Why is .gitignore not working?

The most common reason is that the files were already tracked by Git before you added them to .gitignore. You need to remove them from the index with git rm --cached , then commit. After that, .gitignore will prevent them from being tracked again.

Where should I put the .gitignore file?

Place .gitignore in the root of your repository. You can also have .gitignore files in subdirectories to add rules specific to that folder. Rules in a subfolder .gitignore only apply to files in that directory and its children.

How do I ignore a folder but keep one file inside it?

Use the negation pattern with !. First ignore the folder (logs/), then negate the specific file (!logs/.gitkeep). The order matters: the negation must come after the ignore rule.

What is a global .gitignore?

A global .gitignore applies to every Git repository on your machine. Set it with git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global. It is ideal for OS files (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db) and editor configs (.vscode/, .idea/) that are personal and not project-specific.

Should I commit the .gitignore file?

Yes, always commit .gitignore to your repository. It ensures all contributors share the same ignore rules. The only exception is personal editor or OS patterns, which belong in your global gitignore instead.

.gitignore: how to write it properly

The .gitignore file tells Git which files to ignore. Learn the syntax rules, see templates for popular languages, and fix common mistakes.

Practice Git basics Git Glossary

gitquest — enquête

The basics

What is .gitignore and why it matters

A .gitignore file tells Git which files and directories to exclude from version control. It sits at the root of your repository and applies rules to everything below it.

Without a .gitignore, Git would track everything: dependencies, build artifacts, environment secrets, OS files. This bloats your repository, slows down clones, and can leak sensitive data like API keys.

Every project should have a .gitignore file from the very first commit. It's one of the first things to set up after git init.

Files you should always ignore

node_modules/

Dependencies (reinstalled via npm install)

.env

API keys, secrets, database credentials

dist/ / build/

Compiled output (regenerated on build)

.DS_Store

macOS system files with no project value

Syntax

.gitignore syntax rules

The .gitignore file uses simple pattern matching. Here are the rules you need to know.

`#` Comments

Lines starting with # are comments. Use them to document why a rule exists.

# Ignore build output

`*` Wildcard

Matches any number of characters (except /). Use ** to match across directories.

*.log         # All .log files
**/*.tmp      # All .tmp files in any subfolder

`/` Directory separator

A trailing slash means "directories only". A leading slash anchors the pattern to the repo root.

build/        # Ignore any directory named build
/build/       # Ignore build/ only at the repo root

`!` Negation

Prefix with ! to re-include a file that was previously ignored. Order matters.

logs/         # Ignore the logs folder
!logs/.gitkeep # But keep this placeholder file

In practice in the terminal

Create a .gitignore and fix files that are already tracked.

Create a .gitignore

gitquest — .gitignore

# Create a .gitignore file in your project

$touch .gitignore

# Add common patterns

$echo "node_modules/" >> .gitignore

$echo ".env" >> .gitignore

$echo "dist/" >> .gitignore

$cat .gitignore

node_modules/

.env

dist/

$git add .gitignore

$git commit -m "Add .gitignore"

[main a1b2c3d] Add .gitignore

Fix already-tracked files

gitquest — rm --cached

# Oops! node_modules was already tracked

$git rm -r --cached node_modules/

rm 'node_modules/express/index.js'

rm 'node_modules/express/package.json'

... (hundreds of files)

Files removed from tracking (still on disk)

$git commit -m "Stop tracking node_modules"

[main f4e5d6c] Stop tracking node_modules

# Now .gitignore will prevent re-adding them

Common .gitignore templates

Node.js

node_modules/
dist/
.env
.env.local
npm-debug.log*
.next/

Python

__pycache__/
*.py[cod]
.venv/
.env
*.egg-info/
dist/

Java

*.class
target/
.gradle/
build/
.idea/
*.jar

Advanced tip

Global .gitignore for your machine

Some files are personal to your environment and should never be committed in any project. Set up a global .gitignore to handle them once for all repositories.

gitquest — global gitignore

# Set up a global .gitignore for all repositories

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

# Add OS and editor files you never want tracked

$echo ".DS_Store" >> ~/.gitignore_global

$echo "Thumbs.db" >> ~/.gitignore_global

$echo ".vscode/" >> ~/.gitignore_global

$echo "*.swp" >> ~/.gitignore_global

Global gitignore configured!

What belongs in global

OS files (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db), editor configs (.vscode/, .idea/, *.swp), and any personal tooling files that aren't specific to a project.

What belongs in project .gitignore

Dependencies (node_modules/, .venv/), build output (dist/, target/), environment files (.env), and anything specific to the project's tech stack.

Part of the Git Basics guide

GitQuest is created by Anaïs (nouvelle fenêtre), web developer and head of education, specializing in tech training and digital accessibility.

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