When Antigravity appears to be loading forever or cannot see project files, first prove that the conversation belongs to the intended Project, folder set, and checkout. A loading indicator does not prove that an internal index is broken. Use the read-only checks below before restarting the app, changing permissions, or escalating.
This guide now follows Antigravity 2.0's documented Project model. It removes unsupported claims about .antigravityignore, re-index commands, cache paths, version-specific speedups, fixed token limits, and guaranteed boot-time improvements.
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Identify What Is Actually Failing
“Loading,” “missing context,” and “a tool is still running” are different symptoms. Route the observation before changing anything:
| Observation | First hypothesis | First check |
|---|---|---|
| Agent cannot name or read a known project file | Wrong Project, folder, checkout, or access boundary | Verify Project folders and run the scope test below |
| Agent sees files but stalls after starting a command or browser action | That tool or subprocess is waiting or failing | Record the visible tool state; retry a read-only prompt |
| A new, tiny prompt cannot get any response | Application, account, quota, network, or service layer | Capture the exact message and test a new conversation in the same Project |
| Only instructions are missing while code is readable | Rules/context-file placement | Use the rules and AGENTS.md guide |
Verify the Antigravity Project Boundary
The official Projects documentation defines a Project as one or more local folders or Git checkouts that provide the agent's working context. Antigravity's settings documentation also says that a standalone conversation runs in a local scratch directory and does not have a configurable Project folder.
- Confirm the conversation is inside the intended Project, not a similarly named Project or a standalone conversation.
- Open the Gear icon beside that Project and inspect its folder list.
- Confirm the target file is physically below one of those folders.
- For a frontend/backend or monorepo split, add every required repository or folder to the same Project.
- Keep the boundary narrow. Do not enable full-machine access just to test one missing file.
If the file is outside all configured folders, that is a scope mismatch, not evidence of a broken index. Add the intended folder through Project settings or move the task to the Project that already owns it.
Check Local Mode Versus a New Worktree
Antigravity Projects support both Local and New Worktree conversations. Local mode uses the active checkout; New Worktree mode creates an isolated Git worktree. A worktree can therefore have a different absolute path, branch, and file state. Uncommitted edits in another checkout do not automatically appear there.
Run these read-only commands in the terminal surface associated with the conversation:
pwd
git rev-parse --show-toplevel
git branch --show-current
git status --short- If the repository root is unexpected, start a Local conversation in the intended Project or choose the correct worktree.
- If the root is correct but a file differs, compare the branch and
git status --shortoutput. - Do not copy hidden credentials or uncommitted state into another checkout merely to make the test pass.
Git's worktree documentation explains the underlying separate-working-tree model; Antigravity's Project docs explain when it selects that model.
Treat Strict Mode and .gitignore as Access Controls
The official Antigravity IDE settings guide says Strict Mode respects .gitignore and restricts access outside the workspace. That is documented security behavior. The docs do not present .gitignore as a performance or “index optimization” control.
Use Git itself to explain whether a specific path is ignored:
git check-ignore -v path/to/fileOutput names the matching ignore rule; no output means Git does not consider that path ignored. Change .gitignore only when repository policy says that file should no longer be ignored. Never expose a secret, private environment file, or generated credential to the agent as a diagnostic shortcut.
Current official documentation does not describe a .antigravityignore file. Do not add one expecting it to repair loading or file visibility.
Run a Reversible, Read-Only Scope Test
Keep the original conversation so you can compare it. Then start a new conversation in Local mode inside the same Project and use a harmless tracked file:
Do not modify files or run network commands.
Report the repository root and current branch.
Read README.md (or another harmless tracked file) and name its first heading.
Then report whether path/to/target exists inside the current Project.| Result | What it supports | Next move |
|---|---|---|
| New conversation reads the file; old one cannot | Conversation-specific state or instruction conflict | Continue in the new conversation; preserve the old one as evidence |
| Neither reads it, but the terminal path exists | Project folder, checkout, Strict Mode, or permission mismatch | Recheck the boundary and exact denial |
| Both read it, but the original task stalls | The task/tool is failing, not basic project visibility | Reduce to the first failing tool step |
| The same tiny prompt fails everywhere | Application, account, network, quota, or service issue | Capture the exact error and follow the relevant runbook |
Diagnose a Genuinely Stalled Run
- Record the last visible agent step, tool name, command, error text, and local timestamp.
