diff --git a/.stylist.yml b/.stylist.yml
index bb50d22..8ffb212 100644
--- a/.stylist.yml
+++ b/.stylist.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,3 @@
-excludes:
-  - dist/**
-  - .cspellcache
-  - coverage.out
 output:
   show_context: true
   show_url: true
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index bec2512..fb4dcbb 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ BUILD_DIR := ./dist
 DST_DIR := /usr/local/bin
 
 CURRENT_SHA = $(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD)
-CURRENT_TS = $(shell date -I seconds)
+CURRENT_TS = $(shell date -Iseconds)
 
 ##@ App
 
diff --git a/cspell.yml b/cspell.yml
index c7a4821..10d549a 100644
--- a/cspell.yml
+++ b/cspell.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ words:
   - gopls
   - goreleaser
   - gosec
+  - gostub
   - hadolint
   - infof
   - iostreams
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 146d911..745a808 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@ require (
 	github.com/alecthomas/chroma/v2 v2.12.0
 	github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4 v4.6.1
 	github.com/deckarep/golang-set/v2 v2.5.0
+	github.com/denormal/go-gitignore v0.0.0-20180930084346-ae8ad1d07817
 	github.com/google/shlex v0.0.0-20191202100458-e7afc7fbc510
 	github.com/imdario/mergo v1.0.0
 	github.com/owenrumney/go-sarif/v2 v2.3.0
+	github.com/prashantv/gostub v1.1.0
 	github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.9.3
 	github.com/sourcegraph/go-diff v0.7.0
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.8.0
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/briandowns/spinner v1.23.0 // indirect
 	github.com/caarlos0/env/v8 v8.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/creasty/defaults v1.7.0 // indirect
+	github.com/danwakefield/fnmatch v0.0.0-20160403171240-cbb64ac3d964 // indirect
 	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 // indirect
 	github.com/dlclark/regexp2 v1.10.0 // indirect
 	github.com/fatih/color v1.16.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 821c358..c16a519 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -25,11 +25,15 @@ github.com/creack/pty v1.1.17 h1:QeVUsEDNrLBW4tMgZHvxy18sKtr6VI492kBhUfhDJNI=
 github.com/creack/pty v1.1.17/go.mod h1:MOBLtS5ELjhRRrroQr9kyvTxUAFNvYEK993ew/Vr4O4=
 github.com/creasty/defaults v1.7.0 h1:eNdqZvc5B509z18lD8yc212CAqJNvfT1Jq6L8WowdBA=
 github.com/creasty/defaults v1.7.0/go.mod h1:iGzKe6pbEHnpMPtfDXZEr0NVxWnPTjb1bbDy08fPzYM=
+github.com/danwakefield/fnmatch v0.0.0-20160403171240-cbb64ac3d964 h1:y5HC9v93H5EPKqaS1UYVg1uYah5Xf51mBfIoWehClUQ=
+github.com/danwakefield/fnmatch v0.0.0-20160403171240-cbb64ac3d964/go.mod h1:Xd9hchkHSWYkEqJwUGisez3G1QY8Ryz0sdWrLPMGjLk=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/deckarep/golang-set/v2 v2.5.0 h1:hn6cEZtQ0h3J8kFrHR/NrzyOoTnjgW1+FmNJzQ7y/sA=
 github.com/deckarep/golang-set/v2 v2.5.0/go.mod h1:VAky9rY/yGXJOLEDv3OMci+7wtDpOF4IN+y82NBOac4=
+github.com/denormal/go-gitignore v0.0.0-20180930084346-ae8ad1d07817 h1:0nsrg//Dc7xC74H/TZ5sYR8uk4UQRNjsw8zejqH5a4Q=
+github.com/denormal/go-gitignore v0.0.0-20180930084346-ae8ad1d07817/go.mod h1:C/+sI4IFnEpCn6VQ3GIPEp+FrQnQw+YQP3+n+GdGq7o=
 github.com/dlclark/regexp2 v1.10.0 h1:+/GIL799phkJqYW+3YbOd8LCcbHzT0Pbo8zl70MHsq0=
 github.com/dlclark/regexp2 v1.10.0/go.mod h1:DHkYz0B9wPfa6wondMfaivmHpzrQ3v9q8cnmRbL6yW8=
 github.com/fatih/color v1.16.0 h1:zmkK9Ngbjj+K0yRhTVONQh1p/HknKYSlNT+vZCzyokM=
@@ -97,6 +101,7 @@ github.com/owenrumney/go-sarif/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:MSqMMx9WqlBSY7pXoOZWgEsVB4FDN
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/prashantv/gostub v1.1.0 h1:BTyx3RfQjRHnUWaGF9oQos79AlQ5k8WNktv7VGvVH4g=
+github.com/prashantv/gostub v1.1.0/go.mod h1:A5zLQHz7ieHGG7is6LLXLz7I8+3LZzsrV0P1IAHhP5U=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.9.0 h1:73kH8U+JUqXU8lRuOHeVHaa/SZPifC7BkcraZVejAe8=
 github.com/russross/blackfriday/v2 v2.1.0/go.mod h1:+Rmxgy9KzJVeS9/2gXHxylqXiyQDYRxCVz55jmeOWTM=
 github.com/shopspring/decimal v1.2.0/go.mod h1:DKyhrW/HYNuLGql+MJL6WCR6knT2jwCFRcu2hWCYk4o=
diff --git a/internal/stylist/config.go b/internal/stylist/config.go
index 35cc6e4..39fb708 100644
--- a/internal/stylist/config.go
+++ b/internal/stylist/config.go
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	LogLevel   LogLevel     `yaml:"log_level,omitempty"   default:"warn"`
 	Output     OutputConfig `yaml:"output,omitempty"`
 
