diff --git a/src/claudesync/utils.py b/src/claudesync/utils.py
index 512796d..76ee98d 100644
--- a/src/claudesync/utils.py
+++ b/src/claudesync/utils.py
@@ -188,11 +188,18 @@ def get_local_files(local_path):
     files = {}
     exclude_dirs = {".git", ".svn", ".hg", ".bzr", "_darcs", "CVS", "claude_chats"}
 
-    for root, dirs, filenames in os.walk(local_path):
-        dirs[:] = [d for d in dirs if d not in exclude_dirs]
+    for root, dirs, filenames in os.walk(local_path, topdown=True):
         rel_root = os.path.relpath(root, local_path)
         rel_root = "" if rel_root == "." else rel_root
 
+        # Filter out directories before traversing
+        dirs[:] = [
+            d for d in dirs
+            if d not in exclude_dirs
+            and not (gitignore and gitignore.match_file(os.path.join(rel_root, d)))
+            and not (claudeignore and claudeignore.match_file(os.path.join(rel_root, d)))
+        ]
+
         for filename in filenames:
             rel_path = os.path.join(rel_root, filename)
             full_path = os.path.join(root, filename)