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.gitignore Explained: How to Ignore Files in Git

Keep node_modules, build output, .env files and logs out of Git with .gitignore. Learn the patterns, negation, how to stop tracking a file already committed, and git check-ignore.

Beginner6 min readUpdated
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Not everything in a project folder belongs in Git. A .gitignore file lists the files Git should pretend are not there.

What should not be committed#

Do not commitWhy
node_modules/, venv/Installed packages; anyone can recreate them
dist/, build/, __pycache__/, *.classGenerated output
.envPasswords and API keys
*.logLog files that change constantly
.DS_Store, Thumbs.dbOperating system files

Lock files such as package-lock.json should be committed, because they record exact versions.

Create a .gitignore#

This project has some files we do not want to track:

Terminal
mkdir node_modules logs
echo "x" > node_modules/lib.js
echo "x" > logs/today.log
echo "API_KEY=secret" > .env
git status --short
Output
?? .env
?? logs/
?? node_modules/

Create .gitignore in the project root:

.gitignore (Text)
node_modules/
logs/
.env

Now those files have gone from the list, and only .gitignore itself is left:

Terminal
git status --short
Output
?? .gitignore

Commit .gitignore so that everyone on the team shares it:

Terminal
git add .gitignore
git commit -q -m "Ignore dependencies, logs and env file"
git status
Output
On branch main
nothing to commit, working tree clean

Patterns#

PatternMatches
secret.txtAny file with that name, in any folder
/secret.txtOnly in the project root
build/Any folder named build
*.logFiles ending in .log
docs/*.pdfPDFs directly inside docs
docs/**/*.pdfPDFs anywhere below docs
!keep.logAn exception: do track this one
# commentA comment

An exception must come after the pattern it overrides:

Terminal
printf '*.log\n!important.log\n' >> .gitignore
echo "a" > debug.log
echo "b" > important.log
git status --short
Output
 M .gitignore
?? important.log

A file is ignored and you want to know why#

Terminal
git check-ignore -v debug.log
Output
.gitignore:4:*.log	debug.log

This prints the rule and the line number that matched.

.gitignore does not affect tracked files#

Ignore rules apply only to untracked files. If you already committed a file, adding it to .gitignore changes nothing. Stop tracking it, while keeping your copy:

Terminal
echo "*.tmp" >> .gitignore
git rm --cached cache.tmp
git add .gitignore
git commit -q -m "Stop tracking cache file"
git status --short
ls cache.tmp
Output
rm 'cache.tmp'
cache.tmp

The file remains on disk, and Git no longer tracks it.

Starter templates#

GitHub offers a .gitignore template when you create a repository, and keeps a collection at github.com/github/gitignore for every common language. Use one of those rather than writing yours from scratch.

Common mistakes#

Practice#

Practice exercise

In a repository containing a.tmp and b.txt, ignore all .tmp files, then show the short status and the rule that ignores a.tmp.

Show solution
Terminal
echo "*.tmp" > .gitignore
git status --short
git check-ignore -v a.tmp
Output
?? .gitignore
?? b.txt
.gitignore:1:*.tmp	a.tmp

Key takeaway#

Next: Undoing Changes.

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