Fix directory exclusion patterns to properly exclude contents

[Copilot]

Directory exclusion patterns like --exclude-dir app or -e "app/" were not excluding files within those directories. The patterns matched only the directory itself, not its contents.

Changes

Core Pattern Matching

• filter.py::matches(): Removed early return for files when pattern ends with /. Patterns like node_modules/ now match both the directory and all descendants. Wildcard patterns ending with / (e.g., tmp/**/) now correctly match only directories.
• filter.py::_include_can_match_descendant(): Replaced naive ** check with path prefix analysis. Prevents unnecessary traversal when patterns like build/reports/** cannot match under node_modules/.

Compressed View

• gpt_copy.py::collect_file_info(): Added filter engine check when collecting children for compressed directory display. Previously only checked gitignore rules, now respects CLI patterns.

Documentation

• Enhanced README with pattern matching rules and real-world examples
• Updated CLI help text to clarify trailing / behavior and last-match-wins semantics

Examples

# These now correctly exclude directories AND their contents
gpt-copy . --exclude-dir app --exclude-dir tests
gpt-copy . -e "node_modules/" -e "build/**" -i "build/reports/**"

# Pattern matching follows gitignore semantics
gpt-copy . -e "tmp/*" -i "tmp/**/"  # Excludes direct children, traverses subdirs

Testing

Added 5 tests covering the reported scenarios. Updated 1 existing test to reflect correct behavior. All 58 tests pass.

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>inclusion / exclusion pattern is not working / not documented correctly</issue_title>
<issue_description>i tried this variations

> gpt-copy . -e "uv.lock" -e .pre-commit-config.yaml -e .gitignore -e "tests/" -e "notebooks/" -e "frontend/" -e "app/" -i deployment > deploy.md
> gpt-copy . -e "uv.lock" -e .pre-commit-config.yaml -e .gitignore --exclude-dir "tests" --exclude-dir "notebooks" --exclude-dir "frontend" --exclude-dir "app" -i deployment > deploy.md
> gpt-copy . -e "uv.lock" -e .pre-commit-config.yaml -e .gitignore --exclude-dir "tests/" --exclude-dir "notebooks/" --exclude-dir "frontend/" --exclude-dir "app/" -i deployment > deploy.md
> gpt-copy . -e "uv.lock" -e .pre-commit-config.yaml -e .gitignore --exclude-dir "./tests/" --exclude-dir "./notebooks/" --exclude-dir "./frontend/" --exclude-dir "./app/" -i deployment > deploy.md
> gpt-copy . -e "uv.lock" -e .pre-commit-config.yaml -e .gitignore --exclude-dir "./tests" --exclude-dir "./notebooks" --exclude-dir "./frontend" --exclude-dir "./app" -i deployment > deploy.md
> gpt-copy . -e "uv.lock" -e .pre-commit-config.yaml -e .gitignore -e "./tests" -e "./notebooks" -e "./frontend" -e "./app" -i deployment > deploy.md

All of those failed to exclude files in the notebook folder, and the other excluded folders

❯ ls -l
total 3264
drwxrwxr-x 7 ubuntu ubuntu    4096 Nov 18 16:32 app
drwxrwxr-x 3 ubuntu ubuntu    4096 Oct 28 13:48 deployment
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu     766 Nov 18 10:23 Dockerfile
drwxrwxr-x 6 ubuntu ubuntu    4096 Nov 18 16:31 frontend
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu    4780 Nov 18 10:23 Makefile
drwxrwxr-x 2 ubuntu ubuntu    4096 Oct 28 13:48 notebooks
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu    2662 Nov 18 16:31 pyproject.toml
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu    8764 Nov 18 16:31 README.md
drwxrwxr-x 4 ubuntu ubuntu    4096 Nov 18 10:23 tests
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu    1480 Nov 18 16:33 TODO.md
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ubuntu ubuntu  849451 Nov 18 10:23 uv.lock

why exclusion is not working? what is the correct command to exclude all the folders except for deployment, and inlcude all files in the first level?

exclusion was reviewed in #47

</issue_description>

<agent_instructions>if the logic is working as it should, then add documentation to explain how to use it, even in the help message. otherwise fix the logic</agent_instructions>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes inclusion / exclusion pattern is not working / not documented correctly #51

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