Ignore files that have already been committed to a Git repository

git caching version-control gitignore git-rm
trobrock picture trobrock · Jul 16, 2009 · Viewed 733.8k times · Source

I have an already initialized Git repository that I added a .gitignore file to. How can I refresh the file index so the files I want ignored get ignored?

Answer

trobrock picture trobrock · Jul 16, 2009

To untrack a single file that has already been added/initialized to your repository, i.e., stop tracking the file but not delete it from your system use: git rm --cached filename

To untrack every file that is now in your .gitignore:

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 it: 

git commit -m ".gitignore is now working"

To undo git rm --cached filename, use git add filename.

Make sure to commit all your important changes before running git add . Otherwise, you will lose any changes to other files.

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