Home › Developer Tools › Gitignore Generator

Gitignore Generator

Choose the languages, frameworks, editors and operating systems your project uses and get one clean .gitignore file. Templates are merged in order, duplicate rules are removed, and you can add your own rules before you copy or download.

1. Choose templates

Search templates

Quick stacks:

2. Your custom rules (optional, one per line)

3. Your .gitignore

Remove duplicates Section headers Keep comments

Generated .gitignore

Save the file as .gitignore in your repository root (some browsers drop the leading dot when downloading, so rename it if needed). Already-tracked files need git rm --cached <file> before the new rules apply.

How to use the Gitignore Generator

Pick your stack: click templates such as Node, Python, Go or Unity, or use the search box. Quick stacks select common combinations in one click.
Add your environment: include the operating systems (macOS, Windows, Linux) and editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim) that you and your team use.
Add custom rules in the box below the templates, one pattern per line, for project-specific files like uploads/ or *.local.json.
Review the preview: duplicates are removed automatically and section headers show where each rule came from.
Copy or download the file and save it as .gitignore in the root of your repository, then commit it.

.gitignore pattern syntax cheat sheet

Each line in a .gitignore is a pattern. Git checks them from top to bottom and the last matching pattern wins, which is why negations (!) must come after the rule they override. Patterns are relative to the folder that contains the .gitignore file.

Pattern	What it matches
`*.log`	Any file ending in `.log`, in every folder
`build/`	Any directory named `build` (a trailing slash matches directories only)
`/build`	Only `build` in the same folder as the .gitignore (a leading slash anchors the pattern)
`docs/*.pdf`	PDF files directly inside `docs/`, not in its subfolders (a slash in the middle also anchors the pattern)
`**/temp`	`temp` files or folders at any depth
`logs/**`	Everything inside `logs/`
`a/**/b`	`a/b`, `a/x/b`, `a/x/y/b` and so on
`*.py[cod]`	`.pyc`, `.pyo` and `.pyd` files (character class)
`!.env.example`	Re-includes a file that an earlier rule ignored
`\#notes`	A file literally named `#notes` (escape a leading # or !)
`# comment`	A comment line, ignored by Git

Useful Git commands for ignore rules

git check-ignore -v path/to/file shows which .gitignore file and line ignores a path. It is the fastest way to debug a rule.
git rm -r --cached . followed by git add . re-applies a new .gitignore to files that were already committed. Review the diff before committing.
git status --ignored lists ignored files so you can confirm nothing important is hidden.
git config --global core.excludesFile ~/.gitignore_global sets a personal ignore file for editor and OS clutter across all your repositories.
.git/info/exclude works like a .gitignore that is never committed, handy for files only you have in one clone.

What to commit and what to ignore

Ignore anything that is generated, downloaded, machine-specific or secret: dependency folders (node_modules/, vendor/, .venv/), build output (dist/, target/, bin/), caches, logs, local databases and .env files with real credentials. Commit what other developers need to reproduce the project: source code, configuration templates such as .env.example, shared editor settings you agree on, and lock files (package-lock.json, poetry.lock, go.sum, Cargo.lock for applications). If a secret was ever committed, ignoring it later is not enough: rotate the key, because it stays in the Git history.

Frequently asked questions

What is a .gitignore file?

A .gitignore is a plain text file in your Git repository that lists patterns for files and folders Git should not track, such as dependencies (node_modules), build output, logs, local environment files and editor or operating system clutter.

Where do I put the .gitignore file?

Save it as .gitignore (with the leading dot and no extension) in the root folder of your repository. You can also add more .gitignore files in subfolders; their patterns apply relative to that folder.

Why is a file still tracked after I added it to .gitignore?

A .gitignore only affects untracked files. If Git already tracks a file, remove it from the index with git rm --cached <file> (or git rm -r --cached <folder>), then commit. The file stays on disk but Git stops tracking it.

Should editor and OS files go in the project .gitignore?

Many teams include common ones (.DS_Store, Thumbs.db, .vscode/, .idea/) so nobody commits them by accident. Alternatively each developer can put them in a global ignore file configured with git config --global core.excludesFile ~/.gitignore_global.

What does a ! at the start of a pattern mean?

A leading ! negates a pattern, re-including a file that an earlier pattern ignored, for example .vscode/* followed by !.vscode/settings.json. Git cannot re-include a file if its parent directory is ignored.

Should I ignore lock files like package-lock.json?

No for applications: commit package-lock.json, yarn.lock, poetry.lock, Cargo.lock and similar lock files so everyone installs the same dependency versions. These templates do not ignore lock files, except where noted as optional.

Is my selection sent to a server?

No. All templates are built into the page and the file is generated in your browser. Your selection is only remembered in this browser's local storage.

Related tools