- If a command or approval card is visibly waiting, resolve or cancel it through the supported UI. Do not assume a percentage success rate or hidden timeout.
- Stop the run if the UI offers that control, then send the read-only scope prompt above.
- Try a new conversation in the same Project. This separates conversation state from Project and application state without deleting either.
- If the minimal prompt also stalls, fully quit and reopen Antigravity once after saving evidence. Check the in-product update prompt or the official releases page.
An explicit Failed to fetch, DNS, TLS, or proxy message belongs in the safe network triage guide. A visible usage or quota error belongs in the quota troubleshooting guide. High resource use without a context failure belongs in the CPU and memory runbook.
Distinguish Project Scope from Settings Sync
Antigravity 2.0 separates Global settings, Project settings, and standalone-conversation settings. Project folder membership and permissions are isolated by Project. Seeing a different value in another Project or standalone conversation can therefore be expected scope behavior, not missing context.
Compare the same setting under the same account, Project, and product surface. Record both values before changing either one. Do not delete settings databases or copy guessed VS Code storage paths: the current official docs do not identify those as a supported repair for Project context.
Verify the Result and Roll Back Test Changes
- The Project folder list contains the intended roots and no unnecessary broad directory.
- The conversation is in the intended Local checkout or named worktree and branch.
- A harmless tracked file is readable with a read-only prompt.
- The original target is not blocked by a documented ignore or permission rule.
- The smallest reproduction completes twice without changing unrelated files.
- Any temporary Project, permission, or setting used for diagnosis is restored or removed.
Do not delete ~/.gemini, application data, conversation stores, token files, or guessed “index” databases for this symptom. These checks do not require clearing user state.
Escalate with Evidence, Not a Cache Reset
The official settings page lists Feedback as the in-product reporting route. Include the Antigravity version, operating system, timestamp and timezone, Project name, Local versus Worktree mode, sanitized folder roots, current branch, Strict Mode state, the relative path tested, and the exact permission or loading message. Redact usernames, repository secrets, tokens, prompts, and proprietary file content.
State the smallest reproduction and comparison result: whether a new conversation in the same Project could read the same harmless file. That evidence is more actionable than saying “indexing is broken.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I create .antigravityignore to speed up loading?
No current official Antigravity documentation describes that file. Strict Mode's documented behavior is to respect .gitignore as a file-access restriction, not as a promised performance control.
Where is “Re-index Workspace”?
The current official docs used for this guide do not document that command. Verify Project folders, checkout mode, and observable file access instead of relying on a borrowed menu name.
Why can the agent see an older version of my file?
Check whether the conversation uses a New Worktree. A separate worktree can point to a different branch and does not contain uncommitted changes from another checkout.
Should I disable Strict Mode to test a missing file?
Prefer a harmless, tracked file that is already inside the Project. If that works, inspect the specific ignored path or permission. Do not weaken broad security boundaries just to test one file.
Will settings sync restore a missing Project folder?
Do not assume it will. Project folders and settings are scoped to a Project in the current documentation. Verify the folder list in the Project where the conversation is running.
Should I clear Antigravity caches or delete local state?
No. Missing project context can be diagnosed with folder, checkout, ignore, permission, and comparison checks. Deleting state can erase useful evidence or conversations without correcting the boundary.
All Sources and Links
Sources were checked on July 21, 2026. Product behavior can change, so prefer the current official pages over undocumented menu names or storage paths.
Official Antigravity documentation
- Projects: folders, Local mode, and New Worktree mode
- Settings: Global, Project, standalone conversation, and Feedback scopes
- Agent settings: non-Project file access boundary
- Antigravity IDE settings: Strict Mode and
.gitignore - Agent permissions and workspace defaults
- Official Antigravity releases
Primary tool documentation
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