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5.4 Using `.gitignore` to Exclude Files (Optional)

Not every file in your project needs to be tracked by Git. Temporary files, logs, virtual environments, or system files can clutter your repository and should be excluded.

The .gitignore file tells Git which files or directories to skip when tracking changes.

Creating a .gitignore File​

Create a .gitignore file in the root of your repository:

touch .gitignore

Open it in a text editor and list the files or patterns you want Git to ignore. Example:

# Ignore system and temporary files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db
*.tmp
*.log

# Ignore Python cache and environment folders
__pycache__/
.env/
venv/

# Ignore build artifacts
build/
dist/

Checking What Git Ignores​

To verify which files are ignored:

git status --ignored

Ignored files will appear under “Ignored files.”

Important Notes​

  • The .gitignore file itself should be tracked so all collaborators use the same rules:

    git add .gitignore
    git commit -m "Add .gitignore to exclude temporary and environment files"

  • Adding a file to .gitignore won’t untrack it if it’s already committed. To stop tracking it:

    git rm --cached <filename>

  • You can also set a global ignore list for all repositories:

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

Example: Minimal .gitignore for Python Projects​

# Byte-compiled / cache files
__pycache__/
*.py[cod]

# Virtual environments
venv/
.env/

# Logs and temporary files
*.log
*.tmp

# System files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

Using .gitignore right after initializing your repository helps keep your project clean and prevents unwanted files from being committed.