Question 1

What's the difference between .gitignore, .git/info/exclude, and core.excludesFile?

Accepted Answer

`.gitignore` is per-directory, committed to the repo, shared with collaborators. `.git/info/exclude` is per-clone, not committed, for ignores specific to your local checkout (a debug script you don't want to share). `core.excludesFile` (set via `git config --global`) is a global ignore for your machine, perfect for OS files (`.DS_Store`, `Thumbs.db`) and editor files (`.vscode/`, `.idea/`) so they never need to be in every project's `.gitignore`.

Question 2

Should editor and OS files be in the project .gitignore?

Accepted Answer

Debatable. Two schools: (1) **In the project**: ensures every collaborator has them ignored, even if they haven't set up a global gitignore. (2) **Global only**: keeps the project .gitignore focused on project artifacts, not personal tooling. GitHub's templates put them in the project file, which is the pragmatic default, not everyone configures globals.

Question 3

How do I ignore a file that's already tracked?

Accepted Answer

Adding it to .gitignore doesn't untrack it, gitignore only affects untracked files. To untrack: `git rm --cached <file>` (removes from index, keeps on disk) then commit. For directories: `git rm -rf --cached path/`. The .gitignore prevents re-adding it. If you committed a file by accident (secrets, large binary), you need history rewriting (git-filter-repo, BFG), gitignore alone won't remove it from past commits.

Question 4

What's the pattern syntax?

Accepted Answer

Glob-like with extensions: `*.log` (any .log file), `build/` (directory), `/dist` (only at root), `dist/` (anywhere), `!important.log` (negation, un-ignore), `**/temp` (recursive any), `*.{tmp,bak}` brace expansion is NOT supported (this is glob, not bash). `#` at start of line is a comment. Trailing spaces matter unless escaped with `\`.

Question 5

What should NEVER be in a public repo?

Accepted Answer

`.env` (secrets), `*.pem` / `*.key` (private keys), `id_rsa` / SSH keys, `.aws/credentials`, `.netrc`, `*.pfx` (cert with key), database dump files, anything matching `*.secret`, `*.private`. The Node template ignores `.env*` by convention. For comprehensive coverage, use a pre-commit hook (git-secrets, gitleaks, trufflehog) that scans commits for credentials and refuses them, gitignore is a hint, not enforcement.

Question 6

Does .gitignore work for nested .gitignores?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each directory can have its own .gitignore that adds to or overrides parent rules. Nearer .gitignore wins. Useful for monorepos: root .gitignore for shared rules, subproject .gitignore for project-specific ignores. Negation (`!pattern`) is per-file, un-ignoring a file inside an ignored directory doesn't work; you have to un-ignore the directory first.

Question 7

How big should a .gitignore be?

Accepted Answer

Whatever covers your stack. Templates from GitHub's official repo (github/gitignore) range from 30 lines (simple Lisp) to 300+ lines (Visual Studio with C++, historical Microsoft toolchains generate a lot of garbage). Most modern projects: 30-80 lines combining language + OS + editor templates is plenty. Bigger is fine; the matcher is fast and human-readability matters more than line count.

Question 8

Is the generator using my data?

Accepted Answer

No. It picks pre-stored template strings based on your selections and concatenates them in your browser. Nothing about your project is sent anywhere.

Question 9

What standards does .gitignore Generator validate against?

Accepted Answer

.gitignore Generator checks compliance with Output format specification.

Question 10

What are the limitations of .gitignore Generator?

Accepted Answer

Output is template-based, may need customization Does not validate output against target system

Runtime / Stack	Standard Exclusions	Why Ignore?
Node.js	`node_modules/`	External dependencies
Python	`__pycache__/`	Compiled bytecode
Go	`*.exe`, `/bin`	Binary artifacts
Rust	`target/`	Build intermediate files
macOS	`.DS_Store`	OS Desktop metadata

.gitignore Generator

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What is .gitignore Generator?

Frequently Asked Questions

Technical Deep Dive

.gitignore Generator

Stack-aware templates

Community template set

Copy or download

01 Stack Exclusion Matrix

02 Untracking Workflow

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