diff --git a/constants/defaults.ts b/constants/defaults.ts
index f8df980..d98016f 100644
--- a/constants/defaults.ts
+++ b/constants/defaults.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ export const DEFAULT_SETTINGS: NoteStatusSettings = {
 	enabledTemplates: DEFAULT_ENABLED_TEMPLATES,
 	useCustomStatusesOnly: false,
 	useMultipleStatuses: true,
-	tagPrefix: 'obsidian-note-status'
+	tagPrefix: 'obsidian-note-status',
+	excludeUnknownStatus: true, // Default to exclude unknown status files for better performance
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/models/types.ts b/models/types.ts
index 1a57e9e..820bfc3 100644
--- a/models/types.ts
+++ b/models/types.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ export interface NoteStatusSettings {
     useCustomStatusesOnly: boolean; // Whether to use only custom statuses or include templates
     useMultipleStatuses: boolean; // Whether to allow multiple statuses per note
     tagPrefix: string; // Prefix for the status tag (default: 'status')
+    excludeUnknownStatus: boolean; // Whether to exclude files with unknown status from the status pane
 }
 
 /**