File Selection: Deny-by-Default (Allowlist)

Shippy deploys files using an allowlist: by default nothing is deployed unless it is listed under include:. A project root usually contains far more that should not ship (.git/, node_modules/, dumps, IDE files, .env) than should — an allowlist is safer and less error-prone than trying to exclude every unwanted path.

Coming from an older version?

This reverses the previous behaviour. Without an include: list, shippy deploy scans 0 files. See Migrating from a previous version.

Include — the allowlist

Include = the allowlist. List exactly what should ship. A directory entry ships that directory and everything beneath it:

hosts:
  production:
    hostname: example.com
    remote_user: deploy
    deploy_path: /var/www/myproject
    rsync_src: ./

    include:
      - "public/"            # Web root (ships the whole subtree)
      - "vendor/"            # Composer dependencies
      - "config/"            # TYPO3 configuration
      - "composer.json"
      - "composer.lock"

For a complete, annotated allowlist for a Composer-based TYPO3 project, see Complete TYPO3 Include List.

Exclude — carve-outs

Exclude = carve-outs. Excludes always win over includes, so use them to punch holes in an included directory:

    exclude:
      - "public/typo3temp/"  # Drop generated temp files under an included dir
      - "*.log"              # Never ship log files

Common junk — .git/, node_modules/, var/cache/, var/log/, .DS_Store, Thumbs.db and more (see Default Excludes) — is carved out automatically; you don't need to list it.

Notes

• include:/exclude: are not merged across hosts — a per-host list replaces the global one entirely. Give each host its own allowlist (or define one at the global level and omit it per host).
• .gitignore is not consulted for deployment. You select what ships with include:; you don't rely on gitignore to deselect.
• Escape hatch: include: ["*"] ships (almost) everything; the built-in junk list still protects .git/ etc.

Pattern Syntax

• Patterns use gitignore-style syntax
• A single-segment pattern (vendor/, *.log) matches at any depth
• A multi-segment pattern (public/index.php) is anchored to the project root
• Trailing / means directory only
• * matches within a path segment; ** matches across segments

Default Excludes

These carve-out patterns are always applied and win over your include: allowlist, so common junk never ships even inside an included directory:

• .git/
• .gitignore
• .shippy.yaml
• .shippy.yaml.example
• node_modules/
• .env.local
• .env.*.local
• var/cache/
• var/log/
• var/transient/
• .DS_Store
• Thumbs.db

Previewing what will ship

Before the first real deployment, check what the allowlist actually resolves to — no connection to the server is made:

shippy deploy production --dry-run

Migrating from a previous version

Earlier versions shipped everything by default and used exclude: (and .gitignore) to remove unwanted files. Deny-by-default reverses this:

• Add an include: allowlist to every host (or globally). Without it, shippy deploy scans 0 files and warns you.
• Existing exclude: entries still work, now as carve-outs on top of your includes.
• .gitignore no longer affects what is deployed — anything you relied on gitignore to exclude is already excluded by default; anything gitignored that you still need (e.g. vendor/) simply goes in include:.
• Run shippy config validate and review shippy deploy's "Found N files to sync" count before your first real deploy.