Add a .gitignore file to an existing repository
This article outlines the steps to apply a .gitignore file to an existing repository in Git. The .gitignore file allows us to specify content that Git will not track in our repository.
If you have an existing Git repository with dozens of tracked files, you can apply a .gitignore file by following these simple steps.
Add a .gitignore file to an existing repository
We have to commit all pending changes in the repository to add the .gitignore file to the existing repository. Once that is done, we can proceed to the second step.
Create a .gitignore file and add it to your local repository. Then, we have to remove all the files from the index by running the following command.
$ git rm -r --cached .
Note the dot at the end .. It instructs Git to remove all files in the local repository from the index.
If you have only one file that you want to include in the .gitignore file, you can enter the file name as shown below.
$ git rm --cached filename
Make sure you have added .gitignore file to your repository and run the following command.
$ git add .
This will add all of our files to the index, including the .gitignore file. We can then commit the changes for the files to take effect.
$ git commit -m "Gitignore added"
This file will instruct Git to stop tracking the files in the .gitignore file. This is an easy way to untrack a large number of files.
We can git pushpush changes to the remote repository using the command.
In summary, Git allows you to add a .gitignore file to an existing repository to stop tracking certain files. git addAlways commit your changes before moving on to the next step.
Otherwise you will lose all your file changes. Be careful when pushing and pulling from this repository.
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