diff --git a/docs/config/index.md b/docs/config/index.md
index bba12aab15cf..33d656185c78 100644
--- a/docs/config/index.md
+++ b/docs/config/index.md
@@ -124,8 +124,8 @@ When using coverage, Vitest automatically adds test files `include` patterns to
 ### exclude
 
 - **Type:** `string[]`
-- **Default:** `['**/node_modules/**', '**/dist/**', '**/cypress/**', '**/.{idea,git,cache,output,temp}/**', '**/{karma,rollup,webpack,vite,vitest,jest,ava,babel,nyc,cypress,tsup,build,eslint,prettier}.config.*']`
-- **CLI:** `vitest --exclude "**/excluded-file"`
+- **Default:** `['**/node_modules/**', '**/.git/**']`
+- **CLI:** `vitest --exclude "**/excluded-file" --exclude "*/other-files/*.js"`
 
 A list of glob patterns that should be excluded from your test files.
 
diff --git a/docs/guide/improving-performance.md b/docs/guide/improving-performance.md
index e9ed9a8bf81e..d34fc2889ac7 100644
--- a/docs/guide/improving-performance.md
+++ b/docs/guide/improving-performance.md
@@ -52,6 +52,10 @@ export default defineConfig({
 ```
 :::
 
+## Limiting directory search
+
+You can limit the working directory when Vitest searches for files using [`test.dir`](/config/#test-dir) option. This should make the search faster if you have unrelated folders and files in the root directory.
+
 ## Pool
 
 By default Vitest runs tests in `pool: 'forks'`. While `'forks'` pool is better for compatibility issues ([hanging process](/guide/common-errors.html#failed-to-terminate-worker) and [segfaults](/guide/common-errors.html#segfaults-and-native-code-errors)), it may be slightly slower than `pool: 'threads'` in larger projects.
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/defaults.ts b/packages/vitest/src/defaults.ts
index d5587c42fe97..d6580e7cc10c 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/defaults.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/defaults.ts
@@ -12,10 +12,7 @@ export { defaultBrowserPort } from './constants'
 export const defaultInclude: string[] = ['**/*.{test,spec}.?(c|m)[jt]s?(x)']
 export const defaultExclude: string[] = [
   '**/node_modules/**',
-  '**/dist/**',
-  '**/cypress/**',
-  '**/.{idea,git,cache,output,temp}/**',
-  '**/{karma,rollup,webpack,vite,vitest,jest,ava,babel,nyc,cypress,tsup,build,eslint,prettier}.config.*',
+  '**/.git/**',
 ]
 export const benchmarkConfigDefaults: Required<
   Omit<BenchmarkUserOptions, 'outputFile' | 'compare' | 'outputJson'>
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts
index 53587926c2fb..30989b303a61 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ export interface InlineConfig {
 
   /**
    * Exclude globs for test files
-   * @default ['**\/node_modules/**', '**\/dist/**', '**\/cypress/**', '**\/.{idea,git,cache,output,temp}/**', '**\/{karma,rollup,webpack,vite,vitest,jest,ava,babel,nyc,cypress,tsup,build,eslint,prettier}.config.*']
+   * @default ['**\/node_modules/**', '**\/.git/**']
    */
   exclude?: string[]
 
diff --git a/test/cli/fixtures/dotted-files/.cache/projects/test/.cache/should-not-run.test.ts b/test/cli/fixtures/dotted-files/.cache/projects/test/.cache/should-not-run.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 00d2519d3d5d..000000000000
--- a/test/cli/fixtures/dotted-files/.cache/projects/test/.cache/should-not-run.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-import { expect, test } from 'vitest'
-
-test('should not run', () => {
-  expect(1).toBe(2)
-})