[BUG] @ file picker search quality is poor compared to VS Code — surfaces irrelevant files from node_modules/deep paths

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

The @ file mention picker in Claude Code desktop produces low-quality search results compared to VS Code's equivalent (Cmd+P). Searching for a term that clearly matches specific files surfaces mostly noise from node_modules, vendored JSON caches, SVG icons, and other deep dependency paths instead of the files I actually want.

What Should Happen?

Results ranked by relevance — files whose names match the query surfaced first, with node_modules/, vendored caches, and generated directories excluded or deprioritized (consistent with how VS Code's Cmd+P behaves).

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Claude Code desktop with a workspace containing repos that have node_modules/ or other vendored dependency directories
2. Type @ followed by a term that matches filenames in your source code

Claude Model

_No response_

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.187 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_