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gitgitignore

Completely ignore single folder using .gitignore

I have a couple of questions about .gitignore.

In my repo I have a folder [repo root]\Sub1\Printouts that contains some pdf files. I want GIT to completely ignore everything that happens in [repo root]\Sub1\Printouts (new files, file deletions, file modifications), so I added this to .gitignore:

Sub1\Printouts\

However, if I delete a file in Sub1\Printouts and run git status, i have:

modified:   .gitignore
deleted:    Sub1/Printouts/aaa.pdf

The same happens if I add a new file, but not if I edit one.

I also have another question: reading on various sites I understand that an entry like Sub1\Printouts\ should match a folder called Printouts that is inside a folder called Sub1, everywhere in the repo. That means that all the following folders should be ignored:

 1) [repo root]\Sub1\Printouts
 2) [repo root]\Some folder\Sub1\Printouts
 3) [repo root]\Some folder\Yet another folder\Sub1\Printouts

What if I want to ignore only 1)? How can I specify a full path in .gitignore?

Thank you

Solution

  • Untrack your whole directory, where you want to .gitignore:

    git rm --cached -r Sub1/Printouts/

    After that, all files and subfolders in Sub1/Printouts aren‘t tracked by git.

    Now you can add this path to your .gitignore file, save it and then no further modifictions (add files, delete files, …) will be tracked by git:

    Sub1/Printouts/