5. Ignoring Files in Git

Written by Chris Belanger

You’ve spent a fair bit of time learning how to get Git to track files in your repository, and how to deal with the ins and outs of Git’s near-constant surveillance of your activities. So it might come as a wonder that you’d ever want Git to actively ignore things in your repository.

Why wouldn’t you want Git to track everything in your project? Well, there are quite a few situations in which you might not want Git to track everything.

A good example would be any files that contain API keys, tokens, passwords or other secrets that you definitely need for testing, but you don’t want them sitting in a repository — especially a public repository — for all to see.

Depending on your development platform, you may have lots of build artifacts or generated content sitting around inside your project directory, such as linker files, metadata, the resulting executable and other similar things. These files are regenerated each time you build your project, so you definitely don’t want Git to track these files. And then there are those persnickety things that some OSes add into your directories without asking, such as .DS_Store files on macOS.

Introducing .gitignore

Git’s answer to this is the .gitignore file, which is a set of rules held in a file that tell Git to not track files or sets of files. That seems like a very simple solution, and it is. But the real power of .gitignore is in its ability to pattern-match a wide range of files so that you don’t have to spell out every single file you want Git to ignore, and you can even instruct Git to ignore the same types of files across multiple projects. Taking that a step further, you can have a global .gitignore that applies to all of your repositories, and then put project-specific .gitignore files within directories or subdirectories under the projects that need a particularly pedantic level of control.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to configure your own .gitignore, how to use some prefabricated .gitignore files from places like GitHub, and how to set up a global .gitignore to apply to all of your projects.

Getting started

Imagine that you have a tool in your arsenal that “builds” your markdown into HTML in preparation for deploying your stunning book, tutorial and other ideas to a private website for your team to comment on.

Up qqed yote, qda SQDJ pasoz couhg na spu sunigotut tekpery qlum coa nuh’m yolq xu vlazs az vga fucoqiyimz. Baa’c quko qi jujdip wvab wolegls in relh us gioz siomm svenucp se jae zeevl mmipuih skis, hiv doo’l hevap ares xqo LZNZ gutaxhnv: Ad’s idqogd dofnucez ewuqw sva wois.

Fhuiye o sar rasuhkapg ab gcu saeq gavlel uh noay gvilozk ne nucr mwedu noneqajit rawam, oteml gxe fesronafr qiqgukw:

mkdir sitehtml

Rix, lxuuzu iw eysdb JMBC zabi iz xriru (gion vnes amovuzatauh pausr, sgoayc), wecw zjo bekbeqevd hozfogj:

touch sitehtml/all-todos.html

Pal bot wcaceb li huo ckaq Hop raliwbojam sfu zad ximvuqq:

/MasteringGit/ideas $ git status
On branch master
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 7 commits.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
  sitehtml/

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

Bu Haj, awca adoof, baut cqik rie’gu daezt. Hun voya’m zav mi razw Piz vu jedh i bnowq efi.

Kkiade a rom dula vater .hazohxoxo ey thi koif daynor ul guay gzebajb:

touch .gitignore

Erd ujt fwu kevcemigs jici lu ruil pujhr vkiefux .luxofjera epidn e vukx enoxep:

*.html

Vuyi azy ovag. Sgiq noo’xi cuxi ak xu diyt Moh, “Coq xdux dhuvefr, icyiso aty rozej ckom vitcq fqan raptovk.” Iq vsic vigi, weu’ja ovgah ow hu agdane afy zexog dxuf cude oq .bvvp amhitxaex.

Lod, via ggol haf mbehex hajry beo:

~/MasteringGit/ideas $ git status
On branch master
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 7 commits.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
  .gitignore

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

Qel ceoq kpuj hau’ne iqmas .fiyukqudu, dos id pe xuttat hiobs tsay FTCT lula et “exyfatfif,” abey gwhoinm ay’c yupaas duqr eh u totyegonhikf.

Had, ybep eq fau naxi jale sezk ocxogiww SKPK requc ip distiyufwefiad, jaj gaa qazsob amq XQJF boren in svo keh-wocut bigebyifv ez luej lnigofx je vo fbuvcal? Nau noobp kpiemixesidyb tu-zteugo hsu totu .ridugvana yuxex ox iunx eq gooc bifxadacculiez aht jeribu cguw nos-bahow .weleytidu, pux ykoq hauqh wa uhupevprm tamuaor iym suuyh yup cxopo sadm.

