.gitignore Files

How to use .gitignore to exclude files from Git tracking

The .gitignore file tells Git which files and directories to ignore in your repository.

Creating .gitignore

Create a .gitignore file in your repository root:

touch .gitignore

Basic Patterns

Ignore Specific Files

# Ignore specific file
secret.txt

# Ignore files with specific extension
*.log
*.tmp

# Ignore all files in a directory
build/
node_modules/

Pattern Rules

# Ignore all .txt files
*.txt

# But don't ignore important.txt
!important.txt

# Ignore files only in root directory
/config.json

# Ignore files in any config directory
config/

# Ignore all .log files in logs directory and subdirectories
logs/**/*.log

Common .gitignore Templates

Node.js

node_modules/
npm-debug.log*
.env
dist/
build/
.nyc_output/
coverage/

Python

__pycache__/
*.py[cod]
*$py.class
*.so
.Python
env/
venv/
.venv/
.env

Java

*.class
*.jar
*.war
*.ear
target/
.classpath
.project
.settings/

General

# OS generated files
.DS_Store
.DS_Store?
._*
.Spotlight-V100
.Trashes
ehthumbs.db
Thumbs.db

# Editor files
.vscode/
.idea/
*.swp
*.swo
*~

# Temporary files
*.tmp
*.temp

Wildcards and Patterns

PatternMatches
*Any file or directory
**Any directory (recursive)
?Single character
[abc]Any character in brackets
!patternNegation (don't ignore)

Examples

# Ignore all log files
*.log

# Ignore node_modules directory
node_modules/

# Ignore all files in temp directory
temp/**

# Ignore config files but not config.example
config.*
!config.example

# Ignore all .txt files in docs directory
docs/*.txt

# Ignore all .pdf files anywhere in the project
**/*.pdf

Applying .gitignore to Existing Files

If files are already tracked, you need to untrack them first:

# Remove file from tracking but keep locally
git rm --cached file.txt

# Remove directory from tracking
git rm -r --cached directory/

# Commit the changes
git commit -m "Remove tracked files that should be ignored"

Global .gitignore

Create a global .gitignore for all your repositories:

# Create global gitignore
git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global

# Edit the file
nano ~/.gitignore_global

Checking .gitignore

See Which Files Are Ignored

git status --ignored

Test .gitignore Patterns

git check-ignore -v file.txt

Force Add Ignored Files

git add -f ignored-file.txt

Best Practices

  1. Add .gitignore early in your project
  2. Use templates for common languages/frameworks
  3. Don't ignore .gitignore itself
  4. Be specific with patterns when possible
  5. Document unusual patterns with comments

Troubleshooting

File Still Tracked Despite .gitignore

The file was tracked before adding to .gitignore:

git rm --cached file.txt
git commit -m "Remove tracked file"

.gitignore Not Working

  1. Check file is named exactly .gitignore
  2. Ensure no trailing spaces in patterns
  3. File might already be tracked
  4. Pattern might be incorrect

Next Steps