diff --git a/internal/server/indexer/indexer_test.go b/internal/server/indexer/indexer_test.go
index 2815bfa..b9c8c3e 100644
--- a/internal/server/indexer/indexer_test.go
+++ b/internal/server/indexer/indexer_test.go
@@ -515,25 +515,14 @@ func TestShouldIndexFile_WithGitIgnoreFilter(t *testing.T) {
 	_, teardown := setupTestEnv(t)
 	defer teardown()
 
-	wsDir := t.TempDir()
-	ws, err := workspace.Create(wsDir)
+	ws, err := workspace.Create(t.TempDir())
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("workspace.Create: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	// Initialize a real git repo for gitignore to work
-	origDir, _ := os.Getwd()
-	os.Chdir(wsDir)
-	defer os.Chdir(origDir)
-
-	// Use git init to create a proper repo
-	gitCmd := filepath.Join("/usr", "bin", "git")
-	if _, err := os.Stat(gitCmd); err != nil {
-		t.Skip("git not available, skipping gitignore test")
-	}
-
-	// Create .gitignore that excludes .log files
-	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(wsDir, ".gitignore"), []byte("*.log\n"), 0644); err != nil {
+	// Create a .gitignore that ignores the build/ directory and *.log files.
+	// NewGitIgnore reads .gitignore directly — it needs no .git dir or git binary.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(ws.Path, ".gitignore"), []byte("build/\n*.log\n"), 0644); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("write .gitignore: %v", err)
 	}
 
@@ -546,12 +535,18 @@ func TestShouldIndexFile_WithGitIgnoreFilter(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	ws.Save()
 
-	// The GitIgnoreFilter should exercise the code path even if the actual
-	// gitignore behavior is partial — we at least cover the code branch.
-	_ = ShouldIndexFile(ws, "debug.log")
-	_ = ShouldIndexFile(ws, "main.go")
-	// Just exercising the code path — no assertions on gitignore behavior
-	// since it depends on git repo structure
+	// main.go is not ignored → should be kept (indexed).
+	if !ShouldIndexFile(ws, "main.go") {
+		t.Errorf("ShouldIndexFile(main.go) = false, want true (not ignored, should be kept)")
+	}
+	// app.log matches *.log → should be excluded.
+	if ShouldIndexFile(ws, "app.log") {
+		t.Errorf("ShouldIndexFile(app.log) = true, want false (ignored by *.log)")
+	}
+	// build/out.go is under build/ → should be excluded.
+	if ShouldIndexFile(ws, "build/out.go") {
+		t.Errorf("ShouldIndexFile(build/out.go) = true, want false (ignored by build/)")
+	}
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/internal/server/indexer/scanner.go b/internal/server/indexer/scanner.go
index f4269e5..1920341 100644
--- a/internal/server/indexer/scanner.go
+++ b/internal/server/indexer/scanner.go
@@ -10,10 +10,19 @@ import (
 	gitutils "github.com/codetrek/haystack/core/utils/git"
 	"github.com/codetrek/haystack/internal/core/workspace"
 	"github.com/codetrek/haystack/internal/shared/running"
+	"github.com/codetrek/haystack/internal/shared/types"
 	"github.com/codetrek/haystack/internal/utils"
 	fsutils "github.com/codetrek/haystack/internal/utils/fs"
 )
 
+// buildExcludeFilter returns a keep-filter: Match==true => keep, Match==false => exclude.
+func buildExcludeFilter(baseDir string, exclude types.Exclude) fsutils.ListFileFilter {
+	if exclude.UseGitIgnore {
+		return &GitIgnoreFilter{ignore: gitutils.NewGitIgnore(baseDir, true)}
+	}
+	return utils.NewSimpleFilterExclude(exclude.Customized)
+}
+
 type GitIgnoreFilter struct {
 	ignore *gitutils.GitIgnore
 }
@@ -102,16 +111,8 @@ func ShouldIndexFile(w *workspace.Workspace, relPath string) bool {
 	baseDir := w.Path
 	filters := w.GetFilters()
 
-	var exclude fsutils.ListFileFilter
-	if filters.Exclude.UseGitIgnore {
-		exclude = &GitIgnoreFilter{
-			ignore: gitutils.NewGitIgnore(baseDir, true),
-		}
-	} else {
-		exclude = utils.NewSimpleFilter(filters.Exclude.Customized)
-	}
-
-	if exclude.Match(relPath, false) {
+	exclude := buildExcludeFilter(baseDir, filters.Exclude)
+	if !exclude.Match(relPath, false) {
 		return false
 	}
 
@@ -133,14 +134,7 @@ func (s *Scanner) processWorkspace(w *workspace.Workspace, forceRefresh bool) er
 	baseDir := w.Path
 	filters := w.GetFilters()
 
-	var exclude fsutils.ListFileFilter
-	if filters.Exclude.UseGitIgnore {
-		exclude = &GitIgnoreFilter{
-			ignore: gitutils.NewGitIgnore(baseDir, true),
-		}
-	} else {
-		exclude = utils.NewSimpleFilterExclude(filters.Exclude.Customized)
-	}
+	exclude := buildExcludeFilter(baseDir, filters.Exclude)
 
 	include := utils.NewSimpleFilter(filters.Include)
 	startTime := time.Now()