diff --git a/GEMINI.md b/GEMINI.md
index 0bc1ced60..8ee0c5128 100644
--- a/GEMINI.md
+++ b/GEMINI.md
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ pytest 'tests/modules/project/tftest.yaml::context' --tb=short -s
 
 *   **Branching:** Use `username/feature-name`.
 *   **Commits:** Atomic commits with clear messages.
+*   **PR Titles:** Avoid semantic commit prefixes. Use Title Case for the first word.
 *   **Docs:** Do not manually edit the variables/outputs tables in READMEs; use `tfdoc.py`.
 
 ## Adding Context Support to a Module
diff --git a/tests/examples/test_plan.py b/tests/examples/test_plan.py
index 4db489a81..71d64f4ab 100644
--- a/tests/examples/test_plan.py
+++ b/tests/examples/test_plan.py
@@ -72,7 +72,12 @@ def _test_terraform_example(plan_validator, example):
                     directive.kwargs.get('fixtures'))
     elif example.type == 'tfvars':
       (tmp_path / 'terraform.auto.tfvars').write_text(example.code)
-      shutil.copytree(example.module, tmp_path, dirs_exist_ok=True)
+
+      def ignore_missing(src, names):
+        return [n for n in names if not (Path(src) / n).exists()]
+
+      shutil.copytree(example.module, tmp_path, dirs_exist_ok=True,
+                      ignore=ignore_missing)
       tf_var_files = [(tmp_path / 'terraform.auto.tfvars').resolve()]
 
     inventory = []
diff --git a/tests/fixtures.py b/tests/fixtures.py
index 8cd8c71e4..2ec1330be 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures.py
+++ b/tests/fixtures.py
@@ -42,12 +42,15 @@ def _prepare_root_module(path):
   # directories that are automatically read by terraform. Useful
   # to avoid surprises if, for example, you have an active fast
   # deployment with links to configs)
-  ignore_patterns = shutil.ignore_patterns('*.auto.tfvars',
-                                           '*.auto.tfvars.json',
-                                           '[0-9]-*-providers.tf',
-                                           'terraform.tfstate*',
-                                           '.terraform.lock.hcl',
-                                           'terraform.tfvars', '.terraform')
+  _ignore = shutil.ignore_patterns('*.auto.tfvars', '*.auto.tfvars.json',
+                                   '[0-9]-*-providers.tf', 'terraform.tfstate*',
+                                   '.terraform.lock.hcl', 'terraform.tfvars',
+                                   '.terraform', '.git')
+
+  def ignore_patterns(src, names):
+    ignored = set(_ignore(src, names))
+    ignored.update([n for n in names if not (Path(src) / n).exists()])
+    return list(ignored)
 
   with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(dir=path.parent) as tmp_path:
     tmp_path = Path(tmp_path)
@@ -330,10 +333,8 @@ def get_tfvars_for_e2e():
   missing_vars = set([f'TFTEST_E2E_{k}' for k in _variables]) - set(
       os.environ.keys())
   if missing_vars:
-    raise RuntimeError(
-        f'Missing environment variables: {missing_vars} required to run E2E tests. '
-        f'Consult CONTRIBUTING.md to understand how to set them up. '
-        f'If you want to skip E2E tests add -k "not examples_e2e" to your pytest call'
+    pytest.skip(
+        f'Missing environment variables: {missing_vars} required to run E2E tests.'
     )
   tf_vars = {k: os.environ.get(f'TFTEST_E2E_{k}') for k in _variables}
   if tf_vars['region'] == tf_vars['region_secondary']: