diff --git a/src/beaver_gateway/vault/watch.py b/src/beaver_gateway/vault/watch.py
index df48ef0..778e435 100644
--- a/src/beaver_gateway/vault/watch.py
+++ b/src/beaver_gateway/vault/watch.py
@@ -19,12 +19,14 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
 
-from watchfiles import awatch
+from watchfiles import DefaultFilter, awatch
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Iterable
 
-__all__ = ["Change", "VaultWatch", "WatchRules"]
+    from watchfiles import Change as FileChange
+
+__all__ = ["Change", "VaultFilter", "VaultWatch", "WatchRules"]
 
 _log = logging.getLogger("beaver_gateway.vault.watch")
 
@@ -74,6 +76,26 @@ class _Seen:
     count: int
 
 
+IGNORE_DIRS = (".obsidian", ".trash", ".git")
+"""Housekeeping directories whose churn never means an edit of the vault."""
+
+IGNORE_NAMES = (".sync.lock", "*.lock", "*.tmp", "*~")
+"""Lock and scratch file names, matched against the entity name."""
+
+
+class VaultFilter(DefaultFilter):
+    """Drops housekeeping paths inside ``awatch``, before the loop is woken."""
+
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__(ignore_dirs=(*DefaultFilter.ignore_dirs, *IGNORE_DIRS))
+
+    def __call__(self, change: FileChange, path: str) -> bool:
+        name = Path(path).name
+        if any(fnmatch.fnmatchcase(name, pattern) for pattern in IGNORE_NAMES):
+            return False
+        return super().__call__(change, path)
+
+
 class VaultWatch:
     def __init__(
         self, root: Path, rules: WatchRules, *, tz: str = "UTC", debounce: float = 4.0
@@ -98,6 +120,7 @@ class VaultWatch:
         _log.info("watching %s (%d files in snapshot)", self.root, len(self._seen))
         async for changes in awatch(
             self.root,
+            watch_filter=VaultFilter(),
             debounce=int(self._debounce * 1000),
             stop_event=self._stop,
             ignore_permission_denied=True,
diff --git a/tests/test_watch.py b/tests/test_watch.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c7fec5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_watch.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+import tempfile
+from collections.abc import AsyncIterator
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+from watchfiles import Change as FileChange
+
+from beaver_gateway.vault import watch as watch_module
+from beaver_gateway.vault.watch import VaultFilter, VaultWatch, WatchRules
+
+VAULT = Path("/vault")
+FILTER = VaultFilter()
+
+
+def wakes(rel: str) -> bool:
+    return FILTER(FileChange.modified, str(VAULT / rel))
+
+
+def test_obsidian_never_wakes_the_watcher() -> None:
+    assert not wakes(".obsidian/.sync.lock")
+    assert not wakes(".obsidian/.sync.lock/data")
+    assert not wakes(".obsidian")
+    assert not wakes(".obsidian/workspace.json")
+    assert not wakes(".obsidian/plugins/obsidian-git/data.json")
+
+
+def test_other_service_paths_never_wake_the_watcher() -> None:
+    assert not wakes(".trash/📅 дни/2026-09-01.md")
+    assert not wakes(".git/index")
+
+
+def test_notes_still_wake_the_watcher() -> None:
+    assert wakes("📅 дни/2026-09-09.md")
+    assert wakes("мета/бобер/состояние.md")
+    assert wakes("заметка.md")
+    assert wakes("💻 проекты/бобер/план.md")
+
+
+def test_lock_beside_a_note_is_quiet_but_the_note_is_not() -> None:
+    assert not wakes("📅 дни/.2026-09-09.md.lock")
+    assert not wakes("📅 дни/2026-09-09.md.tmp")
+    assert not wakes("📅 дни/2026-09-09.md~")
+    assert wakes("📅 дни/2026-09-09.md")
+
+
+async def test_the_filter_is_applied_by_awatch_itself(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    seen: dict[str, object] = {}
+
+    async def fake_awatch(
+        *paths: object, **kwargs: object
+    ) -> AsyncIterator[set[object]]:
+        seen.update(kwargs)
+        seen["paths"] = paths
+        for change in ():
+            yield change
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(watch_module, "awatch", fake_awatch)
+    root = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="beaver-vault-"))
+    watch = VaultWatch(root, WatchRules(names=("**",)), tz="UTC")
+    await watch.run()
+    assert isinstance(seen["watch_filter"], VaultFilter)