How do I ignore files with a .gitignore file?

Question

Always when I run git status some files are listed as untracked, that is how it should be. But I would like to not have them listed there everytime I run git status. As what I have understood, I should add those files to an .gitignore-file.

In my project I have a file .classpath and a directory .gradle/* that I want to ingore.

My .gitignore file looks like this:

.classpath
.gradle/*

but these files are still listed as "untracked" when I run git status. Is there anything wrong with my .gitignore file or how should I fix this?

Here is my git status output:

C:\myproject>git status
# On branch master
# Changes not staged for commit:
#   (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
#   (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
#
#       modified:   src/Test.java
#
# Untracked files:
#   (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
#
#       .classpath
#       .gitignore
#       .gradle/
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")

uhm weird, it should already ignore them, try to add a slash in front of each entry... — Andreas Linden, Nov 03 '12 at 11:45
The gitignore you posted works perfectly fine; i just tried it. Please include your `git status` output in the question. It sounds a bit like you already added the file. — ThiefMaster, Nov 03 '12 at 11:46
Been answered before: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11451535/gitignore-not-working — brk3, Nov 03 '12 at 11:47
@brk3: it seem to be the same problem, but that solution doesn't work for me. So it's unsolved, so far. — Jonas, Nov 03 '12 at 11:55
have you looked at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/343646/ignoring-directories-in-git-repos-on-windows? — ThiefMaster, Nov 03 '12 at 11:56
@ThiefMaster that question doesn't help me. I created the file this way: http://superuser.com/a/498909/27037 — Jonas, Nov 03 '12 at 12:01

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

I found out that the paths in my .gitignore file had a space in the end of each row. When I removed the space char from each line in .gitignore it worked fine. This is how I created my .gitignore file:

https://superuser.com/a/498909/27037

echo .classpath> .gitignore
echo .gradle/*>> .gitignore

and before I used this commands (does not work):

echo .classpath > .gitignore
echo .gradle/* >> .gitignore

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 03 '12 at 12:10

1

This works for me:

.classpath
.gradle/

Make sure you git add . to stage the .gitignore file.

answered Nov 03 '12 at 12:10

Don Branson

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How do I ignore files with a .gitignore file?

2 Answers2