Config Exclusions

By default, every .toml request file inside a folder inherits the headers, params, and variables declared in that folder's collection config (.config.toml / _collection.toml). The exclude_files key lets you opt specific request files out of that inheritance — useful when a particular request needs a completely clean slate or uses a different authentication flow.

The exclude_files Key

Add an exclude_files array to the top level of any collection config file:

# api/api.config.toml

[headers]
Authorization = "Bearer {{access_token}}"
Content-Type  = "application/json"

[variables]
api_env = "production"

# These two files will NOT inherit the headers or variables above:
exclude_files = ["public_health.toml", "metrics.toml"]

Any request file whose filename (not full path) appears in exclude_files is silently skipped during config inheritance. It still runs normally — it just receives no headers, params, or variables from that particular config level.

Pattern Matching

exclude_files supports three matching modes:

Pattern	Matches	Example
Exact filename	Files whose name exactly equals the pattern	"auth.toml"
Prefix glob (prefix*)	Files whose name starts with the given prefix	"dev_*" → dev_health.toml, dev_debug.toml
Suffix glob (*suffix)	Files whose name ends with the given suffix	"*_public.toml" → health_public.toml

note

Only single-segment globs are supported (* prefix or suffix). Multi-segment globs like **/*.toml are not matched.

UI — Folder Config Tab

In the Rumour GUI, open a folder's settings panel and navigate to the Config → Exclusions tab. Use the input to add file name patterns one at a time — press Enter or click Add. Each pattern is shown as a dismissible tag.

Clicking Save Config persists the list to _collection.toml under the exclude_files key.

How It Works

When a request file is being loaded, Rumour walks up the directory tree and finds all applicable collection config files. For each config file found, it checks whether the request's file name matches any entry in exclude_files. If it matches, that config layer is skipped entirely — its headers, params, and variables are not merged into the request's inherited settings.

The exclusion is per-config-file. A config at a grandparent level can exclude a file independently of a config at the parent level.

workspace/
├── api.config.toml          # exclude_files = ["metrics.toml"]
└── auth/
    ├── auth.config.toml     # exclude_files = []   (no exclusions here)
    └── metrics.toml         # Skips api.config.toml but inherits auth.config.toml

Example

File Layout

exclusions_example/
├── workspace.env.toml
├── api.config.toml
├── get_users.toml         # inherits everything
└── public_health.toml     # excluded — gets no shared headers/vars

workspace.env.toml

base_url = "http://localhost:4000/api/v2"

api.config.toml

[headers]
Authorization = "Bearer {{access_token}}"
X-App-Version = "3.0"

[variables]
access_token = "secret_token_123"

# public_health.toml does not need auth headers
exclude_files = ["public_health.toml"]

get_users.toml (inherits normally)

name = "list_users"

[request]
method = "GET"
url    = "{{base_url}}/users"

[assert]
status = 200

When run, get_users.toml receives Authorization and X-App-Version from api.config.toml.

public_health.toml (excluded)

name = "health_check"

[request]
method = "GET"
url    = "{{base_url}}/health"

[assert]
status = 200

public_health.toml sends no Authorization or X-App-Version headers — it is excluded from api.config.toml's inheritance chain. It still runs and is still part of the workflow; only the config injection is skipped.

Common Use Cases

Scenario	Exclusion Pattern
Health-check / ping endpoints that don't need auth	"health.toml", "*_ping.toml"
Public-facing endpoints with a different auth scheme	"*_public.toml"
Development/debug requests that override all headers locally	"dev_*"
Unauthenticated OAuth token-fetch request	"get_token.toml"

Comparison: exclude_files vs. skip

Feature	Purpose
exclude_files	Prevents config inheritance but the request still runs
skip = true (in request file)	Prevents the request from running altogether

Use exclude_files when you want a request to run with its own standalone headers/variables. Use skip when you want to temporarily disable a request.