Git Ignore and .gitignore
What is .gitignore?
The .gitignore file tells Git which files and folders to ignore (not track).
This is useful for keeping log files, temporary files, build artifacts, or personal files out of your repository.
- Examples of files to ignore: log files, temporary files, hidden files, personal files, OS/editor files, etc.
The .gitignore file itself is tracked by Git, so everyone using the repository ignores the same files.
When to Use .gitignore
- When you want to keep sensitive, local, or unnecessary files out of your repository
- When sharing a project with others and want to avoid cluttering Git history
- When working with build tools or editors that create extra files
Create a .gitignore File
- Go to the root of your local Git repository.
- Create a file named
.gitignore:
Ignoring Folders
To ignore a folder and everything inside it, use a trailing slash:
temp/
This ignores any folder named temp anywhere in your project.
Wildcards & Patterns
Wildcards let you match many files or folders at once:
*matches any number of characters?matches a single character[abc]matches any character in the set[!abc]matches any character not in the set
*.tmp # all .tmp files my?ile.txt # matches my1ile.txt, myAile.txt, etc. log[0-9].txt # log1.txt, log2.txt, ... log9.txt
Negation (!)
Use ! to not ignore something that would otherwise be ignored. This is called an exception:
*.log !important.log
This ignores all .log files except important.log.
Comments and Blank Lines
Lines starting with # are comments and are ignored by Git. Blank lines are also ignored. Use comments to explain your rules:
# Ignore log files *.log # Ignore temp folders temp/
Local & Personal Ignore Rules
If you want to ignore files only for yourself (not for everyone who uses the repository), add them to .git/info/exclude. This works just like .gitignore but is not shared.
Global .gitignore (User Level)
You can set up a global .gitignore file for all your projects. This is great for ignoring OS or editor files everywhere (like .DS_Store or Thumbs.db):
git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_globalThen add your patterns to ~/.gitignore_global.
How to Stop Tracking a File
If you add a file to .gitignore but Git is still tracking it, you need to tell Git to stop:
git rm --cached filename.txt
rm 'filename.txt'This removes the file from the repository but keeps it on your computer. Next time you commit, Git will ignore it.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Check for typos:
.gitignoreis case-sensitive! - If a file is already tracked, use
git rm --cachedto stop tracking it. - Use comments (
#) to explain tricky rules for your teammates. - Use
git statusto see if your ignored files are being tracked. - Remember:
.gitignoreonly affects files that are not already tracked by Git.
Pattern Syntax
Here are some common patterns and how they match:
| Pattern | Explanation/Matches | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Blank lines are ignored | ||
| # text comment | Lines starting with # are ignored | |
| name | All name files, name folders, and files and folders in any name folder | /name.log /name/file.txt /lib/name.log |
| name/ | Ending with / specifies the pattern is for a folder. Matches all files and folders in any name folder | /name/file.txt /name/log/name.log no match: /name.log |
| name.file | All files with the name.file | /name.file /lib/name.file |
| /name.file | Starting with / specifies the pattern matches only files in the root folder | /name.file no match: /lib/name.file |
| lib/name.file | Patterns specifying files in specific folders are always relative to root (even if you do not start with / ) | /lib/name.file no match: name.file /test/lib/name.file |
| **/lib/name.file | Starting with ** before / specifies that it matches any folder in the repository. Not just on root. | /lib/name.file /test/lib/name.file |
| **/name | All name folders, and files and folders in any name folder | /name/log.file /lib/name/log.file /name/lib/log.file |
| /lib/**/name | All name folders, and files and folders in any name folder within the lib folder. | /lib/name/log.file /lib/test/name/log.file /lib/test/ver1/name/log.file no match: /name/log.file |
| *.file | All files with the .file extension | /name.file /lib/name.file |
| *name/ | All folders ending with name | /lastname/log.file /firstname/log.file |
| name?.file | ? matches a single non-specific character | /names.file /name1.file no match: /names1.file |
| name[a-z].file | [range] matches a single character in the specified range (in this case a character in the range of a-z) | /names.file /nameb.file no match: /name1.file |
| name[abc].file | [set] matches a single character in the specified set of characters (in this case either a, b, or c) | /namea.file /nameb.file no match: /names.file |
| name[!abc].file | [!set] matches a single character, except the ones specified in the set of characters (in this case a, b, or c) | /names.file /namex.file no match: /namesb.file |
| *.file | All files with the .file extension | /name.file /lib/name.file |
| name/ !name/secret.log |
! specifies a negation or exception. Matches all files and folders in any name folder, except name/secret.log | /name/file.txt /name/log/name.log no match: /name/secret.log |
| *.file !name.file |
! specifies a negation or exception. All files with the .file extension, except name.file | /log.file /lastname.file no match: /name.file |
| *.file !name/*.file junk.* |
Adding new patterns after a negation will re-ignore a previous negated file All files with the .file extension, except the ones in name folder. Unless the file name is junk |
/log.file /name/log.file no match: /name/junk.file |
