diff --git a/.envguard.yml.example b/.envguard.yml.example
index 8c02baa..3e6adca 100644
--- a/.envguard.yml.example
+++ b/.envguard.yml.example
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ exclude_extensions:
   - ".png"
 entropy_exclude_paths:
   - "testdata/**"
-  - "fixtures/**"
 custom_patterns:
   - name: "Internal Token"
     pattern: "MYCO_[A-Z0-9]{32}"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 88bbf23..dd19d81 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -67,9 +67,9 @@ The entropy engine tokenizes each scanned line, measures Shannon entropy, and fl
 | `entropy_threshold` | `float64` | `4.5` | Minimum Shannon entropy required to report a token. |
 | `min_length` | `int` | `20` | Minimum token length considered by entropy scanning. |
 | `max_file_size_kb` | `int` | `500` | Skip files larger than this limit with a warning. |
-| `exclude_paths` | `[]string` | `["testdata/**","**/*.test.js","vendor/**"]` | Glob patterns excluded from scanning. |
+| `exclude_paths` | `[]string` | `["**/*.test.js","vendor/**"]` | Glob patterns excluded from scanning. |
 | `exclude_extensions` | `[]string` | `[".lock",".svg",".png"]` | File extensions excluded from scanning. |
-| `entropy_exclude_paths` | `[]string` | `[]` | Glob patterns that skip entropy scanning only while keeping pattern matching enabled for files that are still included by `exclude_paths`. |
+| `entropy_exclude_paths` | `[]string` | `["testdata/**"]` | Glob patterns that skip entropy scanning only while keeping pattern matching enabled for files that are still included by `exclude_paths`. |
 | `custom_patterns` | `[]pattern` | `[]` | Extra regex rules added to the built-in pattern library. |
 
 Example:
@@ -87,7 +87,6 @@ exclude_extensions:
   - ".svg"
 entropy_exclude_paths:
   - "testdata/**"
-  - "fixtures/**"
 custom_patterns:
   - name: "Internal Token"
     pattern: "MYCO_[A-Z0-9]{32}"
@@ -95,7 +94,7 @@ custom_patterns:
 ```
 
 Note:
-`exclude_paths` is applied before scanning starts. If a path is excluded there, `entropy_exclude_paths` will never see it. To keep pattern matching enabled for `testdata/` while suppressing entropy checks, remove `testdata/**` from `exclude_paths` and add it to `entropy_exclude_paths` instead.
+`exclude_paths` is applied before scanning starts. If a path is excluded there, `entropy_exclude_paths` will never see it. By default, `testdata/**` stays included for pattern scanning and is excluded from entropy scanning through `entropy_exclude_paths`.
 
 ## CLI Reference
 
diff --git a/config/schema.go b/config/schema.go
index b524fa7..a731b89 100644
--- a/config/schema.go
+++ b/config/schema.go
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ func Default() Config {
 		MinLength:        20,
 		MaxFileSizeKB:    500,
 		ExcludePaths: []string{
-			"testdata/**",
 			"**/*.test.js",
 			"vendor/**",
 		},
@@ -44,5 +43,8 @@ func Default() Config {
 			".svg",
 			".png",
 		},
+		EntropyExcludePaths: []string{
+			"testdata/**",
+		},
 	}
 }
diff --git a/scanner/scanner_test.go b/scanner/scanner_test.go
index c13bb88..b7c8e49 100644
--- a/scanner/scanner_test.go
+++ b/scanner/scanner_test.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 func TestScanDirtyFixture(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := config.Default()
 	cfg.ExcludePaths = nil
+	cfg.EntropyExcludePaths = nil
 
 	engine, err := NewEngine(cfg, allowlist.Set{})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -128,6 +129,25 @@ func TestEntropyExcludePathsCanSkipTestdataEntropy(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Empty(t, findings)
 }
 
+func TestDefaultConfigUsesPatternOnlyScanningForTestdata(t *testing.T) {
+	tempDir := t.TempDir()
+	testdataDir := filepath.Join(tempDir, "testdata")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(testdataDir, 0o755))
+
+	target := filepath.Join(testdataDir, "sample.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(target, []byte("const key = AKIA1234567890ABCDEF;\nconst token = abcd1234efgh5678ijkl9012mnop3456;\n"), 0o644))
+
+	cfg := config.Default()
+	engine, err := NewEngineWithRoot(cfg, allowlist.Set{}, tempDir)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	findings, err := engine.ScanPaths([]string{target})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, findings, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, "AWS Access Key", findings[0].RuleName)
+	assert.Equal(t, "pattern", findings[0].Source)
+}
+
 func chdirForTest(t *testing.T, dir string) {
 	t.Helper()
 	wd, err := os.Getwd()