fix: improve ignored_paths YAML guidance

Fixes #1561

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/serena/resources/project.template.yml

@@ -71,6 +71,13 @@ additional_workspace_folders: []
 
 # list of additional paths to ignore in this project.
 # Same syntax as gitignore, so you can use * and **.
+# Important: quote patterns that start with `*`, otherwise YAML treats them as aliases.
+# Example:
+#   ignored_paths:
+#     - "examples/**"
+#     - ".worktrees/**"
+#     - "**/bin/**"
+#     - "**/obj/**"
 # Note: global ignored_paths from serena_config.yml are also applied additively.
 ignored_paths: []
 

src/serena/resources/serena_config.template.yml

@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ ls_specific_settings: {}
 # list of paths to ignore across all projects.
 # Same syntax as gitignore, so you can use * and **.
 # These patterns are merged additively with each project's own ignored_paths.
+# Quote patterns that start with `*`, e.g. `"**/bin/**"`.
 ignored_paths: []
 
 # list of regex patterns which, when matched, mark a memory entry as read‑only.

src/serena/util/yaml.py

@@ -68,7 +68,17 @@ def load_yaml(path: str, comment_normalisation: YamlCommentNormalisation = YamlC
     """
     with open(path, encoding=SERENA_FILE_ENCODING) as f:
         yaml = _create_yaml(preserve_comments=True)
-        commented_map: CommentedMap | None = yaml.load(f)
+        try:
+            commented_map: CommentedMap | None = yaml.load(f)
+        except Exception as e:
+            msg = str(e)
+            if "undefined alias" in msg:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"Invalid YAML in {path}: values that start with `*` must be quoted. "
+                    "This often happens in `ignored_paths` when using gitignore-style globs like "
+                    '`"**/bin/**"` or `"**/obj/**"`.'
+                ) from e
+            raise
     if commented_map is None:  # ruamel returns None for empty documents, but we want an empty CommentedMap
         commented_map = CommentedMap()
     normalise_yaml_comments(commented_map, comment_normalisation)

test/serena/config/test_serena_config.py

@@ -499,6 +499,25 @@ class TestProjectSerenaDataFolder:
         assert project.path_to_serena_data_folder() == str(custom_serena)
 
 
+class TestProjectConfigYamlValidation:
+    def test_ignored_paths_globs_starting_with_star_require_quotes(self):
+        project_dir = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp())
+        try:
+            serena_dir = project_dir / SERENA_MANAGED_DIR_NAME
+            serena_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+            (serena_dir / "project.yml").write_text('project_name: "demo"\nlanguages: ["csharp"]\nignored_paths:\n- **/bin/**\n')
+
+            with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+                ProjectConfig.load(project_dir, create_default_serena_config())
+
+            msg = str(exc_info.value)
+            assert "values that start with `*` must be quoted" in msg
+            assert "ignored_paths" in msg
+            assert '"**/bin/**"' in msg
+        finally:
+            shutil.rmtree(project_dir)
+
+
 class TestSerenaConfigFromConfigFileRobustness:
     """Tests that ``SerenaConfig.from_config_file`` does not abort the whole
     loader when a single registered project has a broken ``project.yml``.
@@ -568,6 +587,30 @@ class TestSerenaConfigFromConfigFileRobustness:
             f"Expected a warning naming {bad_project.resolve()}, got: {caplog.messages}"
         )
 
+    def test_alias_like_ignored_path_error_is_logged_with_hint(self, caplog, monkeypatch):
+        good_project = self._make_project_dir(
+            "good_project",
+            'project_name: "good_project"\nlanguages: ["python"]\n',
+        )
+        bad_project = self._make_project_dir(
+            "bad_project",
+            'project_name: "bad_project"\nlanguages: ["csharp"]\nignored_paths:\n- **/bin/**\n',
+        )
+        self._write_master_config([good_project, bad_project])
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            SerenaConfig,
+            "_determine_config_file_path",
+            classmethod(lambda cls: str(self.master_config_path)),
+        )
+
+        with caplog.at_level(logging.ERROR):
+            config = SerenaConfig.from_config_file(generate_if_missing=False)
+
+        registered_roots = {Path(p.project_root).resolve() for p in config.projects}
+        assert registered_roots == {good_project.resolve()}
+        assert any("must be quoted" in msg and str(bad_project.resolve()) in msg for msg in caplog.messages), caplog.messages
+
 
 class TestMemoriesManagerCustomPath:
     """Tests for MemoriesManager with a custom serena data folder."""