diff --git a/src/serena/project.py b/src/serena/project.py
index 0673f05e..966fc8c7 100644
--- a/src/serena/project.py
+++ b/src/serena/project.py
@@ -170,18 +170,22 @@ class Project:
         abs_path = Path(self.project_root) / relative_path
         return abs_path.exists()
 
-    def validate_relative_path(self, relative_path: str) -> None:
+    def validate_relative_path(self, relative_path: str, require_not_ignored: bool = False) -> None:
         """
         Validates that the given relative path to an existing file/dir is safe to read or edit,
-        meaning it's inside the project directory and is not ignored by git.
+        meaning it's inside the project directory.
 
         Passing a path to a non-existing file will lead to a `FileNotFoundError`.
+
+        :param relative_path: the path to validate, relative to the project root
+        :param require_not_ignored: if True, the path must not be ignored according to the project's ignore settings
         """
         if not self.is_path_in_project(relative_path):
             raise ValueError(f"{relative_path=} points to path outside of the repository root; cannot access for safety reasons")
 
-        if self.is_ignored_path(relative_path):
-            raise ValueError(f"Path {relative_path} is ignored; cannot access for safety reasons")
+        if require_not_ignored:
+            if self.is_ignored_path(relative_path):
+                raise ValueError(f"Path {relative_path} is ignored; cannot access for safety reasons")
 
     def gather_source_files(self, relative_path: str = "") -> list[str]:
         """Retrieves relative paths of all source files, optionally limited to the given path
diff --git a/src/serena/tools/file_tools.py b/src/serena/tools/file_tools.py
index f3db634e..d7ec5a41 100644
--- a/src/serena/tools/file_tools.py
+++ b/src/serena/tools/file_tools.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class ReadFileTool(Tool):
             required for the task.
         :return: the full text of the file at the given relative path
         """
-        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path)
+        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path, require_not_ignored=True)
 
         result = self.project.read_file(relative_path)
         result_lines = result.splitlines()
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ class CreateTextFileTool(Tool, ToolMarkerCanEdit):
         will_overwrite_existing = abs_path.exists()
 
         if will_overwrite_existing:
-            self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path)
+            self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path, require_not_ignored=True)
         else:
             assert abs_path.is_relative_to(
                 self.get_project_root()
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class ListDirTool(Tool):
 
     def apply(self, relative_path: str, recursive: bool, skip_ignored_files: bool = False, max_answer_chars: int = -1) -> str:
         """
-        Lists all non-gitignored files and directories in the given directory (optionally with recursion).
+        Lists files and directories in the given directory (optionally with recursion).
 
         :param relative_path: the relative path to the directory to list; pass "." to scan the project root
         :param recursive: whether to scan subdirectories recursively
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ class ListDirTool(Tool):
             }
             return json.dumps(error_info)
 
-        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path)
+        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path, require_not_ignored=skip_ignored_files)
 
         dirs, files = scan_directory(
             os.path.join(self.get_project_root(), relative_path),
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ class FindFileTool(Tool):
         :param relative_path: the relative path to the directory to search in; pass "." to scan the project root
         :return: a JSON object with the list of matching files
         """
-        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path)
+        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path, require_not_ignored=True)
 
         dir_to_scan = os.path.join(self.get_project_root(), relative_path)
 
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ class ReplaceRegexTool(Tool, ToolMarkerCanEdit):
             If this is set to False and the regex matches multiple occurrences, an error will be returned
             (and you may retry with a revised, more specific regex).
         """
-        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path)
+        self.project.validate_relative_path(relative_path, require_not_ignored=True)
         with EditedFileContext(relative_path, self.agent) as context:
             original_content = context.get_original_content()
             updated_content, n = re.subn(regex, repl, original_content, flags=re.DOTALL | re.MULTILINE)