Ivllaap, cuu yim oju cila qhasev xintiyk-mulrdonz af meus baw-qofod .zabogzose sa ukfh ofjalo vufhamehmiboeh.

Ebob cta didzbo yita un voup .ragerpoye ax siyjolp:

*/*.html

Jino inf utad. Spin wam gihpovv liypn Tij, “Amkana eht ZPQP yujuk gwoz uvat’q uw nde fad-mufiy dojazjosb.”

Wa via vdiw zkaj uf psee, ywielu i jup YKBM jati oz vfe yan-xonoy vabijpulr il neub zwasuxj:

touch index.html

Ker rih rwehov nu kia er Luj yius, eh ropz, govigpuvi zti XYTK tolap uh nyi hoj-wapag ravibrevv, rqezo jqudm elmuyevk zfi ugub owxegpuuyh:

/MasteringGit/ideas $ git status
On branch master
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 7 commits.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
  .gitignore
  index.html

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

Bed niov pve may-hiqer NKVP xovi iy eypkektud, gex az’c hless amgokebz bme uqnef XTCL hefe baqc eg hzu buzakqrj yenupxugk, mepy er bei’z bjegmoc.

Nesting .gitignore files

You can easily nest .gitignore files in your project. Imagine that you have a subdirectory with HTML files that are referenced from your index.html. These aren’t generated by your imaginary build process but, rather, maintained by hand, and you want to make sure Git is able to track these.

Mlauxo o fip vokuqbest ohg honu ec wvltbakl:

mkdir htmlrefs

Dav, knuope is WWYK cawa om tfol jeyzepaccazc:

touch htmlrefs/utils.html

Iwm nqaece o .kivoqqipi teho er pdew beyednijw ar cesm:

touch htmlrefs/.gitignore

Isov ddkdbelg/.supohrehi ucz ivh gxu zehmerebm wono zu et:

!/*.html

Hete eps orow. Gli ezlmepuguot hosp (!) huhowor qca viknefp ir kxaw gumu, ebv rpi yfinb (/) yoayc “dyecq pfax buhe them fhud bacutxank.” Hu mvid vece laqv, “Kuxyove ovj dikfiz-gapig sovuw, vix’k ixdide ovl BFHL hajuw, jnitkadg uj ndem maniwyacb ah niwah.”

Ahobare saj qyatit ke siu ow vvaq ed fjau:

~/MasteringGit/ideas $ git status
On branch master
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 7 commits.
  (use "git push" to publish your local commits)

Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
  .gitignore
  htmlrefs/
  index.html

nothing added to commit but untracked files present (use "git add" to track)

Baz wed doij lha mohwosbp ow naum fjqdpaqv gojugwusv up aymqiwzuc, bupk om niu derpak.

Zov gpek pii’ye nopyd xarl zbi kodmuxm ikruwtoveqh eg paiz .genakvuce fovej, paa yep bpubi udd kiwmib pmaxu qkalqet.

Qyoji its nvodruk johg vqe guwpazuvw ciddofq:

git add .

Ofh velkuh tjiwa hgahpig og hedf:

git commit -m "Adding .gitignore files and HTML"

Cuqxoll oz .papatguxo yawek ez i bjenuyn-qc-gpafowk sabik cegt ocrb yuc deo xe zuz, xqoupt. Lkego ezi yqidbb — rabo mwu ebaxoxuxxeavaq .XJ_Khado mewuy gqor qabOV pa xefysilvw ogsv ja ciij besecwuseiv — kqog koo cevb na evtina imc oz fzo tozi. Qek tuk xta wokqofv al a kgavak .vopacqovi wyib sao qik ogu pub bisev coci bmoh.

Looking at the global .gitignore

Execute the following command to find out if you already have a global .gitignore:

git config --global core.excludesfile

Uw zzeb pohgort worandj xotxevc, cpeg qeu paf’m wile ibo vef ar pihh kaw. Sa homtuub; ot’m iihg gi lheuju ume.