-	Excludes   []string     `yaml:"excludes,omitempty"    default:"[\".git\", \"node_modules\"]"`
+	Excludes   []string     `yaml:"excludes,omitempty"`
 	Processors []*Processor `yaml:"processors,omitempty"`
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/stylist/path_ignorer.go b/internal/stylist/path_ignorer.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3833e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/stylist/path_ignorer.go
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+package stylist
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4"
+	"github.com/denormal/go-gitignore"
+
+	"github.com/twelvelabs/stylist/internal/fsutils"
+)
+
+var (
+	newGitIgnoreParser = gitignore.NewFromFile
+)
+
+// NewPathIgnorer returns a new path ignorer.
+func NewPathIgnorer(gitIgnorePath string, patterns []string) (*PathIgnorer, error) {
+	cleanPatterns := []string{}
+	for _, pattern := range patterns {
+		p := strings.ReplaceAll(pattern, "\\", "/")
+		if !doublestar.ValidatePattern(p) {
+			return nil, doublestar.ErrBadPattern
+		}
+		cleanPatterns = append(cleanPatterns, p)
+	}
+
+	pi := &PathIgnorer{
+		patterns: cleanPatterns,
+	}
+	if gitIgnorePath != "" && fsutils.PathExists(gitIgnorePath) {
+		gitIgnore, err := newGitIgnoreParser(gitIgnorePath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("gitignore parse: %w", err)
+		}
+		pi.gitIgnore = gitIgnore
+		pi.gitIgnorePath = gitIgnorePath
+	}
+	return pi, nil
+}
+
+// PathIgnorer is responsible for ignoring paths during the index process.
+type PathIgnorer struct {
+	gitIgnore     gitignore.GitIgnore
+	gitIgnorePath string
+	patterns      []string
+}
+
+// ShouldIgnore returns true if path should be ignored.
+func (pi *PathIgnorer) ShouldIgnore(path string, isDir bool) bool {
+	if pi.gitIgnore != nil {
+		// Note: Specifically using `.Relative` for speed.
+		//       The higher level GitIgnore methods (Ignore, Match)
+		//       stat the path to figure out isDir.
+		if match := pi.gitIgnore.Relative(path, isDir); match != nil {
+			if match.Ignore() {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	for _, pattern := range pi.patterns {
+		if ok, _ := doublestar.Match(pattern, filepath.ToSlash(path)); ok {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/internal/stylist/path_ignorer_test.go b/internal/stylist/path_ignorer_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ea8941
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/stylist/path_ignorer_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package stylist
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/prashantv/gostub"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestNewPathIgnorer(t *testing.T) {
+	require := require.New(t)
+
+	ignorer, err := NewPathIgnorer("", nil)
+	require.NoError(err)
+	require.Empty(ignorer.gitIgnore)
+	require.Empty(ignorer.gitIgnorePath)
+	require.Empty(ignorer.patterns)
+
+	ignorer, err = NewPathIgnorer("testdata/.gitignore", []string{
+		`\Documents\**\*.bat`,
+	})
+	require.NoError(err)
+	require.NotNil(ignorer.gitIgnore)
+	require.Equal("testdata/.gitignore", ignorer.gitIgnorePath)
+	require.Equal([]string{
+		"/Documents/**/*.bat",
+	}, ignorer.patterns)
+}
+
+func TestNewPathIgnorer_WhenGitIgnoreParseError(t *testing.T) {
+	stubs := gostub.StubFunc(&newGitIgnoreParser, nil, errors.New("boom"))
+	defer stubs.Reset()
+
+	require := require.New(t)
+
+	ignorer, err := NewPathIgnorer("testdata/.gitignore", nil)
+	require.ErrorContains(err, "boom")
+	require.Nil(ignorer)
+}
+
+func TestNewPathIgnorer_WhenPatternValidateError(t *testing.T) {
+	require := require.New(t)
+
+	ignorer, err := NewPathIgnorer("", []string{
+		`*{{*}`,
+	})
+	require.ErrorContains(err, "error in pattern")
+	require.Nil(ignorer)
+}
+
+func TestPathIgnorer_ShouldIgnore(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		path     string
+		dir      bool
+		expected bool
+	}{
+		{
+			path:     "example.json",
+			expected: false,
+		},
+		{
+			path:     "example.yaml",
+			expected: true,
+		},
+		{
+			path:     "ignored_file.txt",
+			expected: true,
+		},
+		{
+			path:     "ignored_dir",
+			dir:      true,
+			expected: true,
+		},
+		{
+			path:     "ignored_dir",
+			dir:      false,
+			expected: false,
+		},
+		{
+			path:     "ignored_dir/allowed.txt",
+			expected: false,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.path, func(t *testing.T) {
+			require := require.New(t)
+
+			ignorer, err := NewPathIgnorer("testdata/.gitignore", []string{
+				"**/*.{yaml,yml}",
+			})
+			require.NoError(err)
+
+			actual := ignorer.ShouldIgnore(tt.path, tt.dir)
+			require.Equal(tt.expected, actual)
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/stylist/path_indexer.go b/internal/stylist/path_indexer.go
index 8285216..a666fb3 100644
--- a/internal/stylist/path_indexer.go
+++ b/internal/stylist/path_indexer.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package stylist
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4"
 	mapset "github.com/deckarep/golang-set/v2"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -59,6 +61,9 @@ type PathIndexer struct {
 
