diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index 49b90d53..260dcb2b 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -50,7 +50,13 @@
 # List of patterns, relative to source directory, that match files and
 # directories to ignore when looking for source files.
 # This pattern also affects html_static_path and html_extra_path.
-exclude_patterns = ['_build', 'Thumbs.db', '.DS_Store', '.venv']
+# see https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#confval-exclude_patterns
+exclude_patterns = [
+    'processes',  # internal docs
+    '_build',  # build target
+    '.*', '**/.*',  # dotfiles and folders
+    'Thumbs.db', '**/Thumbs.db',
+]
 
 # -- Options for HTML output -------------------------------------------------