diff --git a/graphify/detect.py b/graphify/detect.py
index 338449291..f739b677a 100644
--- a/graphify/detect.py
+++ b/graphify/detect.py
@@ -272,17 +272,41 @@ def _load_graphifyignore(root: Path) -> list[tuple[Path, str]]:
     parent directory still work when graphify is run on a subfolder.
 
     Walks upward from *root* towards the filesystem root, stopping at a
-    ``.git`` boundary. Lines starting with # are comments; blank lines ignored.
+    ``.git`` boundary.
+
+    Comment handling (gitignore extension):
+      * Lines starting with # are full-line comments — skipped.
+      * Inline comments (whitespace + hash to end of line) are stripped
+        from each pattern. This matches user intuition for documenting
+        patterns inline, e.g. `chitta/varta/  # daily briefings`.
+      * Use ``\\#`` to keep a literal hash in a pattern (rare).
+      * Blank lines after stripping are ignored.
     """
     patterns: list[tuple[Path, str]] = []
     current = root.resolve()
     while True:
         ignore_file = current / ".graphifyignore"
         if ignore_file.exists():
-            for line in ignore_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="ignore").splitlines():
-                line = line.strip()
-                if line and not line.startswith("#"):
-                    patterns.append((current, line))
+            for raw_line in ignore_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="ignore").splitlines():
+                line = raw_line.strip()
+                if not line or line.startswith("#"):
+                    continue
+                # Strip inline comment (whitespace + '#' to end of line),
+                # preserve escaped backslash-# as literal hash in pattern.
+                pieces = []
+                i = 0
+                while i < len(line):
+                    if line[i] == "\\" and i + 1 < len(line) and line[i + 1] == "#":
+                        pieces.append("#")
+                        i += 2
+                        continue
+                    if line[i].isspace() and i + 1 < len(line) and line[i + 1] == "#":
+                        break
+                    pieces.append(line[i])
+                    i += 1
+                pattern = "".join(pieces).rstrip()
+                if pattern:
+                    patterns.append((current, pattern))
         # Stop climbing once we've processed the git repo root
         if (current / ".git").exists():
             break
diff --git a/tests/test_detect.py b/tests/test_detect.py
index ed43fea2b..b365c7940 100644
--- a/tests/test_detect.py
+++ b/tests/test_detect.py
@@ -114,6 +114,57 @@ def test_graphifyignore_comments_ignored(tmp_path):
     assert any("other.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"])
 
 
+def test_graphifyignore_inline_comments_stripped(tmp_path):
+    """Inline comments (whitespace + '#' to end of line) are stripped from
+    pattern lines, so `vendor/  # legacy code` ignores the `vendor/` directory
+    rather than treating the entire line including the comment as the pattern.
+    """
+    (tmp_path / ".graphifyignore").write_text(
+        "vendor/  # legacy code\n"
+        "*.generated.py    # auto-generated, skip\n"
+        "main.py\n"
+    )
+    (tmp_path / "vendor").mkdir()
+    (tmp_path / "vendor" / "lib.py").write_text("x = 1")
+    (tmp_path / "auto.generated.py").write_text("x = 2")
+    (tmp_path / "main.py").write_text("x = 3")
+    (tmp_path / "other.py").write_text("x = 4")
+    result = detect(tmp_path)
+    assert not any("lib.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"]), (
+        "vendor/ should be ignored after stripping inline comment"
+    )
+    assert not any("auto.generated.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"]), (
+        "*.generated.py should match after stripping inline comment"
+    )
+    assert not any("main.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"])
+    assert any("other.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"])
+
+
+def test_graphifyignore_inline_comment_requires_whitespace_before_hash(tmp_path):
+    """A '#' without preceding whitespace is part of the pattern, not a comment.
+    Standard gitignore semantics — `path#name` matches a file literally named
+    `path#name`, not a comment.
+    """
+    (tmp_path / ".graphifyignore").write_text("file#with#hash.py\n")
+    (tmp_path / "file#with#hash.py").write_text("x = 1")
+    (tmp_path / "other.py").write_text("x = 2")
+    result = detect(tmp_path)
+    assert not any("file#with#hash.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"])
+    assert any("other.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"])
+
+
+def test_graphifyignore_escaped_hash_is_literal(tmp_path):
+    r"""Backslash-hash (``\#``) keeps a literal '#' in the pattern even after
+    whitespace, escaping the inline-comment marker.
+    """
+    (tmp_path / ".graphifyignore").write_text("file \\# name.py\n")
+    (tmp_path / "file # name.py").write_text("x = 1")
+    (tmp_path / "other.py").write_text("x = 2")
+    result = detect(tmp_path)
+    assert not any("file # name.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"])
+    assert any("other.py" in f for f in result["files"]["code"])
+
+
 def test_detect_follows_symlinked_directory(tmp_path):
     real_dir = tmp_path / "real_lib"
     real_dir.mkdir()