Use inline :exclude in josh-proxy URL instead of stored filter files

The :+ stored filter syntax doesn't work in josh-proxy URLs.
Inline :exclude[::p1,::p2] works directly — no files to generate
or commit, no extra dependencies.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

bin/josh-sync

@@ -422,28 +422,6 @@ cmd_preflight() {
     warn ".gitea/workflows/josh-sync-reverse.yml not found (optional)"
   fi
 
-  # 4. Exclude filter files
-  local has_excludes
-  has_excludes=$(echo "$JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS" | jq '[.[] | select((.exclude // []) | length > 0)] | length')
-
-  if [ "$has_excludes" -gt 0 ]; then
-    echo ""
-    echo "4. Exclude filter files"
-
-    while IFS= read -r target_name; do
-      local filter_file=".josh-filter-${target_name}.josh"
-      if [ -f "$filter_file" ]; then
-        if git ls-files --error-unmatch "$filter_file" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-          pass "${filter_file} exists and is tracked"
-        else
-          warn "${filter_file} exists but is NOT committed — run: git add ${filter_file}"
-        fi
-      else
-        fail "${filter_file} not generated — check parse_config"
-      fi
-    done < <(echo "$JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS" | jq -r '.[] | select((.exclude // []) | length > 0) | .name')
-  fi
-
   # Summary
   echo ""
   echo "============================="

docs/guide.md

@@ -541,19 +541,13 @@ targets:
 
 ### How it works
 
-When `exclude` is present, josh-sync generates a `.josh-filter-<target>.josh` file at the monorepo root containing a [josh stored filter](https://josh-project.github.io/josh/reference/filters.html) with `:exclude` clauses:
+When `exclude` is present, josh-sync appends an inline `:exclude` filter to the josh-proxy URL. For the example above, the josh filter becomes:
 
 ```
-:/services/billing:exclude[
+:/services/billing:exclude[::.monorepo/,::**/internal/,::*.secret]
-  ::.monorepo/
-  ::**/internal/
-  ::*.secret
-]
 ```
 
-The file is referenced in the josh-proxy URL as `:+.josh-filter-<target>` (flat naming — josh-proxy's parser treats `/` in `:+` paths as a filter separator, so subdirectory paths don't work).
+Josh-proxy applies this filter at the transport layer — no extra files to generate or commit. This means:
-
-Josh-proxy reads this file from the monorepo and applies the filter at the transport layer. This means:
 - **Forward sync**: the filtered clone already excludes the files
 - **Reverse sync**: pushes through josh also respect the exclusion
 - **Reset**: the subrepo history never contains excluded files
@@ -574,11 +568,10 @@ Josh uses `::` patterns inside `:exclude[...]`:
 ### Setup
 
 1. Add `exclude` to the target in `.josh-sync.yml`
-2. Run `josh-sync preflight` — this generates `.josh-filter-<target>.josh`
+2. Run `josh-sync preflight` to verify the filter works
-3. Commit the generated file: `git add .josh-filter-*.josh && git commit`
+3. Forward sync will now exclude the specified files
-4. Forward sync will now exclude the specified files
 
-If you change the `exclude` list, re-run `preflight` and commit the updated `.josh-filter-*.josh` file.
+No extra files to generate or commit — the exclusion is embedded directly in the josh-proxy URL.
 
 ## Adding a New Target
 

lib/config.sh

@@ -7,45 +7,6 @@
 #
 # Requires: lib/core.sh sourced first, yq and jq on PATH
 
-# ─── Josh Filter File Generation ──────────────────────────────────
-# Generates .josh-filter-<target>.josh for targets with exclude patterns.
-# These files must be committed to the monorepo — josh-proxy reads them
-# from the repo at clone time via the :+ stored filter syntax.
-# Files are at the repo root (flat naming) because josh-proxy's parser
-# treats "/" in :+ paths as a filter separator.
-
-_generate_josh_filters() {
-  local has_excludes
-  has_excludes=$(echo "$JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS" | jq '[.[] | select((.exclude // []) | length > 0)] | length')
-
-  if [ "$has_excludes" -eq 0 ]; then
-    return
-  fi
-
-  local target_name subfolder exclude_patterns filter_content
-  while IFS= read -r target_name; do
-    subfolder=$(echo "$JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS" | jq -r --arg n "$target_name" \
-      '.[] | select(.name == $n) | .subfolder')
-    exclude_patterns=$(echo "$JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS" | jq -r --arg n "$target_name" \
-      '.[] | select(.name == $n) | .exclude | map("  ::" + .) | join("\n")')
-
-    filter_content=":/${subfolder}:exclude[
-${exclude_patterns}
-]"
-
-    local filter_file=".josh-filter-${target_name}.josh"
-    local existing=""
-    if [ -f "$filter_file" ]; then
-      existing=$(cat "$filter_file")
-    fi
-
-    if [ "$filter_content" != "$existing" ]; then
-      echo "$filter_content" > "$filter_file"
-      log "WARN" "Generated ${filter_file} — commit this file to the monorepo"
-    fi
-  done < <(echo "$JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS" | jq -r '.[] | select((.exclude // []) | length > 0) | .name')
-}
-
 # ─── Phase 1: Parse Config ─────────────────────────────────────────
 
 parse_config() {
@@ -75,9 +36,9 @@ parse_config() {
   export JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS
   JOSH_SYNC_TARGETS=$(echo "$config_json" | jq '[.targets[] | . +
     # Auto-derive josh_filter from subfolder if not set
-    # When exclude patterns are present, use a stored josh filter (:+.josh-filter-<name>)
+    # When exclude patterns are present, append inline :exclude[::p1,::p2,...] to the filter
     (if (.exclude // [] | length) > 0 then
-      {josh_filter: (":+.josh-filter-" + .name)}
+      {josh_filter: (":/" + .subfolder + ":exclude[" + (.exclude | map("::" + .) | join(",")) + "]")}
     elif (.josh_filter // "") == "" then
       {josh_filter: (":/" + .subfolder)}
     else {} end) +
@@ -98,9 +59,6 @@ parse_config() {
     )
   ]')
 
-  # Generate .josh-filter-*.josh for targets with exclude patterns
-  _generate_josh_filters
-
   # Load .env credentials (if present, not required — CI sets these via secrets)
   if [ -f .env ]; then
     # shellcheck source=/dev/null

schema/config-schema.json

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@
             "type": "array",
             "items": { "type": "string" },
             "default": [],
-            "description": "File/directory patterns to exclude from sync via josh :exclude filter. Josh pattern syntax: 'dir/' for directories, '*.ext' for globs, '**/dir/' for nested matches. Generates a .josh-filter-<target>.josh file that must be committed."
+            "description": "File/directory patterns to exclude from sync via josh :exclude filter. Josh pattern syntax: 'dir/' for directories, '*.ext' for globs, '**/dir/' for nested matches. Patterns are embedded inline in the josh-proxy URL."
           }
         }
       }