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.gitignore Cheat Sheet

What is .gitignore?

A .gitignore file specifies intentionally untracked files that Git should ignore. This helps prevent sensitive, temporary, or unnecessary files from being committed to the repository.

Basic Syntax

  • Comment lines: Use # at the start of the line.
    Example:

    # This is a comment

  • Blank lines: Ignored and used for readability.

Ignore Patterns

  1. Exact match:
    To ignore a specific file:

    file.txt

  2. Wildcard (*):
    Matches zero or more characters.

    *.log   # Ignore all .log files
temp*   # Ignore files starting with "temp"

  3. Directories:

    To ignore a directory and its contents, add a trailing /.

    /cache/ # Ignore "cache" directory

  4. Negation (!):
    To unignore files or directories.

    !important.log

  5. Patterns with paths:
    Specify relative paths for more precise ignores.

    /config/settings.json  # Ignore only in the root
**/debug.log           # Ignore in all subdirectories

Clearing Git Ignore Cache

Why Clear the Git Ignore Cache?

If you modify the .gitignore file to ignore files that are already tracked by Git, those files will remain in the repository until you remove them from tracking.

Steps to Clear the Cache

  1. Remove the files from tracking (without deleting them):

    git rm -r --cached .

  2. Add the modified .gitignore to the staging area:

    git add .gitignore

  3. Commit the changes:

    git commit -m "Updated .gitignore and cleared cache"

Now Git will respect the .gitignore rules and stop tracking the ignored files.

Examples of Common Patterns

Operating System Files

  • macOS:

    .DS_Store
.AppleDouble
.LSOverride

  • Windows:

    Thumbs.db
ehthumbs.db
Desktop.ini

  • Linux:

    *~
.nfs*

Programming Languages

Python

*.pyc
*.pyo
__pycache__/
.env
.venv/

Node.js

node_modules/
npm-debug.log*
yarn-debug.log*
yarn-error.log*
.env

Java

*.class
*.jar
*.war
*.ear
*.iml
```shell

#### C/C++

```shell
*.o
*.out
*.so
*.a
*.d

Ruby

*.gem
.log
tmp/

Go

*.exe
*.test
*.out

Rust

*.rs.bk
target/
Cargo.lock

Frameworks and Tools

Git

.git/

IDEs

  • VSCode:

    .vscode/

  • IntelliJ IDEA:

    .idea/
*.iml

  • Eclipse:

    .classpath
.project
.settings/
bin/

Logs and Temporary Files

*.log
*.tmp
*.swp
*.bak
*.old
*.~lock.*

Ignoring Files in Specific Directories

  • Ignore all .log files in the /logs directory:

    logs/*.log

  • Ignore everything in the /temp directory except .keep:

    temp/
!temp/.keep

Useful Tips

  1. Check ignored files:
    View which files are being ignored:

    git status --ignored

  2. Exclude .gitignore itself:
    Add this to .gitignore:

    .gitignore

  3. Use global .gitignore:
    Configure a global ignore file for your user:

    git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global

    Example content of ~/.gitignore_global:

    *.bak
*.swp