 	// Paths grouped by wildcard pattern.
 	PathsByInclude map[string]PathSet
+
+	ignorer *PathIgnorer
+	logger  *logrus.Logger
 }
 
 // Cardinality returns the total number of patterns
@@ -71,51 +76,77 @@ func (pi *PathIndexer) Cardinality() int {
 // to a list of paths and attempts to add them to the index.
 // Paths will only be added to the index if they match
 // the types and/or patterns registered with the indexer.
-func (pi *PathIndexer) Index(pathSpecs ...string) error {
-	for _, pathSpec := range pathSpecs {
-		if err := pi.indexPathSpec(pathSpec); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
+func (pi *PathIndexer) Index(ctx context.Context, pathSpecs ...string) error {
+	ignorer, err := NewPathIgnorer(".gitignore", pi.Excludes.ToSlice())
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
-	return nil
-}
+	pi.ignorer = ignorer
+	pi.logger = AppLogger(ctx)
 
-// indexPathSpec dispatches to the appropriate index method for the given type.
-func (pi *PathIndexer) indexPathSpec(pathSpec string) error {
-	if strings.ContainsAny(pathSpec, patternChars) {
-		return pi.indexPattern(pathSpec)
-	}
-	info, err := os.Stat(pathSpec)
+	files, dirs, patterns, err := pi.partitionPathSpecs(pathSpecs)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if info.IsDir() {
-		return pi.indexDir(pathSpec)
+
+	for _, f := range files {
+		if err := pi.indexPath(f); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	for _, d := range dirs {
+		if err := pi.indexDir(d); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(patterns) > 0 {
+		if err := pi.indexPatterns(patterns); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
-	return pi.indexPath(pathSpec)
+	return nil
 }
 
-// indexPattern walks every path in pattern and calls indexWalkedPath().
-func (pi *PathIndexer) indexPattern(pattern string) error {
-	pattern = filepath.ToSlash(filepath.Clean(pattern))
+func (pi *PathIndexer) partitionPathSpecs(pathSpecs []string) (
+	[]string, []string, []string, error,
+) {
+	var fileSpecs []string
+	var dirSpecs []string
+	var patternSpecs []string
+
+	for _, pathSpec := range pathSpecs {
+		if strings.ContainsAny(pathSpec, patternChars) {
+			pattern := filepath.ToSlash(filepath.Clean(pathSpec))
+
+			base, _ := doublestar.SplitPattern(pattern)
+			if _, err := os.Lstat(base); err != nil {
+				if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+					return nil, nil, nil, doublestar.ErrPatternNotExist
+				}
+				return nil, nil, nil, err
+			}
 
-	// Replicate the pattern validation logic from doublestar's Glob* functions.
-	base, _ := doublestar.SplitPattern(pattern)
-	if _, err := os.Lstat(base); err != nil {
-		if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
-			return doublestar.ErrPatternNotExist
+			patternSpecs = append(patternSpecs, pattern)
+			continue
+		}
+
+		info, err := os.Lstat(pathSpec)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, nil, err
+		}
+		if info.IsDir() {
+			dirSpecs = append(dirSpecs, pathSpec)
+		} else {
+			fileSpecs = append(fileSpecs, pathSpec)
 		}
-		return err
 	}
 
