Gitignore generator

A .gitignore file tells Git which files to leave out of version control: dependencies, build output, logs, editor settings, operating system clutter and, most importantly, secrets. This generator combines curated templates for your languages, frameworks, editors and operating systems into one clean, de-duplicated file.

How to use it

1. Select the templates that match your stack, for example Node, VS Code and macOS.
2. Review the combined output.
3. Save it as .gitignore in the root of your repository and commit it.

Example output (excerpt)

# Node
node_modules/
dist/
npm-debug.log*
.env

# macOS
.DS_Store

# VS Code
.vscode/*
!.vscode/extensions.json

Pattern syntax

• *.log ignores all files ending in .log.
• build/ ignores a directory anywhere in the tree.
• /config.local.json with a leading slash only matches at the repository root.
• !keep.log re-includes a file excluded by an earlier pattern.
• **/temp matches temp at any depth.

Common mistakes

• Already tracked files are not ignored. Run git rm --cached file to stop tracking a file that was committed earlier.
• Committed secrets stay in history. Adding .env to .gitignore later does not remove it from old commits; rotate the leaked keys.
• Personal editor files can also go in your global ignore file (core.excludesFile) instead of every project.
• Lock files such as package-lock.json should usually be committed, not ignored.