[RivieraKid]

For example using nested .gitignore files vs using one root .gitignore file. I guess this principle is related to this one:

Imagine the code as a graph with nodes and edges. The nodes should be grouped in a way that when you display the graph with grouped nodes, you see few edges between groups. Removing a group means that you need to cut maybe 3 edges, not 30. I.e. you don't want something where every component has a line to every other component.

Also when working on a feature - modifying / adding / removing, ideally you want to only look at an isolated group, with minimal links to the rest of the code.

[ActivePattern]

You're describing "modularity" or "loose coupling" in code. But it rarely implies you can just delete files or directory. It usually just means that a change in one component requires minimal changes to other components -- i.e. the diff is kept small.