-	// Note: We're intentionally using `filepath.WalkDir` (vs. using doublestar's
-	// Glob or GlobWalk functions) because this allows us to skip excluded dirs
-	// (see logic in indexWalkedPath).
-	// For most projects this ends up being way faster, especially projects
-	// containing large cache or node_modules directories.
-	// Skipping those dirs can cut the time in half.
+	return fileSpecs, dirSpecs, patternSpecs, nil
+}
+
+func (pi *PathIndexer) indexPatterns(patterns []string) error {
 	return filepath.WalkDir(".", func(path string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
-		return pi.indexWalkedPath(path, d, err, pattern)
+		return pi.indexWalkedPath(path, d, err, patterns...)
 	})
 }
 
@@ -139,11 +170,7 @@ func (pi *PathIndexer) indexWalkedPath(
 	// and if so, return `fs.SkipDir`. This is a sentinel that `filepath.WalkDir`
 	// uses to determine whether to recurse into subdirectories.
 	if d.IsDir() {
-		ok, err := pi.exclude(path)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if ok {
+		if pi.exclude(path, true) {
 			return fs.SkipDir
 		}
 		return nil
@@ -174,11 +201,7 @@ func (pi *PathIndexer) indexWalkedPath(
 // indexPath adds path to the index if it matches.
 func (pi *PathIndexer) indexPath(path string) error {
 	// Check if it's excluded
-	ok, err := pi.exclude(path)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if ok {
+	if pi.exclude(path, false) {
 		return nil
 	}
 
@@ -195,17 +218,12 @@ func (pi *PathIndexer) indexPath(path string) error {
 }
 
 // exclude returns true if path should be excluded.
-func (pi *PathIndexer) exclude(path string) (bool, error) {
-	for exclude := range pi.Excludes.Iter() {
-		ok, err := matchPattern(exclude, path)
-		if err != nil {
-			return false, err // doublestar parse error
-		}
-		if ok {
-			return true, nil
-		}
+func (pi *PathIndexer) exclude(path string, isDir bool) bool {
+	if pi.ignorer.ShouldIgnore(path, isDir) {
+		pi.logger.Debugf("Index ignore dir=%v path=%s", isDir, path)
+		return true
 	}
-	return false, nil
+	return false
 }
 
 // match returns the patterns that match path.
diff --git a/internal/stylist/path_indexer_test.go b/internal/stylist/path_indexer_test.go
index cf79db2..7ba844c 100644
--- a/internal/stylist/path_indexer_test.go
+++ b/internal/stylist/path_indexer_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package stylist
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -157,7 +158,10 @@ func TestPathIndexer_Index(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.desc, func(t *testing.T) {
-			err := tt.indexer.Index(tt.pathSpec)
+			app := NewTestApp()
+			ctx := app.InitContext(context.Background())
+
+			err := tt.indexer.Index(ctx, tt.pathSpec)
 
 			if tt.err == "" {
 				assert.NoError(t, err)
diff --git a/internal/stylist/pipeline.go b/internal/stylist/pipeline.go
index 7ac08be..bf43acc 100644
--- a/internal/stylist/pipeline.go
+++ b/internal/stylist/pipeline.go
@@ -35,10 +35,11 @@ func (p *Pipeline) Index(ctx context.Context, pathSpecs []string) error {
 	logger := AppLogger(ctx)
 
 	// Aggregate each processor's include patterns
-	includes := []string{}
+	includeSet := NewPathSet()
 	for _, processor := range p.processors {
-		includes = append(includes, processor.Includes...)
+		includeSet.Append(processor.Includes...)
 	}
+	includes := includeSet.ToSlice()
 
 	startedAt := time.Now()
 	logger.Debugf(
@@ -47,13 +48,12 @@ func (p *Pipeline) Index(ctx context.Context, pathSpecs []string) error {
 		p.excludes,
 	)
 
-	// TODO: support passing Context to the indexer
 	// Create an index of paths (resolved from the path specs),
 	// matching any of the include patterns used by our processors.
 	// Doing this once is _much_ faster than once per-processor,
 	// especially when dealing w/ very large projects and many processors or patterns.
 	indexer := NewPathIndexer(includes, p.excludes)
-	if err := indexer.Index(pathSpecs...); err != nil {
+	if err := indexer.Index(ctx, pathSpecs...); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/stylist/testdata/.gitignore b/internal/stylist/testdata/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f88baf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/stylist/testdata/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+ignored_file.*
+
+ignored_dir/
+!ignored_dir/allowed.txt