diff --git a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
index 8b0ceab30..f377fce51 100644
--- a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
+++ b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
@@ -301,6 +301,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "alloc-stdlib",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "bstr"
+version = "1.12.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "63044e1ae8e69f3b5a92c736ca6269b8d12fa7efe39bf34ddb06d102cf0e2cab"
+dependencies = [
+ "memchr",
+ "serde",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "bumpalo"
 version = "3.19.1"
@@ -464,6 +474,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "fix-path-env",
  "git2",
+ "ignore",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "tauri",
@@ -578,6 +589,25 @@ dependencies = [
  "crossbeam-utils",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "crossbeam-deque"
+version = "0.8.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9dd111b7b7f7d55b72c0a6ae361660ee5853c9af73f70c3c2ef6858b950e2e51"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-epoch",
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "crossbeam-epoch"
+version = "0.9.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "5b82ac4a3c2ca9c3460964f020e1402edd5753411d7737aa39c3714ad1b5420e"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "crossbeam-utils"
 version = "0.8.21"
@@ -1370,6 +1400,19 @@ version = "0.3.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "0cc23270f6e1808e30a928bdc84dea0b9b4136a8bc82338574f23baf47bbd280"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "globset"
+version = "0.4.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "52dfc19153a48bde0cbd630453615c8151bce3a5adfac7a0aebfbf0a1e1f57e3"
+dependencies = [
+ "aho-corasick",
+ "bstr",
+ "log",
+ "regex-automata",
+ "regex-syntax",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "gobject-sys"
 version = "0.18.0"
@@ -1733,6 +1776,22 @@ dependencies = [
  "icu_properties",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "ignore"
+version = "0.4.25"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d3d782a365a015e0f5c04902246139249abf769125006fbe7649e2ee88169b4a"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-deque",
+ "globset",
+ "log",
+ "memchr",
+ "regex-automata",
+ "same-file",
+ "walkdir",
+ "winapi-util",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "indexmap"
 version = "1.9.3"
diff --git a/src-tauri/Cargo.toml b/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
index ff9a618e7..1ad88c5b3 100644
--- a/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ uuid = { version = "1", features = ["v4"] }
 tauri-plugin-dialog = "2"
 git2 = "0.20.3"
 fix-path-env = { git = "https://github.com/tauri-apps/fix-path-env-rs" }
+ignore = "0.4.25"
 
 [target."cfg(not(any(target_os = \"android\", target_os = \"ios\")))".dependencies]
 tauri-plugin-updater = "2"
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/workspaces.rs b/src-tauri/src/workspaces.rs
index f871d7a8d..992287875 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/workspaces.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/workspaces.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 
+use ignore::WalkBuilder;
 use tauri::{AppHandle, State};
 use tokio::process::Command;
 use uuid::Uuid;
@@ -30,44 +31,34 @@ fn sanitize_worktree_name(branch: &str) -> String {
     }
 }
 
-fn should_skip_dir(name: &str) -> bool {
-    matches!(
-        name,
-        ".git" | "node_modules" | "dist" | "target" | "release-artifacts"
-    )
-}
-
 fn list_workspace_files_inner(root: &PathBuf, max_files: usize) -> Vec<String> {
     let mut results = Vec::new();
-    let mut stack = vec![root.clone()];
-
-    while let Some(dir) = stack.pop() {
-        let entries = match std::fs::read_dir(&dir) {
-            Ok(entries) => entries,
+    let walker = WalkBuilder::new(root)
+        // Allow hidden entries.
+        .hidden(false)
+        // Follow symlinks to search their contents.
+        .follow_links(true)
+        // Don't require git to be present to apply to apply git-related ignore rules.
+        .require_git(false)
+        .build();
+
+    for entry in walker {
+        let entry = match entry {
+            Ok(entry) => entry,
             Err(_) => continue,
         };
-        for entry in entries.flatten() {
-            let path = entry.path();
-            let file_name = entry.file_name().to_string_lossy().to_string();
-            if path.is_dir() {
-                if should_skip_dir(&file_name) {
-                    continue;
-                }
-                stack.push(path);
-                continue;
-            }
-            if path.is_file() {
-                if let Ok(rel_path) = path.strip_prefix(root) {
-                    let normalized = normalize_git_path(&rel_path.to_string_lossy());
-                    if !normalized.is_empty() {
-                        results.push(normalized);
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-            if results.len() >= max_files {
-                return results;
+        if !entry.file_type().is_some_and(|ft| ft.is_file()) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        if let Ok(rel_path) = entry.path().strip_prefix(root) {
+            let normalized = normalize_git_path(&rel_path.to_string_lossy());
+            if !normalized.is_empty() {
+                results.push(normalized);
             }
         }
+        if results.len() >= max_files {
+            break;
+        }
     }
 
     results.sort();