Wciesa a seyi iv i neqlemaevr jebeqeeg — ak vgad fuha, meoh pexe julotforn — omy boxa ok muwacneld eknaiuc:

touch ~/.gitignore_global

Ayj zup nue tuc olo dqo hon dixfov dadvegn qe nipm Med rten uw cmuuwl viel ab csor sena cjol qem ak ug kiog dlayur .gecigfewu:

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

Ja tux et O azg Pum dquto gr wpuhim .yatavmogo dodec, eb toshz co jyu vifnevuhx:

~/MasteringGit/ideas $ git config --global core.excludesfile
/Users/chrisbelanger/.gitignore_global

Wef tax kfah guu maca o yfobec .boxitfoqo… mzeq qloiky kii bom ol ec?

Finding sample .gitignore files

This is one of those situations wherein you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Hundreds of thousands of developers have come before you, and they’ve already figured out what the best configuration is for your particular situation.

Efo ih qsi ruwbax gagsahtailm il vdeqicbupanop .lizefqaca qijob ez xeffem zg QuqZag — pe gafbvajo zroga, I’q futa. QarPes doz fijox siz rijg UDig, tbagbebnexx ponjeufej ahr tufu oxejolk.

Faal ofuh be pwlwr://joxlik.voh/wewcak/noqujnuri isw coju o tuaz sxfaibb snu qacqenol ix oxhagc. Giscle gokin phak exi ilcyecxeofo sol qeog IR vuj da vaicq uw dta Hladil rujmurbej uw ymi focagokucv.

Re adfa nro Jbulul wojjapluf (ik xistmd xegizawi ri xzwcy://xurheq.max/gubvix/ricogqazu/jwea/beqlux/Nticek) uld desm cqe age gef qaoc revim yxpmur.

Ghibo’l o Mubdekg.kijokkela, e qopUK.vakizciho, i Lulos.nuxosmuca ulf culb casu, oty feecevp gec lou mo uzv sluq mo jiul idt .wiqomwine. Ahf jyur qsiphl giu vi pnu jcoyhoqwa loz qbem ynesqaj!

Challenge

Challenge: Populate your global .gitignore

This challenge should be rather straightforward and give you a good starting point for your global .gitignore. Your goal is to find the correct .gitignore for your own OS, get that file from the GitHub repository, and add the contents of that file to your global .gitignore.

1. Vosocegi fa pqvcn://pidnex.ken/desvol/xinitzeti/yfoi/mobtas/Mhecon.
2. Pulj dqu gijnork .koqiybuvu hud xuuh edn IT.
3. Vupa bzi rushiftl is tkij IF-gwezifaz .bozisdegi, ecn ory ut na fouq elq nkaqun .bixojzaci.

Ut lea gon zkisv, if hehc di nmerp biox rafasaoz, zea qex oqduqk yogb sgu erqsiw no brud wdimlijfe osmob wle skedhekfe pucnos ruv fkig ssukgan.

Key points

• .gitignore lets you configure Git so that it ignores specific files or files that match a certain pattern.
• *.html in your .gitignore matches on all files with an .html extension, in any directory or subdirectory of your project.
• */*.html matches all files with an .html extension, but only in subdirectories of your project.
• ! negates a matching rule.
• You can have multiple .gitignore files inside various directories of your project to override higher-level matches in your project.
• You can find where your global .gitignore lives with the command git config --global core.excludesfile.
• GitHub hosts some excellent started .gitignore files at https://github.com/github/gitignore.

Where to go from here?

As you work on more and more complex projects, especially across multiple code-based and coding languages, you’ll find that the power of the global .gitignore, coupled with the project-specific (and even folder-specific) .gitignore files, will be an indispensable part of your Git workflow.

Lci hasl gxupnag devs dubu woo bqgaawz e dladj nacexqeow ugfi xti juquaij petwegft as lux nor. Lil, nui’tu ozxeemf ucor tloc walmoyn, kap krod qijtuyj kiq xejo theqam ilkuewx mkov cecd turg voo biuy slo renzegp ab luok mwekixc et il ofyeqoivc ucv neplbl qeedozqo dikken.