Force git to update .gitignore

Question

I have a .gitignore file, and it's ignoring some files. I have updated the .gitignore file (removed some filenames and added some filenames). This is not reflected in git status. How can I force git to update these changes, so that track files which are not tracked before and vice versa.

I have tried this question, still all of my files are not tracked (according to my updated .gitignore). (In simple, how can I force git to retract files once .gitignore is updated or deleted).

Git ignore won't work on files which have already been tracked. In this case, you need to `git rm` the files first before adding them to `.gitignore`. — Tim Biegeleisen, Jul 19 '16 at 05:37
Possible duplicate of [Ignore files that have already been committed to a Git repository](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1139762/ignore-files-that-have-already-been-committed-to-a-git-repository) — intboolstring, Jul 19 '16 at 05:38

Shravan40 · Answer 1 · 2020-01-30T07:19:40.333

267

You will have to clear the existing git cache first.

Remove the cache of all the files

git rm -r --cached .

Remove the cache of specific file

git rm -r --cached <file_name.ext>

Once you clear the existing cache, add/stage file/files in the current directory and commit

git add . // To add all the files
git add <file_name.ext> // To add specific file
git commit -m "Suitable Message"

As pointed out by Scott Biggs in comment that "This works for both adding a file that was once ignored as well as ignoring a file that was once tracked"

edited Jan 30 '20 at 07:19

answered Jul 19 '16 at 06:40

Shravan40

8,922
6
28
48

3

I have explicitly mention (and linked) that this did not help my problem – Jul 19 '16 at 07:33
1

Does `git status` track `.gitignore` file ? – Shravan40 Jul 19 '16 at 07:37
2

To stop tracking a file that is currently tracked, use `git rm --cached`. – joker Jul 19 '16 at 08:34
@Shravan after deleting `.gitignore` from local pc, no – Jul 19 '16 at 09:04
3

Note that this works for both adding a file that was once ignored as well as ignoring a file that was once tracked. – SMBiggs Jan 30 '20 at 04:56
`git rm -r --cached .` returns error "fatal: pathspec '–cached' did not match any files". git version 2.35.1.windows.2 – ADM-IT May 25 '22 at 10:47

score 15 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 29 '20 at 17:49

15

It works

//First commit any outstanding code changes, and then, run this command:

git rm -r --cached .

//This removes any changed files from the index(staging area), then just run:

git add .

//Commit

git commit -m "Atualizando .gitignore para..."

answered Jan 29 '20 at 17:49

Najathi

2,529
24
23

2

this is already in the accepted answer – eric Oct 27 '21 at 03:01

Saahithyan Vigneswaran · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-15T16:28:20.647

12

If you want to add all files, delete all filenames from .gitignore file, not the .gitignore file and commit it, then try

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

Some files are ignored by the git depending on the OS (like .dll in windows). For more information.

Now

git add .

git status

git commit -m "your message"

Or

You can try a simple hack, it may or may not work. Delete all filenames from .gitignore file and add this line !*.*, then add and commit.

UPDATE

Simple, I'll explain with an example. Say you have a build folder which is already added and tracked by git. Now you decide not to track this folder.

Add this folder (build) to .gitignore
Delete build folder
Commit your changes

From now on git will not track build folder.

edited Apr 15 '19 at 16:28

answered Jul 19 '16 at 11:47

Saahithyan Vigneswaran

6,841
3
35
45

14

“delete all filenames from .gitignore file, not the .gitignore file and commit it” What does that mean? – m93a Nov 25 '17 at 09:28
1

if you are confused about this answer, see the answer from @Shravan40 : https://stackoverflow.com/a/38451183/1886357 – eric Oct 01 '19 at 20:14
1

@m93a please refer update section, follow the steps – Saahithyan Vigneswaran Nov 15 '19 at 07:48

score 5 · Answer 4 · answered May 27 '18 at 13:58

You can resolve this issue by deleting the cache of those specific files where you are getting this issue. The issue you mentioned occurs when you have committed some specific files once and then you are adding them in .gitignore later.

git rm -r --cached <your_file.extension>
git commit -am "Suitable Message"

Same solution is proposed by @sharvan40 above, but you don't need to remove the cache for all the files. It creates a new commit for all your files.

score 0 · Answer 5 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:10

Assuming here that your current working directory is empty.

You can check what files git is currently tracking by using git ls-files. If you have a lot of files, you can use git ls-files | grep hello.txt to find if git is tracking that specific file.

If it is tracking it, then use git rm hello.txt to untrack it (as Tim mentioned in his comment). Perhaps commit that untracked state first and then add it in to your .gitignore on your next commit. I have seen some funky behavior in the past when trying to ignore and remove in the same commit.

Force git to update .gitignore

5 Answers5