue_to_address>
**question (bug_risk):** Consider whether `.trash` is too generic and might hide intentional user content.

The tool-specific entries seem fine, but `.trash` is generic and could plausibly be used as a legitimate, tracked directory. Consider restricting this to known application trash locations or a more specific pattern (e.g., under certain config paths) to avoid silently ignoring real repository content.
</issue_to_address>

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[mt-alarcon]

@sourcery-ai review

Addressed in $(cd /tmp/evo-nexus-pr-brain-exclude-editor-dirs && git rev-parse --short HEAD):

Dropped .trash from the exclude set. You're right — it's the only name in the original draft that isn't unambiguously tied to a single application (Obsidian, VS Code, JetBrains all create their config dir under a distinctive name; .trash is generic enough that an operator could plausibly have a .trash/ directory of legitimate content the mirror would silently hide). Users who want Obsidian deletions purged immediately can configure that in Obsidian itself (Settings → Files & Links → Deleted files → 'Permanently delete'); we don't need a defaults-level decision for them.

The other three entries stay — folder name uniquely identifies the originating app, and the mirror noise / per-machine churn is real (validated empirically with Obsidian on the MTA install).